How to Deal with Mid-Winter Pool Cover Issues

mid winter pool cover disaster

Spring pool opening goes more smoothly when you have a proper winter pool closing. One of the most important parts is putting your pool cover on — tight! A tightly sealed winter pool cover protects the pool from debris and winter conditions. But you can defeat the purpose if the pool cover comes loose and nothing is done about it for many winter months. Put your cover on correctly to avoid a winter pool cover disaster.

Avoid opening the pool in April or May to a sad surprise or shocking realization that you have a lot of clean-up to do. If the pool cover becomes loose or falls into the pool, put on some warm clothes and get it taken care of now.

Winter Pool Cover Issues

  • Strong winds can shred loose above ground pool covers in minutes.
  • Leaks in the pool can damage a pool cover, or make it fall in the pool.
  • Heavy rain and snow can pull in a solid cover, or rip the seam.
  • Heavy snow and ice can rip old safety cover straps.
  • Ice sheets on a solid pool cover can be sharp on the edges.
  • Large sticks or branches can pierce pool covers.
  • Farm animals or wild animals can cause severe damage.

My Cover Fell in the Pool

If your solid cover slipped into the pool, either from a pool leak, or too much water weight on the cover — here’s how to deal.

use a leaf rake to avoid a winter pool cover disaster

With several strong hands, grab the edge of the cover and pull it back up over the pool deck. Weigh it down around the edge with water bags. Start pumping water, using submersible pumps, or a cover pump. Use a vacuum hose to siphon additional water from the pool cover.

Break out the skimmer nets. In fact, leaf rakes are the easiest for debris removal. Pull the debris gently towards you to make for better scooping. Place the debris into a container with holes in it to allow the water to drain.

Scoop out as much as possible by using the leaf rake. A pool brush can also be used to gently pull debris to the edge. If the cover is really submerged deeply, a garden hose vacuum like the Leaf Gulper can be a big help.

After you have eliminated all of the accumulated debris and water from the cover, you can tighten up and reset the pool cover as the surface water recedes. Inspect the cover closely for any holes or tears.

Now you can check on the water. Note how much debris went into the pool. You may be lucky and only have smaller debris in the water. If there is more debris, use your leaf rake or leaf gulper to clean it as much as possible. In any case, once the pool cover and debris situations are stabilized, check and balance the water chemistry.

Winter Pool Cover Repairs

If there is a tear or hole in the cover, you can easily repair it using a pool cover winter patch kit. Cover patches allow for quick fixes on any winter pool cover, so you don’t have to buy a new replacement pool cover.

patch kit for a winter pool cover disaster

Solid pool covers can be quickly patched with our pool cover patch as they’re self-adhesive and super sticky. Patch both sides of the pool cover for best results.

Small rips or tears of around 6 inches are a prime example of a problem that can be remedied with a pool cover repair patch. The weave of a winter pool cover usually causes pool covers to rip in a straight line, making home repairs simple.

A rip in the cover larger than 12″ may not be possible to repair, but you might make it through the winter before replacing the pool cover.

Pool Cover Problem Prevention

cover pump

For inground pool covers with water bags, keep your cover tight with a good supply of double water bags. Never use bricks to hold down the pool cover or heavy objects. Periodically check on the water tubes throughout the winter season.

A well-functioning pool cover pump will pump the 1–2 feet of rainwater and snow melt that you will likely receive through winter. For above ground pool covers, use cover clips, wall bags, or a cover seal to keep out high winds. Use a cover pump or siphon method to remove excess water that could weaken the cover seams or rip the cover.

Safety Pool Covers

For safety pool covers, if your pool cover straps aren’t tight enough, water can accumulate on the surface. Tighten straps so the springs are halfway compressed, and the cover deflects only slightly in the center. Keep your water level between 6″–18″ below the safety pool cover.

No matter what pool cover you own – whether it is a mesh cover, solid cover, safety cover or automatic pool cover, take care of winter pool cover maintenance and prevent a mid-winter pool cover disaster.

69 thoughts on “How to Deal with Mid-Winter Pool Cover Issues

  1. Donna Grein

    Our above ground pool cover leaked over the winter. after draining and removing debris, we removed the cover to discover the pool water is actually brown. we have a center drain system and have just been filtering the water in the pool before adding any chemical. any other suggestions?

    • Yes, add chemicals! Specifically, check the pH level and adjust to the low side, around 7.2-ish, then shock the pool. The following day, add Clarifier. Run the filter non-stop, cleaning as needed. IF your filter is small, you may need a new cartridge, after the water clears.

  2. kelly babbit

    I have a big issue. Three years ago the winter cover fell in the pool – my son was killed that winter and I simply didnt care about the pool. I have no choice but to care now as its one great big science experiment and I am sure my neighbors are thinking EPA .. soo I had a guy come try to get it out and says he cant feel it. Not knowing if he is wanting out of the job (but he knows nothing about pools) or if its possible the tarp degraded, does that happen do you know? I also have a pump issue as in I need a new one so my next questions to you are, normally I would remove all the yuck,shock, algaecide,floc if needed & vacuum yada yada typical opening. But since I dont have a pump I cant even floc to get it clear enough to see if the tarp is there so could I use a little floating aerator to circulate water enough to floc? If so what is the cheapest kid ya think? If not do you have any suggestions? Thank You very much and its a 28 x 16 doughboy above ground

    • Hi Kelly, I think I would rent a submersible pump, or a small trash pump from a local rental shop, and drain the pool completely, and scoop up the remaining yuck, and the cover, and other debris and throw it all out. Scrub and hose the vinyl liner and pump that dirty water out. Then return the pump, repair any holes in the liner, and fill the pool with fresh water, balance the pH, alkalinity, calcium and cyanuric levels, and then shock the pool heavily with 4 lbs of shock. Then turn on the new pump. We have abg pumps starting at $150. The Raypak Protege 1hp is a good price at $159.

  3. Pool is an inground pool, the long edge of winter cover has started falling into the pool over the coping edge. Unfortunaley it has too much ice and snow on it to be able to pull the cover back up and rebag the edge. ANY THOUGHTS how to get the ice melted so I can use a submersible pump? Pool size is 18’x32′.

    • HI Matt; just ol’ mr. sun – I don’t know of any other way to melt the ice (without melting the cover!). When it does melt, it melts underneath first, so if you can knock a hole in the ice (and not the cover!) you could drop a pump in the hole, or you could use a “Pond Heater”, or just pour hot water onto one spot, if the ice was thin enough…

  4. If my pool cover fell in due to heavy winds can I leave it in for the rest of the winter and get another cover and cover it again with the old pool cover submerged?

    • Hi Alice, yes you could do that – the real problem would be if the cover fell in full of leaves, muck and gunk – that could create problems during spring opening, with green/black water and staining. IF that happened, plan on an early opening, 4-6 before your normal opening date. Another route is to just pull the cover out of the pool, and use leaf rakes and/or a Leaf Gulper (Leaf Master/Leaf Eater/Leaf Vac) to remove most of the leaves and muck now (if the water is not frozen solid), and then recover the pool. But, if the cover is fairly clean, yes you could just leave it in the pool for now, and fish it out in the early spring.

  5. Hello its our first year in our dream house aand we have a california size pool i think thats what he called it its 52 ft long but its only 31/2 ft deep .. Our cover water fell in the pool with yucky leaves and frogs lol. But my water is like a pond now .. What are the bad consequences that i can face and how tmdo i fix it .. I should also say that the pool is winterized and closed for winter i was just getting cover to start opening it for the summer.

    • Hi Jose, if the pool is so swampy that you cannot even see past the first step, visibility below 18″, and contains lots of leaf debris, worms, dead frogs, etc… then it may be best to drain the pool using a large submersible or a small trash pump. See this blog for more info: https://blog.intheswim.com/how-to-drain-a-swimming-pool/ If the visibility is not that bad, but you can see the shallow floor – and the pool was closed clean, and debris loads are not too bad, then you can bring it back with filtering and chemicals. (a good filter is needed, small or undersized filters will struggle). First lower the pH, then shock the pool hard with 3-5 lbs of shock per 10,000 gals, or until the water turns blue/gray. Brush the pool walls and steps. Check the chlorine level in 12-18 hours. If chlorine level is low or zero, shock the pool again, until a chlorine reading can be measured 24 hours later. Run the pool filter, but keep the pool cleaner out of the pool, and the pool heater off, and no solar cover. Vacuum the pool slowly by hand, then brush the pool well. Run the filter day and night for several days, as needed up to several weeks. Make sure the chlorine level stays high for several days, and the pH stays low. You can use a bit of clarifier too, to help the filter.

  6. Daphne Gilpin

    Thanks for explaining that a pool cover pump is an important component because it will pump the the rain water and snow melt that we get through the winter. My husband and I moved into a house with a pool this year and are trying to prepare for the off season where it will be covered and not in use. I’m glad I read your article because I didn’t know it was important to get a pool cover pump in addition to a cover itself.

  7. Stacey Fields

    Hi we had very high winds all day and all night (last night). I’m asking this question because my local pool company hours are shorter and they’re not in until Thursday (it’s Monday). Anyway, my pool cover came completely off and into the pool only the small section by deck is still attached due to bags holding it down. I’m in Ohio and it’s was sunny today but 30ish and the cover already had some ice on top of it. Will it b ok until it gets warmer here since it’ll be March 1st this Friday? I have been opening my pool each year by late April…

    • Hi Stacey, I would fish the cover and water bags out of the pool, and replace them both, as soon as the daytime temps allow, maybe Saturday?

  8. I have an above ground pool we recently had a rain/snow storm with heavy winds. I noticed that our pool cover slid off the edges and is now in the pool still covering the top. I’m concerned, will this cause any damage?

    • Hi Kendall, likely will cause no damage to the pool, the concern is that the water becomes contaminated with ‘cover sludge’, and gets a lot of sunlight, leading to algae growth (next spring). When the water begins to thaw out, this year or next, pull the cover out and resecure it around the edges.

  9. Have an above ground pool.Put on cover.It leaks and now have about 2-3 feet of water on top of cover. Will it damage the pool walls if I cover it with another cover, or should I remove the leaking one? If so, what would be the easiest way to remove it? it is too heavy to fold up.I tried draining but it just drained out of the pool.

    • Hi Barbara, you’ll just have to pull it out of the pool, and perhaps dump in some of the ‘sludge’ on top of the cover. Your first suggestion may be better, to cover the cover with another cover – that way the sludge won’t sit on the pool floor all winter. Come spring, pull off both covers, then vacuum the pool, brush, balance chems and shock the pool.

  10. I’m asking this for a friend, he used cement bags to hold his tarp down and a bag fell in. How can he remove the cement without destroying the pump?

    • WOW! Now that’s a new one – I suppose the filter will remove most of the concrete dust, but will it turn the filter solid? At least it may damage the filter media (sand, filter or de grids), but perhaps not… I suppose the solution is to keep filtering, a clarifier or adding Dicalite to sand or cartridge filters can help, or using the Slime Bag to trap the small dust. Or drain the pool and refill…

  11. I have a 12×24 above ground pool . It is buttress free. This is the second spring that the wall on one side has lifted from the track causing the tin to buckle . First year this happened I was told that to much water was left in the pool for winter, I made sure to remove recommended amount last year and once again this happened . Any ideas on why .. help as I certainly don’t want this to happen every year . Note that it’s first winter we had no issues , it’s only been the last 2 years

    • Hi Wanda, it could be that the ground beneath the pool is saturated with water, and when the ground freezes, known as frost heave, it lifts up the pool on that side… then the ground thaws and drops down again, but the pool stays raised an inch or two… sound plausible?

  12. Hi,

    I recently bought a house in December with an 18X36 inground pool. This is the first I have owned. I am not sure if there is a leak in the cover but I tried siphoning the water off the cover but all it did was decrease my pool water by about 12 inches and my cover is now deeper than it was originally. I have skimmed all the leaves off of the cover but don’t think we will be able to lift the cover out of the pool with out all the water on top going in. What is the best way to proceed? The previous owners did not give us any information on the pool.

    • Hi Erin, Probably there is a hole in the cover, maybe even a large gash. If you have a large leaf blower or shop vac, you can inflate under the cover, to push water to one side, to expose the hole(s), so you can then put a board underneath or a pole, to raise the hole above the water level, then you can pump off the cover. Another way is to pull the cover from one side of the pool toward the other side, inspecting closely to look for a hole. If you don’t see it in one direction, replace the cover and water bags, then pull from the other end. Once you find the hole, you can work around it, raise it above water level, or pull it over the edge of the pool, so you can pump off the cover. If nothing else works, you can dump the cover in the pool, but that’s a last resort as it likely has a lot of sludge and gunk on it, which could take weeks to clean-up, lot$ of chemicals, and perhaps staining. If you do this, minimize sludge by first using a pool leaf rake to remove as much surface debris as possible.

  13. Jessica S.

    30 foot round above ground pool. Had a leak shortly after we put the cover on. Noticed the cover getting heavier with water and ahead and cut it to avoid collapsing the walls. Now cover has been sitting at the bottom of our mostly empty pool for 4 months. Any ideas how to dido and getting it out, cleaning, and finding the leak? Hoping our liner will be salvageable at least for another year or two.

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Jessica, just bunch up the cover and slowly pull it out of the pool, and see if it is in good shape. If so, clean it and dry it, and fold it for storage. For the pool, get a small submersible pump, or rent/borrow one, and pump out the muck, using pool leaf rake nets to scoop out the debris as it drains. Hose it down as it drains, to prevent gunk from drying on the surface. Then enter the pool and scrub with soft brush and water, (use Tile & Vinyl cleaner if needed, don’t use kitchen soap, the foam never ends!) Find the leak, just by looking around closely, especially around the level where the water stabilized, and patch it with a vinyl patch or with EZ Patch 28 or Anderson Leak Sealer. Hose it all down again, and pump out the waste and then refill the pool. If there are wrinkles in the floor, push these to the edges, using sand bags or water bags if needed, to hold the liner up against the wall. Hope the tear is small!

  14. James Moreau

    I have an inground pool and bought a new winter cover last year. My pool is an 18×36 Roman with the large steps at on end. I bought a cover to fit a 20×40 rectangular figuring that would do. We use water bags. When I closed the pool I noticed that it looked like there was a lot of tension on the cover, so I put water back into the pool under the cover. The cover was resting approximately 12 inches below the deck.
    I am now pumping off the cover in spring and it is way down into the pool. It appears that it is resting on the bottom of the shallow end.
    I have usually noticed that it has gone down, but never this much.
    Does this indicate a leak in our pool liner?

    • Davy Merino

      YEs, most likely a leak in the liner, although it could be in a pipe, or a leak around the main drain gasket. Also could be a hole in the cover, or many big big holes, that ‘swamped the cover’ – if the pool is full of water now. If the water level is down to the floor of the pool, and you are confident you didn’t pump it out with your cover pump, (thru holes in the cover) then probably a liner or gasket leak (around returns, lights, steps, drains and skimmers). First step, get the cover off and start cleaning things up.

      • James Moreau

        No holes in the cover and all of the lines are sealed. We don’t have a bottom drain.

        • Davy Merino

          James, then it must be the liner then! Clean it up and add a few inches of water, if you don’t see an obvious leak. You may need to fill it full, and get it clear (and warm) to do a thorough inspection, especially if the leak is small, unless you hire a professional leak locator (with electronic leak location equipment), if available in your area.

  15. Hi,
    I had a pool company winterize my inground pool. I noticed last week that the liner on one side of the pool has fallen into the pool. Will the whole pool have to be drained? Is the pool company who placed the liner responsible for the cost?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Betty, liners can pop out of the track for several reasons, but it’s not likely the fault of the company. If the liner is loose, a large ice sheet can actually pull it out of the track. In most cases, it can be put back into the track without a problem. The water must be lowered 12″ or more, to aid in the process. I use a hair dryer, on a warm day to heat up the vinyl so that it will stretch. Be very careful, as two tragedies are possible, if you drop the dryer in the water, electrifying the pool, or if you melt the vinyl with the heat! Place a pool float under your work area, and have a helper move the dryer fast over the area, and not too close (or it will melt!). As it becomes pliable, work from one side to the other side, pulling up the liner up and locking it into the track, inch by inch, and pushing it back in the track. Use pennies as shims if needed, to help hold it in place, while you work. Two people will be much easier. When the liner is back in the track, use Liner Lock in that area, as a permanent shim, to help prevent reoccurence of the problem. The company can do it for you too, but there’s really no way to pin this on them.

      • Hi Davy,
        Thanks for your reply. I don’t think I was specific enough with the type of liner. They placed a liner with water bags along the edge of the pool in its entirety. The liner along with the water bags fell in. I feel like they should have allowed enough slack to keep this from from happening. Please let me know your thoughts.
        Thank you!

        • Davy Merino

          Hi Betty, do you mean a winter pool cover? If you are saying that the winter cover fell in the pool, that usually happens when a pool cover is not pumped off during winter, which is the pool owners responsibility really. However an inground pool cover should have an overlap of at least 24″ around the pool, you can’t just set water bags right on the edge of the pool, or a very small amount of water can pull the cover bags into the pool – and then the yucky cover water mixes with the clean pool water, and it can be a big mess, but usually does not require draining. A properly sized pool solid winter pool cover is 5′ longer and 5′ wider than the pool size, for a 2.5′ overlap all the way around. If you don’t mean cover (you are saying liner), please forgive my misunderstanding.

  16. Good morning! Any ideas for getting my bbq (propane tank & all) out of the pool? It recently blew in to the deep end, is submerged, but the winter cover is still intact & holding it off the bottom. Thank you!

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Meghan, that’s a new one for me! Let’s see here – I suppose a long come-along type of heavy strap may be useful, tied high up on both sides of the pool, to heavy steel or wood poles, about 4′ off the ground. Then as the winch is tightened, the strap (running under the grill, thru the frame), will lift up out of the water. You can use wood or pool poles with a HOOK on the end, to grab the frame, and stabilize it as it lifts from the water, so that it won’t tip to either side – since it is resting on a single strap. Then use the two poles with hooks to pull the BBQ along the strap, until you get it to the edge and can pull it over the deck. Seems legit! It could work! Hope so… 🙂

  17. the light in my pool apparently was leaking when we winterized and I’ve now lost 4 feet of water in my 20X40 inground pool. I know this because after 3 feet of snow landed on top of my cover, it all caved in. What do I do now?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Beth, Remove the pool cover, skim the surface and clean the pool and deck area. Pull out the pool light, and use a Pool Light Cord Stopper, to seal the cord at the point where it exits the light niche. Then fill the pool back-up with water, balance the chemistry and add an algaecide or pool shock, to hold it for 3-6 weeks, until you can open (earlier than normal). Or, you could replace the pool cover again…

  18. Hi Ryan,

    We just had two nor’easters in a row. The first one the snow didn’t stick. The second today the snow stuck and it’s not stopped yet but I’ve never had a pool before. So I don’t see the pool cover anymore with the exception of a small bit in the center. The other thing I see which is what concerned me is straps going across my pool. I never saw or noticed these straps before. Now I’m afraid these straps are part of the pool cover and have separated from the cover rendering it useless because of the weight of this snow that won’t stop coming. Am I correct?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Sarah, sounds like you have an inground pool with a safety cover, anchored into the deck. Whenever I installed a new safety cover, I like to tell the new owners that “one day you’ll look out and see this covered in snow and ice, and stuck to the pool, and looking like it’s going to break – but don’t worry, it will thaw, and spring back up to normal again”. So I suspect that is what you are seeing, the cover stuck to the icy pool surface, layered in snow and more ice. Safety covers have straps or seams every 3 to 5 ft, in both directions – if you say that the seams have separated from the cover, or the cover is frozen in the pool, but the straps are above and not connected, then the seam stitching has failed, and that would mean a new cover will be needed in the fall!

  19. I have a new 15ft above ground swimming pool with a thick winterized pool cover filled with aleast 1ft of water or more on it. The pillow is pushed up against the side. Ive already taken tons of water off of it and believe its the pool water Ive been taking out all this time because half the water or more looks gone and the covers still filled. The water has pulled down the cover to where the cable is up under the plastic edges of the pool. The weather reports another 5dys of on and off rain and I just dont know what to do. Im afraid the pool covers gonna pull off the plastic edges or even worse that my pools gonna collapse. I thought maybe if I let the cable loose and let the cover fall in the pool that might save the structure, but then all that rain water will be in the pool. Pls Help I just dont know what to do.

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Audra, I call this a ‘sunken cover’ and it is quite common this year. When solid pool covers get large enough holes, pool water can come onto the cover, or be pumped out of the pool with a cover pump. It can be hard to deal with on large pools, and even small pools like yours. But here’s how this is usually tackled… Pull the cover off of the pool on one side, and have 2-3 people pull the cover to the other side, very slowly… pulling all of the cover water to one side, and trying to expose the hole. (You can add a garden hose at this time, to begin refilling the pool with fresh water). Inspect the cover closely as you pull, looking for a tear of 1″ to 6″ in size. Stop when you get to the hole, and place two 2×4’s across the pool, to keep the hole elevated above water level. If you do not find the hole, pull the cover back over the pool and repeat from the other side, until you find it (there may be more than one). Once the cover and all of the cover water are at one side, start pumping out the cover with your cover pump, or rent/borrow a larger submersible pump to do it faster. As pumping proceeds, continue to pull the cover into smaller areas, to concentrate the water, pulling out the slack and tightening the cover up every 50 gallons or so, until you and a helper can manage to hoist the cover and remaining water/sludge out of the pool, over the wall or top rail. That is how it is done, to avoid dumping the sludge into the pool, which is best. However, if that happens (and some sludge will be in the pool already) of if you just have to dump the cover (into the pool), it’s not the end of the world, but it does require some work. Use Leaf Rake style skim nets to scoop the gunk off the floor and surface as the pool refills and dilutes with fresh water. Unless it’s the dead of winter, I would continue to fill until full and start filtering the water, balancing the chemistry and shocking, followed by brushing and skimming and then vacuuming to waste, possibly twice. If the debris is not too bad, you could clean as much as possible, lower pH to 7.2 and shock the pool with chlorine, using 2-3 lbs per 10,000 gals. Then you could cover it again with a new pool cover, or just keep it clean and chlorinated until opening time, starting up the filter 2-4 weeks earlier than normal.

    • I have used this process for the last few years and i think it works well. I like keeping “X” amount of water on cover to help keep it down in the wind. I use an air pillow in pool to help keep cover from sinking too far. This creates at least 2 areas where there is 2-5 inches of water above the cover. I take a chlorine tablet 3″ hockey puck and break it in half and toss it in the water on top of the cover. It clears the nasty water right up and makes it clear. Since any water that you take off the cover is actually lowering your pool water I pump the water back into the pool under the cover. It saves me from having to put all that water back into the pool when I open up. I live in Ohio so I always have some days that the pool water above the cover is not frozen. I just pump off whatever amount I want at any given time. The debris and nasty stuff usually sink the deepest and when the chlorine tab clears up the water I just put the pump far enough away from the debris as not to disturb it.

      • Davy Merino

        Hi Ron, thanks for sharing! I only wonder if the chlorine tablet might possibly damage the cover? You could place the tablet in a plastic box, or an upside-down Frisbee or something though, to avoid any chance of that happening I suppose.

  20. Deb Alexander

    I have a thick coating of ice on my above ground pool. It’s been so cold that it hasn’t melted in order to pump off the water. Will the pool collapse due to the weight? I have a pillow in there and a heavy duty cover

    • Davy Merino

      Glad to hear that you use an Air Pillow, this prevents the ice sheet from forming thickly across the entire pool, which puts outward pressure on the pool walls, as water expands about 9% when it freezes into ice. Larger AG pools need more than one Air Pillow. When the ice does start to melt on top of the cover however, be quick to pump it off before the refreeze. It’s ok to keep 1″ of water on the cover, but when you get a lot of water on the cover, this can rip the pool cover, or create holes, or stress the seams. If the pool loses water (under the cover) with all that weight on top of the cover, that is when you could have problems, as a solid sheet of ice loses the supporting water level beneath, the ice sheet can slip and fall at an angle, into the liner or pool wall. Rare, but happens.

      • Rich Balsitis

        I think this is what likely happened to me this winter. 24′ AG pool with a solid mesh cover, in Chicago winter. I noticed the pool cover slowly sinking over the winter months, with snow nas ice building up on top. It was too heavy to pull out, and too frozen to pump. By the Spring thaw, noticed 6 or 7 gashes along the bottom of the liner, all around the pool.

        Should I just go back to the looser mesh cover I’ve used int the past? Even using a leaf net on top, and removing what I can before the water starts to freeze, the water in the Spring seems awfully dirty from broken down leaf debris.

        • Hi Rich, in your case, the liner gashes could have been caused by the sharp edges of a slightly melted ice sheet, or water leaking out beneath the ice sheet, then the ice sheet fell, at an angle, piercing the liner – I’m so sorry! That’s an awful thing to happen. As for the cover, I’m not a big fan of the mesh covers, except for summer use, I like a solid-solid pool cover, they just open so much cleaner!

  21. I have a safety cover for an in-ground liner pool & noticed the water level looked high due to snow and ice melt. It was only 10-11 inches from the very top of the top. Should I drain some water under the cover? Also, do I need to be concerned that the water level was too high & could have cracked any piping. We are currently in the middle of a thaw but it is going to below freezing again in a few days.

    Thank you!

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Jason, for safety covers, at winterization, pool water level is usually lowered about 12″ below the tile, or 18″ from the top, and then rain and snow melt fills the pool back up over the course of the winter. In late spring, you may see the water level begin to touch the cover, in the center, and is a good visual indication that the water needs to be lowered, to prevent debris from getting stuck in the water and leaching tannins into the water, and to reduce warming of the water on warm days. But in your case, at 10″ below the top, or 4″ below the tile, you’re in a good spot for a snow load. For heavy snow, the water level must be no more than a foot below the tile, or the cover can break (and warranty is void). The water level helps support the cover under a snow load. The best winter water level for safety covers is just a few inches below the skimmer opening, or the bottom of the tile, or 6-9″ from the top of the pool coping, or the distance from the cover to the water. As for your pipes, no need to worry if they were drained or blown out, and plugged to keep water out. If that was not the case, underground pipes can freeze and break, depending on how many freezing days in a row there are. I’m told that ground frost penetrates the earth at a rate of about 1″ per day, so it would usually take several weeks of below freezing temps, to get down to the level of pool pipes. In a case where the pool lines are not winterized, the water level in the pipes will match the water level in the pool, or they both will have equilibrium – so if you are 10″ from the top, the water level in the pipes is still 10″ below ground. Let me know if you have any other questions! Thanks for asking!

  22. We have an inground pool with the mesh cover. The cover is broken in 3 spots toward the middle of the pool and the cover is laying on the water where it has broke loose. The company that closed it said they never lowered the water level when closing. Does this mean my pool has a leak? 2.5 ft of pool wall is showing.

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Tammy, probably. Unless someone lowered the water too much, on purpose. Sudden winter leaks can be a leaking hydrostatic relief valve, in the main drain, sometimes blowing a main drain line will upset the o-ring, in an automatic, spring-loaded hydrostat. Winter leaks could also be a crack in an unwinterized main drain, or possibly in the light, unless your water level is much below the light conduit connection (in the upper part of the light niche). Finally, there could be a crack in the pool, probably not (don’t worry), but a very small chance, unless you have a vinyl liner pool, then a larger chance of a tear or hole in the vinyl. When things thaw out, pull out the cover and inspect the pool closely. Good Luck! Let me know if you have more questions.

  23. I just bought a pool last spring.(May 2017) I paid professionals to close my above ground pool. By November I noticed the pool pillow in the center was at one edge, and a few days later, it deflated. I figured I wouldn’t deal with it since the cover on the pool was good and tight. I went outside to check on it today and the water level is about 2ft. I have a 5ft deep pool. The liner must be leaking. Who is responsible to fix/replace it? I had no issues all summer long, so I’m assuming the company that closed my pool must have caused a small hole somewhere in the pool.

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Amanda, that’s unfortunate, I’m sorry to hear. The Air Pillow is important to keep an ice sheet from forming solid across the center. They do have problems drifting, and sometimes they can leak air, but not usually. It could leak from a small pinhole, or around the valve. It does need to stay at least 3/4 full of air, to do it’s job, and it does need to stay near the center of the pool, for best results. The reason the air pillow is so important is that no ice will form (in most cases) under the pillow, and because the ice sheet is not solid across the pool, much less pressure is pushing outwards, on the pool walls and liner. When ice forms, it expands 10%, and this outward pressure can harm older or weaker pool walls, especially if it locks into the skimmer, and then the pool leaks water, and then the ice sheet melts slightly, tips and falls… That’s a worse case scenario, but could have happened, in this very cold start to 2018 we have been having. Ice sheets can also be sharp on the edges, and can shift as the sheet starts to melt, and actually tear the liner.

      As for your situation, you are not alone, this winter put a lot of damage to pools – it could be that a winter plug was knocked out, and the water ran out of the pool return. Or it could be a leak in the liner. Another thing that happens is using a cover pump near an area of the cover that has small holes, and pumping water through the holes in the cover, with the cover pump, and lowering the pool water level by pumping it out yourself – If it is a leak in the liner, you may be able to determine the source. It may be ice, or you may determine otherwise. But if damaged at closing, it would have drained long before, normally. Let me know if you have more questions –

  24. I have a in ground pool with a mesh cover. Do I have to lower the water in the pool as it rises. It’s already up to the skimmer.

    • Davy Merino

      Hi John, yes – when the water level rises enough to touch the cover, (producing a wet spot in the center), it’s time to lower the water level, to prevent leaves from getting trapped and leaching tannins into the water. The best level is just a few inches below the tile, and up to 12″ below the tile (but no more than that if you have snow in your area). Most people lower the water level 12″ below the tile upon pool closing, and then depending on the amount of rain and snow melt, may have to lower the water once or twice in the spring. You can place a small pump on the top step or in the skimmer well, to avoid pumping out too much. If you don’t have a pump, but have a small hill aside the pool, you can set up a siphon to lower the level, with a garden hose or vacuum hose.

  25. […] 10k gallons. For pools that don’t use a winter cover, or for those that may have suffered a mid-winter cover disaster, Di-Zap makes an excellent treatment for the closed or semi-closed pool. Also can be used monthly […]

  26. […] An above ground pool winter cover is an investment that protects a bigger investment: your pool! Spend a few extra bucks for a good cover, and spend time to do things right, along with the right winter cover accessories, and you can avoid mid-winter cover disasters! […]

  27. I have a question. I had a pool company close our above ground pool last fall. They used a brand new solid cover which has a cable fished through eyelids thats put around the perimeter. We have got some heavy rains this spring and I noticed the cover has fallen in and the cover is ripped in different spots. It has also damaged my pool. The plastic covers around the top etc are all damaged. Not sure what other damage yet as I haven’t fully inspected it. My question is. Who is responsible for the damage? I buy a cover from them and they install it. Should they have sold me a different cover? Or attached it differently. Seems ridiculous that I pay professionals good money to close and open my pool and I have to pay more to fix this. I closed my pool for first couple years with no issues. I’m new to pool world so not sure how this stuff works. Should I be compensated for anything? Thanks.

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Chris, sorry to hear about the trouble – very troubling… The pool owner is responsible to pump the rain off of the pool cover, which is what led to the problem, primarily. A small cover pump is used to remove rain water and snow melt. You maybe should have been informed of this responsibility, by the pool company, but not necessarily. If I was the business, I would help you out with a discount on a new cover, or on some other service – but they didn’t actually cause the problem. Sorry to say – hope the damage is not too severe… Be nice and sweet – it may help! 🙂

  28. Hi, I see a lot of water on top of my above ground pool, I drained some and noticed a lot of water loss in my pool. I am concerned I may have a rip in the cover as the pillow holding the cover up either burst or lost it’s air.

    • Hi, very possible – at some point pool covers rip, or otherwise fail, but always in the most inconvenient ways! Try not to stress too much, you’ll get thru it, there is light on the other side!

      The first thing to do is to try to locate the hole, then use poles or lumber, or a new Air Pillow, to elevate the hole out of the water, so the cover can be pumped off. Not so easy if the hole is located in the dead center. You can slowly push an air pillow under a ‘drowned’ cover, but in some cases won’t get too far. Running a long pole or board under the cover from pool edge to pool edge is another method to elevate the cover and locate the hole. While doing this, pull out any cover wrinkles, and while pumping off cover, pull out wrinkles, meaning pull the cover tight around the edges (as much as you can), retightening the cover cable, or adding weights to the cable (all around the edge). If nothing works to raise the cover and find the hole, then after much effort, you might just have to dump the cover (and contents) in the pool (first remove as much debris from cover as possible), and be prepared to vacuum to waste, or use a Leaf Gulper and Leaf Nets to remove the debris, then heavy filtering, good water balance, lots of pool shock… Small A/G pool filters may have trouble with severe clean-up, could take a few weeks – you may want to open the pool a few weeks earlier this year, or this weekend! As the weather continues to warm, all that pool cover gunk will create bad water conditions, when it mixes with the pool water.

  29. John wagner

    In my case I have an above ground pool 53 feet and diameter I’m concerned about the ice that’s laying in the cover will this war return back into the pool through the cover or is this outside water

    • Hi John, if you have a mesh pool cover, the water will seep back through the cover when it melts. It can look drastic when the safety cover is frozen to the pool, but it will all work out. For solid covers, used with a cover pump, once the ice melts, the cover pump will be used to remove the collected ice melt.

  30. I just purchased a home with a large kidney style salt water pool with a waterfall. The previous owner was very cheap and told me she winterized the pool. However, upon arrival the pool was only covered with a large tarp and water bags and cinder blocks. I had someone come look at it and said that for now it should be fine……

    Well this past weekend we had a bad storm, i went to check on the house (we are not living in it as we are renovating). Two sections of the tarp fell into the pool on the sides. I believe a cinder block fell in and the water bags were empty. I had planned on making everything more secure i just had not had the time. That now bit me in the backside and now im afraid of the consequences. I’ve never owned a pool before so i’m stressing out.

    I plan on buying some much more sturdier heavy pool safe pieces, the top of the tarp has a very large amount of rain water and crap on it. I plan on to get a pump to begin pumping it off. i do believe some of that water has gone into the pool and mixed.

    What should i do? Should i try to treat it now or leave be? (im in NY so i wouldnt take cover off until Late April or Early May). If i do treat now what do i use?

    • Hi

      It can happen, we say the ‘cover fell in the pool’, and a good lesson not to use cinder blocks, and certainly never on a vinyl pool. For now I would try to pull the pool cover up and out of the pool, and restabilize it. Some of the cover water will mix with the pool water, which is not good, but do what you can to avoid it. If the pool cover is too far submerged, and you just can’t seem to pull it back up (and then pump the water off of the top of the cover), then you may have to give up and dump the cover in the pool, and then re-cover the pool until warmer weather arrives.

      Add a bottle of good algaecide for now, either way, to help fight the algae, and plan to open the pool early, in April, to get a jump on things.

  31. we had a big storm in the NE this past weekend. Lots of snow and ice. my son and daughter decided to play on ice on pool cover. I have a super mesh design. I come to find out that the ice cracked under them towards pool center. I see plenty of frozen ice sheets. My concern is for the pool cover at this time. Do I assume that the ice has now damaged the cover? It is still frozen over so I can’t yet see the cover. Thanks, David

    • Hi Dagot, no worries. When the ice melts the cover will spring back up. Don’t try to break off the ice, or do anything at all. I know it LOOKS LIKE it’s going to break or rip the cover, but in most cases not. It is possible that some sharp edges of the ice damaged the mesh slightly, but I doubt it. Rest easy for now.

  32. […] in Piedmont, Oklahoma. Their pool may be in better shape than their home, unfortunately. Full story […]

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