Safety is a concern for pool owners with young children at home, as well as their visiting friends. A variety of safeguards are available, including fences and alarms.

While there is no substitute for proper adult supervision, one of the best physical barriers you can put in place to boost safety is a sturdy retractable pool cover.

As retractable pool covers (aka automatic pool covers) are strong and durable, they offer the highest degree of safety when it comes to keeping people—especially children and the elderly and pets from falling in.

Get peace of mind whenever your pool is open and in use, especially important if you have young children with access to your backyard or when they are near the pool for any period without an adult around.

No one likes looking at dirty pool water or the hassle of cleaning their pool. A retractable pool cover ensures you have a cleaner swimming environment to enjoy.

The more often your pool remains covered, the less dirt you’ll have to deal with overall.

Imagine, if your pool is open for only two hours a day; that’s a fraction of the time that dirt, debris, pollen, leaves, twigs, bugs, grass clippings, and a host of other contaminants can find their way into the water.

This results in less time and effort needed for both manual and automated cleaning. You will cut the time running your retractable pool cleaner and the physical effort using a pool net to scoop out debris.

It also means less time for filtration cycles. You can run your pool pump—which powers water through the filter—much less each day. For example, if you typically run the pump eight hours, it may suffice to run it only four to six hours—saving both energy and wear on your pump.

Retractable pool covers also helps extend the lifespan of your filter. Since there will be less dirt overall for your filter media to trap, the filter operates more efficiently. You will also extend the time between filter cleanings.

That also benefits you because each cleaning causes some wear on the filter’s material so less cleanings means a longer product lifespan. Fewer cleanings save you the time and effort as well.

With children at home, a smart move is to choose a cover model that offers an on/off function that works only with a key. That way, you can keep the key to ensure control when the cover is on or off the pool.

The strength of retractable pool covers these days are extremely durable, easily supporting 2 adults and a child at one time. However, you should never use it for recreational play in any way.

Warn children that the pool cover is not a place to play. However, parents can gain some peace of mind knowing that if an accident occurs, and a child falls onto the cover, it will prevent them from getting into danger—or even getting wet.

Likewise, if you have pets that use the backyard and do not swim or do so poorly, a pool cover is a reliable means of keeping them safe as well.

Retractable pool covers are a great way to prevent water loss from your pool. According to a U.S. Department of Energy study evaporation is responsible for up to 70 percent of water loss in pools and spas.

It’s not uncommon to see anywhere from one-quarter of an inch to one-half an inch of loss per day on your pool water line. Over the course of a week, that adds up to a significant 2 to 4 inches.

If your pool’s water level seems lower than you expect it is most likely due to evaporation. There are three primary causes: high outdoor temperature, lack of humidity, and exposure to outdoor elements like sun and wind.

While it is impossible to completely control exposure to the elements an auto pool cover is a highly efficient means of taming the effects of the outdoor environment.

The pool cover material greatly reduces evaporation by blocking the heat that comes from direct sunlight on the water. It physically blocks wind that would otherwise hit the pool surface and produce water loss. Even if the air outside is very dry, a cover helps reduce the effects.

Using a well-fitted retractable pool cover can make a huge difference. One study suggests that by using one, you can cut water loss as much as 95 percent.

It can a fair amount of gas or electricity to keep a water heater or pump working to keep pool water at a comfortable temperature especially as fall and winter sets in, even if you live in an area where it stays warmer longer.

However, an auto pool cover can help extend your backyard swimming season while also saving you money. Save yourself extra energy costs when it’s chilly outside. A good pool cover helps preserve more of the warmth generated by your heater.

Water evaporation is the single biggest cause of energy loss, and as noted above, a cover can significantly cut evaporation. Even in the summer, nightfall in certain geographic regions brings a dramatic dip in temperature; in these cases, covering a pool when the sun goes down can help cut energy costs by minimizing evaporation.

As a result, a cover can lower pool heating costs by up to 70 percent, and they may save as much as 50 percent on overall electricity costs.

An retractable cover can help lower your electric bill in another way: As mentioned above, by keeping your pool cleaner, you will need to run your pool cleaner for less time—saving energy. And cleaner water means shorter filtration run times, so your pump won’t have to operate as many hours per day to circulate water through your filter. 

Traditonal mesh and solid tie-down pool covers offer many similar benefits as an automatic pool cover but they take a lot of work to roll out and put on your pool and to remove from your pool. You need to manually roll or spread them out over the water, and tie or anchor them down around your deck. To open up your pool for use, you have to drag the cover off, remove any ties or anchors from the deck, and fold and store the cover. Who wants all this hassle just to enjoy their home pool?

So, one of the greatest rewards of investing in a retractable pool cover is ultimate ease: They essentially store themselves—usually in less than a minute! Just flip a switch, and watch as the cover seals your pool. Your retractable pool cover conveniently puts itself away whenever you are ready.

It’s worth noting that convenience can lead to more regular use. Like any device, if using it requires a lot of effort, it’s human nature to use it less frequently.

By inherently being so easy to use, a retractable pool cover helps ensures you will use it as intended and a regular basis, day after day. This ensures you will spend more time enjoying your pool. Why not get maximum benefit out of your pool investment?