Frequently Asked Questions

The key differences between Guard and Standard materials are in covers lifespan and performance once the cover is fitted.

The Guard products have been designed and independently tested to ensure that they meet a particular need for the pool owner, whether that be heating or cooling the pool water, or preventing algae growth. By meeting these needs, the product pays for itself in chemical and energy savings within one year of use.

The Guard range has a tailored stabilizer package which allows a lifespan of 8 years or more. Providing a significant increase in the product’s useful life compared to a standard material’s 4 year+ life span.

The most significant difference in terms of colour is whether the cover is opaque or translucent.

A pool with an opaque cover will mean that you use less chemicals – algae require light for photosynthesis, an opaque cover (like our Opaque Blue/Black material) will prevent this light from entering the pool.

On the other hand, a translucent cover like our Sol+Guard™ will provide maximum solar gains to the pool water allowing it to heat the pool evenly.

Dark / opaque materials which absorb the light and re-emit this energy as heat to the surface of the pool will help raise the pool’s temperature. However, water is an excellent absorber of heat (IR light) which means this heat will be retained within the top surface of the pool only.

A translucent material can heat the water evenly and more efficiently resulting in greater temperature gains.

If you wish to keep the pool cool, an opaque material with a highly reflective top surface, like our CoolGuard™ Ultra material is needed to shade the pool and reflect away the sun’s energy keeping the pool water at a cooler, more refreshing swimming temperature.

A pool cover should be installed on the pool whenever the pool is not in use.

For optimum savings on water, power, and chemical consumption, a swimming pool cover should only be removed when the pool is actually in use.

Always fully remove the cover when swimming, and never swim under the cover. Children should be supervised in the pool area at all times.

You should always re-cover the pool immediately after use. You’d be surprised at how quickly water and heat are lost! When shock dosing the pool or the pool chemicals fall out of balance the cover should be removed and installed back on the pool when chemical levels have returned to balance. Failing to do so will result in bleaching and damage to the cover. See more at Who Killed the Cover?

As long as the pool is covered you will see a considerable reduction in running costs and preserve the water resource. Evaporation control will dramatically reduce the pool’s energy and resource consumption.

Selecting the right cover for you, is about picking the material that will meet your desired outcomes and provide the highest saving for you. 

If you wish to reduce heating costs, increase pool temperatures and stretch the swimming season, opt for a clear cover to allow as much light/heat through as possible. Sol+Guard™ would provide the highest performance for you.

If you wish to reduce chemical consumption and make the pool easier and less time consuming to maintain, EnergyGuard™ Selective Transmission would be the best cover for you.

EnergyGuard™ Selective Transmission is also the best choice for algae control. While still providing significant temperature gains. This will save on chemicals and allow for a chemical – and filtration- free shut down or hibernation period without an outbreak of algae.

In a warm, tropical climate where the pool owner wants the water kept refreshing enough to swim in, opt for a highly reflective cover such as CoolGuard™ Ultra. This material reflects the heat away from the pool mitigating heat gains maintaining the water at a comfortable swimming temperature.

All the above-mentioned covers have a range of other benefits. Visit our Products page or download the brochures here, or see our ‘Selecting the right cover’ blog.

Follow the chemical level guidelines below to maintain a healthy pool and achieve the maximum cover lifespan. When shock dosing (super chlorinating) the swimming pool, or if the pool goes out of balance, always remove the cover from the pool to prevent excessive chemical degradation.

We continuously test our products and develop improved materials that allow for a longer lifespan.

The following expected lifespans have been determined by testing our products on control / test pools with chemical levels that are consistent with the recommended industry standards.

Standard Materials:

High performance materials: 

Products using the GeoBubble™ technology have a 25% longer lifespan than the traditional bubble designs.

A reflective storage sheet protects from heat damage, protecting the covers longevity, aesthetics and overheating.

A pool cover is designed to allow heat through the cover and insulate the pool. When folded or on a reel system in direct sunlight heat can build quickly.

Once the material reaches its Vicat softening point (90°C), the material goes into its rubbery phase. If left to cool in this position, it will set to this new shape.

To prevent this, the reflective cover is an opaque sheet that shades the cover preventing overheating, until it’s ready to go back on the pool.

Your cover should always be placed on the pool bubble down.

This is not required for functionality and the use of hems is purely an aesthetic choice. A pool cover without a hem performs in exactly the same way as a hemmed cover does.

Other accessories such as Leading Edges and Reel Systems are useful additions to ease the installation and removal of a cover.

To receive the maximum performance from a pool cover with GeoBubble™ technology, you should ensure the cover is installed on the pool whenever the pool is not in use.

When in use or when the pool chemicals are outside of the industry recognised balance (2 to 4ppm free chlorine) such as when shock dosing the pool. It is important to store the cover out of direct sunlight or under a reflective storage sheet to prevent overheating and damage to the cover.

Our material has a 2% shrinkage rate in the materials length. This is due to the nature of the polymer used in the manufacturing of the material and is a natural occurrence on all bubble cover materials.

When shaping the final pool cover, it is important to take this into account by adding 2% to the length of the material to ensure a good fit once the cover has settled.

Yes. All GeoBubble™ materials are manufactured from a blended LLDPE, LDPE formulation. As such, it is classified under the recycling code LDPE 4. This mark can be found on the material’s weld edge and the material should be recycled accordingly.