Keep Your Winter Cover in Place with Pool Water Tubes

Winterizing your swimming pool can be a long process. It may be easy to skip steps or assume that certain aspects of the procedure are less necessary than others. Just as important as doing everything the way it should be done is making sure that you use the correct equipment.

Many swimming pool owners will try and cut corners (and avoid a few extra steps) by using cinder blocks, bricks, boards, or coffee cans filled with pebbles (seriously) to hold down their winter pool covers. While these may be the right weight to keep covers from blowing off in any impending windstorms, they can also be hazardous. If anyone were to fall into the pool, it would bring those heavy objects in from the edges of the pool, causing harm to the person falling in or puncturing the pool liner. If you’re using pool water tubes, if someone fell in the pool when it is covered, the water tubes won’t sink and will give them a greater chance of making it out.

Using Water Tubes

Inappropriate objects that people use to hold down their covers usually have sharp corners that create tears in pool covers over the course of a season. Your best option for keeping your cover on and not causing undue damage in the process is to purchasing swimming pool water tubes. Not only do they work well by keeping your cover in place, but they aren’t hard on the cover itself, and are by far the safest option you have as a pool owner.

Swimming pool water tubes are made from a durable, heavy-duty vinyl that is meant to handle freezing temperatures and the elements. They are meant to sit on the edges of the pool cover to keep it in place, even during brutish wind storms or heavy rain/snowfall. The vinyl that makes up the tubes are also commonly treated with UV inhibitors to keep the vinyl from breaking down in addition to anti-bacterial and anti-fungals to keep the water from developing *ahem* unwelcome residents. The seams and valves are specially manufactured to not leak and are meant to survive multiple winters, even in freezing temps.

We carry a variety of kinds of water tubes/weights in different sizes and orientations. They have a large valve so that a garden hose can be used to fill them. Depending on your climate/weather where you live, you may need to purchase enough to line up around your pool. Some pool tubes have dual chambers while others are single. Some manufacturers (like Swimline) make corner pieces, others just improvise around the edges of their pool. No matter what you go with, just make sure the cover is lined up and held down and you should withstand the winter with no problems.

Setup for Your Winter Cover

Installation is a breeze with water tubes . If your pool cover comes equipped with water tube loops around the edge, use the single channel tubes and attach them to the cover. Covers without those ties are generally more compatible with double channel tubes or cover blocks.

If you have a garden hose that will reach, place the water tubes around the perimeter of the pool cover, 18” apart AT THE MOST. If you have enough you should place the water weights end to end to avoid any possible wind damage.

Bring over the hose and insert it directly into the tube. ONLY fill the tubes 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Because water expands as it freezes, it will need the extra room inside to grow so that the tubes won’t burst before they see spring.

You can add a small amount of pool antifreeze to the water inside the tube to help prevent possible freeze damage.

If you have a large bird population in your back yard, they may tend to poke holes in the tubes themselves. If this is the case, try out cover blocks as an alternative.

Other than that, you’re all set! A pretty painless set-up process will leave your pool protected and easier to get ready in spring.