Protect Your Pool: 3 Important Reasons to Keep It Covered
Roldeck the Rolls Royce of pool covers worldwide
Keeping You and Your Pool Safely Covered
Kathryn Alexander talks to Caryn Formby about pool safety and PowerPlastic’s solid safety covers, and why you should keep your pool covered.
Your swimming pool will never be safe if the cover is not on the pool! Perhaps this sounds obvious, but sadly, for many pool owners who own safety nets and safety covers, the effort involved in covering and uncovering their pool often means that the cover is not used at all. Often the opposite applies, and the pool remains covered during our best weather, leaving the pool owner and family feeling slightly cheated because they don’t use the pool!
Why does this happen?
According to Caryn Formby of PowerPlastics, the most common reason people give is that most safety covers use a system of hooks and eyelets which require the hook to be connected into an eyelet or base plate which is sunken into the coping or decking.
“As the cover is placed over the pool, it becomes progressively more difficult to create sufficient force to connect the hooks into place. This is because the cover will need to be reasonably tight in order to be safe. Typically, after connecting two thirds of the hooks, the remaining one third take on the proportions of a gym workout.
“In response to this feedback from the marketplace, PowerPlastics has developed what we call the Solid Safety Cover to keep your pool covered. The cover is made from PVC and is designed with strong lightweight aluminium poles as part of the cover. These poles lie across the coping at regularly spaced intervals. One end is attached to the coping of the pool, allowing the cover to be deployed by simply pulling it across the pool. Once the cover is across the pool, with the poles resting on the coping or decking, the cover is drawn tight using a ratchet device. This device allows the cover to be made secure without the need for brute strength. This offers the pool owner a number of advantages.”
Why You Should Keep Your Pool Covered
Caryn outlines the advantages of the new system that helps pool owners like you safely keep your pool covered.
“Firstly, the cover can be successfully placed over the pool, and removed by two people with very little effort. This is good news for moms at home with children who want a quick swim.
“Secondly. the deployment and removal of the cover is far less time-consuming than having to connect multiple hooks and eyelets.
“Thirdly, the cover may be totally removed and stored elsewhere, without leaving behind numerous empty eyelets or base plates as part of the surrounds of the pool.”
According to Caryn, the solid safety cover has become very popular over the past year. It has also proven its ability to carry weight far greater than that of a child or a pet.
She says that it is advisable to opt for drainage holes when buying a solid cover. These holes allow rain water (or irrigation water from the garden) to flow into the pool itself. If you don’t have drainage holes, the water may collect in the middle of the cover, effectively creating a pool on top of the cover itself. This in itself could be a danger to young children, babies and small animals.
PowerPlastics advises installing their solid safety cover where the pool length is no greater than eight to ten meters and the width no more than five meters. While it is extremely effective, the cover design is not suited to all pool shapes. Smaller pools can have the cover fitted to a rollup station making the cover easier to use.
Another pool safety cover manufactured by PowerPlastics is the fully automatic Roldeck.
“The Roldeck can carry 50 kilograms per square meter, so it prevents children, pets and small animals from entering the pool when left unattended or closed for long periods of time,” says Caryn. “Further safety features may be added to the cover such as safety locks that make it impossible to open the cover without a key or remote.”
Regarded as the Rolls Royce of pool covers, the Roldeck adds style and appeal to the pool and entertainment area. It is operated by a remote control and is silent.
Made from floating laminated PVC slats and available in blue, white, grey and translucent blue, the Roldeck slats float across the surface of the water while the roller itself is installed in a concealed recess within or alongside the pool.
“Operation is beautifully soundless and the cover may be activated from a fixed station or by a remote hand held device. When it is open, the cover disappears from sight and yet, when closed, it keeps the pool covered completely and can be locked into place, making it absolutely safe. The slats will prevent evaporation while retaining heat in cases of heated pools. An imported product, the Roldeck price rightfully reflects its quality and excellence and places it amongst the best covers in the world.”
PowerPlastics is a Cape Town-based company with showrooms in Johannesburg. They specialize in the manufacture and installation of a wide variety of pool covers and leaf nets. PowerPlastics are members of the NSPI.
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