Here’s Why You Should Try It!
Every year, early in the spring, I have the same conversation with many of my pool customers. It typically starts with a witty remark about the weather, moves on to a debate about when the summer will ever get here, includes a brief reminisce about last summer (“It was great! We didn’t close the pool until November!”) before moving on to how much money they spent on heating their pool last year. No one (except the very brave and very young) really enjoy doing the polar plunge, so many of our pool owners use a heater powered by natural gas, propane, electricity or solar energy. Just about every pool owner I speak to wishes they could lower their heating costs and still maintain a comfortable water temperature.
To keep more heat in the pool water, it was traditionally recommended by pool experts that you use a solar blanket, or the blue bubble cover that when placed over the surface of the pool will help prevent the evaporation of warm water when the temperatures cool (typically at night). Some people will leave their solar cover on during the day, every day, in an attempt to heat the water, but manufacturers recommend removing the cover during the day to prolong its usable life. Leaving the cover on all day when it is sunny, along with high chlorine levels, is why most solar blankets only last two or maybe three seasons (even when they claim to have a five year warranty).
But the problem many of my customers have is that they simply do not use their solar blanket. Even with a roller system, most solar covers are too big and awkward for one person to put on the pool, and it is just one more chore that no one has the time for. So what is the alternative?
In recent years, we have been recommending liquid solar blanket products to our customers. Liquid solar blanket is a biodegradable product that you add to the pool water which forms a very thin and virtually unnoticeable layer on the water’s surface that prevents evaporation. Most brands are alcohol based, but different companies use different formulas which all work in a similar way. Originally, they were most popularly sold as “solar fish” or “solar pills” or some other mode of slow dispense monthly product, but more recently we have seen the product promoted in bottles to be added weekly or through a permanently installed dispensing system that conveniently adds a little bit of product to the pool every day.
The biggest benefit to these products is that they are EASY. Unlike blankets, these products are not awkward, or time consuming, or messy, or dirty looking. They are safe to use and inexpensive to purchase. They do not take up precious space on your deck like a roller system, so you will have a clean and open deck space to show off to your friends and family when they come for a swim. There are so many benefits, but what about product downfalls?
Many people question the effectiveness of liquid solar products, and I agree that a solar bubble blanket can be more effective at retaining heat in your pool, but only if you actually remember to use it! Liquid solar blanket requires far less effort to use and provides a lower cost of operation. Once you add the product to the water, it will be there working to reduce heat loss 24 hours per day until it biodegrades. The time savings are significant when you compare adding liquid blanket once per week (or a lot less often if you use an automated dispensing system) to maneuvering your solar blanket on and off every day as recommended by the manufacturers.
For most people, a solar blanket is not going to be effective simply because they don’t have the time for it. And for anyone concerned about your heating bills, I suggest you give these products a try because it just might reduce your heating bills (and your complaints!) a little bit more than expected.
