How To Use A Winter Cover Air Pillow

One of the most important products you can buy to close your swimming pool is a winter cover air pillow. They protect your pool from being damaged by ice and rain. Let me explain…

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If You DON’T Have An Air Pillow In Your Above Ground Pool

You simply lay your winter cover over your swimming pool.  Soon, it will rain causing all the water to collect on your cover and pull towards the middle. The middle becomes heavy, thus pulling the cover in, which is attached to your walls, which are also pulling in. Unless you keep on top of draining the water off the top of your cover, you could run into this problem.

During the winter months, your pool water will freeze. When water freezes, it expands putting pressure on the sides of the pool wall.  This could cause the walls to crack and/or completely collapse your pool. Don’t laugh, this happened to me.

If You DO Have An Air Pillow In Your Above Ground Pool

The air pillow creates pockets around the sides where the rain will collect. It makes a more tedious draining process, but it protects your cover from pulling on the walls of your pool.

When the water in your pool freezes, the air pillow absorbs the expansion allowing your walls to not feel the pressure.

For more information read: How To Close Your Above Ground Swimming Pool

In conclusion, the only thing you need is a pump to blow it up. Try to keep the pillow in the middle of the pool if you can. If not, it’s ok. It doesn’t matter where the pillow sits. If you want it to sit in the middle, I would suggest tying a string at both ends and attaching it to the walls of your pool (see picture below).