Summer season is coming in just a few months, which means that you should start preparing right now, especially if you have a pool in your yard. Taking care of your pool is not the easiest thing to do, especially given the limited time we have. Luckily, you can at least maintain it clean for longer using pool covers.

These inexpensive products will not only keep the contaminants out of your pool, but the best of them will also let the sun rays warm up the water because nobody likes the chills when entering a cool one. A solar pool cover will also limit the evaporation of water, which saves money in the long run.

But, with all the options on the market, which solar pool cover is the best for your needs? The answer is not very straightforward, as most of us have different needs. Here we will have a look at the most popular options – clean and blue solar pool covers to see which one is the best and why.

Why Does the Color of the Solar Pool Cover Make a Difference?

That’s easy – different colors absorb different amounts of daylight, right? Yes, they do, but that’s not the whole story. For example, black absorbs the biggest amount of light and heat from the sun rays, but it doesn’t let the sun rays reach the water in the pool. In other words, if the solar pool cover is black, it will become very hot if left in the sun, but the water will remain cold.

That’s why manufacturers of pool covers use different colors, with clear and blue being the favorites. Between them both, clear pool covers will let more sunlight and heat into the pool, thus heating it faster, but part of the sun rays will also escape back. Blue solar pool covers, on the contrary, let fewer sunrays into the pool, but less of them will escape it.

Besides, clear covers will let the sun rays go deeper into the water, while the blue ones will only warm the upper parts.

Which One is the Better Choice?

Clear covers are the best choice for most people. There are several reasons for that, but mainly it is the way they heat the water in the pool. With clear solar pool covers the water will be heated in the shortest amount of time and more evenly as well.

Blue solar pool covers are cheaper than clear covers and that’s their biggest advantage. They are still very good at warming the water in your pool, especially if you live in areas that have over 8 hours of sunlight. Some people also like the blue color more because it looks like water.

If you’re willing to spend a little more, there are hybrid pool covers available, translucent on the top and silver on the bottom (there are also blue/black combinations available).

These covers will let almost as many sun rays inside as a clear cover, but they will also limit the amount of sunlight escaping the pool.