Have you been thinking about adding a swimming pool to your home? Having your own swimming pool at home can be a fabulous way to have fun for yourself, your family and your friends. Throughout the hot summer months nothing is more relaxing than a pool. Swimming pools most often bring to mind enjoyment, exercise and summer relaxation, but they are also a great way to enhance the value of your home.

To protect your new pool, you should consider getting a pool cover. A swimming pool cover is one of the best ways to keep debris out of your pool and protect your water. Swimming pool covers can be found in a wide range of colors, shapes, and sizes. And each different type of pool cover has a different purpose. Various types of pool covers include solar pool covers, automatic pool covers and net pool covers.

If you happen to live in a warm climate, you may only need a basic plastic pool cover to keep your swimming pool clean and reduce evaporation. A good-quality insulating pool cover can reduce heat loss by up to 50%, which will help extend your swimming season. You can also use the plastic pool cover to seal your pool for winter, protecting it from winter weather and debris. In more northerly locations, you could opt for a solar pool cover that not only protects your swimming pool, but also uses the heat of the sun to warm the water in your pool.

A net pool cover helps keep debris and leaves out of your pool water, and also acts as a safety net for non-swimmers. It also prevents unauthorized access to your pool. If safety is your primary concern, a net pool cover is a relatively inexpensive way to cover your pool and keep people and animals out of it. Solar pool covers and plastic pool covers are not considered safety covers.

Automatic pool covers provide all of the benefits of pool covers in one solution. Not only do they keep debris out of your pool and the warmth of your water in the pool, automatic pool covers are sturdy enough to support the weight of people or animals, keeping them from drowning and allowing them to move safely near the pool. They are much easier to use, because automatic pool covers extend and retract at the touch of a switch. This ease of use also makes it much more likely that you will cover your pool as often as you should. Some recommend that whenever you're not swimming in your pool, it should be covered. Automatic pool covers make this standard easily possible.

When shopping for a pool cover, here are a few things to keep in mind. The type of your pool (above-ground or in-ground) and the shape of your pool will determine what options are available for your pool cover. Make sure you review the warranty. Swimming pool covers often include a warranty of two years or more. Your pool cover should be sized properly to allow enough overlap on the sides of your pool. Your pool cover dealer may be willing to come survey and measure your pool for the correct size and type.

By the way, when you're looking for swimming pool covers, don't get confused when you find pool filter covers. These refer to small shelter-type structures that you can use to cover your pool filtration equipment, protecting it from the elements and making your pool area look nicer.

Once you have your own swimming pool at home, you won't have to use the public pool again, and you won't have to deal with the crowds or wait in long lines anymore. A swimming pool cover will insure that your maintenance is lower, the water is warmer, and the pool is safer overall.

Jeff King writes on many consumer topics. All the pool information you need can be found at Pool Supplies