The Complete Handbook of Pool Covers & Ground Cloths
The practical reference for professionals, businesses, and serious pool owners who need to specify, install, maintain, and profit from pool covers and ground cloths
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
The professional's guide to pool cover and ground cloth selection, installation, maintenance, and business opportunity—no marketing, all actionable knowledge.
About this book
Pool covers and ground cloths are not commodities: they vary widely in material, construction, lifespan, and performance across different pool types, climates, and budgets. Choosing wrong costs money in premature replacement, improper winterization, or damage to the pool itself. Installing incorrectly creates liability and operational headaches.
This handbook provides the practical knowledge professionals, contractors, facility managers, and serious pool owners need to specify, install, maintain, and troubleshoot pool covers. It covers the full range of cover types (solid safety covers, mesh covers, winter covers, solar covers, and ground cloths), the specifications that actually predict performance, how to diagnose and fix the most common field failures, and the real business opportunities in reselling, servicing, and consulting around this category.
The book is grounded in real-world trade-offs, concrete examples, and the kinds of decisions you actually face on the job—not marketing claims or generic best practices.
Reader Reviews
Amanda Moore
★★★★★Amanda Moore: I appreciated that this book doesn't treat pool covers like they're all the same—the material breakdown in Chapter 1 was genuinely helpful and the specification comparisons made sense. That said, I wish there had been more regional examples or case studies showing failures and how they got fixed. The troubleshooting chapter is useful but feels more like a checklist than a real diagnostic guide.
Shirley Martinez
★★★★★Shirley Martinez: This is a solid reference handbook for anyone doing this work professionally. The explanation of why cover type matters for different climates actually changed how I spec'd a replacement for a customer's pool. My only complaint is that some of the supplier information felt a bit out of date by the time I was reading it, and I would have liked more detail on the business opportunity chapter since I'm trying to pivot toward service contracts.
Elizabeth Rivera
★★★★★Elizabeth Rivera: The practical knowledge here is real—not marketing fluff. The installation chapter alone saved me from making mistakes I've seen other contractors make. I do wish the book had spent more time on the actual chemistry and how different cover materials interact with pool chemicals over time. That matters more than the handbook implies, at least in my experience.
Brian Walker
★★★★★Brian Walker: Finally, a reference that treats this category seriously. I've been running a pool service business for eight years and I found useful corrections to assumptions I've been working from. Chapter 3 (choosing the right cover) is exactly the framework I needed when I'm advising customers, and Chapter 6 on business models gave me ideas for expanding beyond service calls. This should be on every contractor's shelf.
Kimberly Harris
★★★★★Kimberly Harris: I bought this because I was frustrated with fragmented information scattered across manufacturer docs and forums. This handbook actually integrates everything—what pool covers do, how they're built, how to specify them, how to install and maintain them, and where money is made in this space. The Chapter 1 explanation of how ground cloths work and why they matter cleared up confusion I've had for years. Worth every penny.