In The Swim 18 x 36 Foot Rectangle Premium Pool Solar Blanket Cover 12 Mil

It is exactly what is says it is .... one big rectangle of blue bubble wrap. I decided to write this review to share my experience, since it was pretty good. I bought the cover, stretched it over our free form pool, and then weighted the edges down around it with various patio furniture. I let it sit that way for a week to soften in the sun (which I highly recommend before cutting it, as it will stretch out slightly more).The day I put it on was a rainy, first week of May, cloud covered day here in Florida, so the pool temperature was about 78 degrees. We are all cold water wimps, so we prefer the temp up around 82 before we will swim. The day after I put the cover on the temp was 80 degrees, the day after that 82, and the third day 84. Now about 5 days later it seems to be hovering at bout 85 degrees, but we are not in the dead of summer, so no doubt it will get even warmer (though not a full "15 degrees" as some reviewers claimed, but enough that we will swim in it now sooner than we may have without the cover).Usually in the summer our pool can get up to 89-90 degrees in it's own, so I only anticipate using this cover in April/May and August/September to add a few extra months of swim time to each season. I definitely don't recommend leaving it on in summer (water gets warm enough without it) or all winter (store it for longer life), but to tack on a few extra months it is well worth it.It also came with a 7 year warranty, which is apparently not voided out if you need to cut it to size, so I would suggest getting a box cutter style razor and it cuts like butter. I stuck the razor in and simply walked the perimeter of the pool, and this thing was cut to size in under 2 minutes.**** Quick Tip: If you cut yours, try to leave enough cover to come up the sides a good 4-6 inches. I cut mine to my exact pool size, so it lays flat on the water right up to the wall all the way around, but I noticed when my in-floor cleaners kick on and the surface of the pool gets a little motion, water creeps onto the cover. Not sure if it will matter or not, but in hindsight I might have cut it a few inches larger than the pool to prevent water from getting on top of it. At $120 I am not too concerned, as if that is the case it is easy and cheap enough to order and cut another.

Having had several pools and expensive heating bills, I was extremely skeptical that this thing would do very much. Let me tell you in no uncertain terms, this solar cover is nothing short of THE TRUTH....it has surpassed my wildest dreams. We live in southern CA and have a pool that gets a good degree of sun. After a week of sunny weather in the 70's and 80's, our pool went from 65 to 90 degrees. When we have multiple days of high 90's or above weather, I have to keep the cover off during the day because it can get too warm.....I forgot two days in a row and we hit 106 degrees...what???! This thing is amazing. Our pool is now a consistent 85-92 degrees and it doesn't cost me a penny. After three months, I've noticed no deterioration of the cover. One of the best purchases I've ever made.Most Important Things You Need to Know:1. when you initially get the cover, you want to leave it on for a week or so without removing it. Heat escapes every time you uncover the pool so you want that heat to bake in and build for a solid uninterrupted week.2.Pools lose a lot of heat at night so once you get it the temperature you want it, it is critical that the pool be recovered or it will cool about 5-10 degrees per night3. Definitely buy it big and cut it to size. If you try to get away with a smaller cover, know that every inch of uncovered pool makes your cover less effective.....that's heat escaping.

The first issue is that this pool cover began to disintegrate after less than 2 years of use... like not even usable. The bubbles fall off, large chunks of the cover break off when you try to pull it over the pool... it begins to sink under the surface when enough bubbles break apart, lots of plastic in your filter and pre-filter bucket, etc.My first attempt at contacting the company to start the warranty process was an email I sent through Amazon to 'In The Swim'. The reply was a one sentence email asking me to call them back on their customer service line. When I called them, they asked for a verbal description of the problem and also asked that I take some photos and send them to their customer service department. I sent them some photos and their immediate (email) response was that the warranty is denied due to sun and chemical exposure. I'd like someone to explain to me how to use a pool cover without exposing it to some sun and some chlorine... I'm super curious. Maybe I should have just left it in the box that it came in to ensure no sun or chemical exposure. Maybe it would have lasted a few years had I tried that. Note that our pool only gets sun from about 11a - 2p daily (due to several large trees that shade our backyard). Also, I don't over chlorinate the pool or shock it. Anyway, after a few more back and forth emails where I vented my displeasure, they dug in their heels and refused to honor their misleading warranty.Their email responses were very poorly written and you could tell that they were not in any way interested in what actually may have happened to the cover (like maybe I did receive a faulty cover?). There was no empathy or general care for the customer. Also, when I used to click on the "In The Swim" link (which should take you to their Amazon Seller page), they raved about their award winning customer service. Now when you click on their Amazon Seller link, you land on a completely different company's seller page... odd, but maybe inadvertent.My neighbor bought a Sun2Solar cover from Amazon and his still looks great after about 16 months (despite him leaving it outside all winter long). I'll give that one a try and would recommend that you avoid this product to save yourself from future frustration and disappointment.