Need to purchase a new solar blanket for my in-ground pool since I live in Canada....I was always told that the darker the cover the more efficient it was...now the pool people are telling me that they have clear blankets and they are the hottest thing because they let the sun's rays in an traps them there thus you get more heat....what are your thoughts....anyone have a clear solar blanket?

Don't even have a pool... BUT, I use clear plastic to "solarize" my garden soil. Black just doesn't let the heat through.

In fact, here in Michigan, all I see are clear for pools.

Clear is best I believe - that is what I read on most every site. We have a clear solar blanket and seems to work fairly well. In-ground swimming pool in Canada? Wow, you must be a very popular person around mid-July!!

Wouldnt it be better to have a black colored base?

[1quote]Wouldnt it be better to have a black colored base?

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That has been the trend in the last days but now they say the darker colour only attracts the heat but does not let it through the cover into the water...where as the clear lets the rays through and then traps the heat in?

I meant a base- the liner, the concrete, whatever the pool is made from?

A clear cover with a dark base should make for a warm pool.

OK...sorry my misinterpretation of your post.....my pool has a white concrete bottom

The bottom reflects. Do they make a clear cover with a one way reflecting surface on the bottom of the cover? Sunlight could get in as heat, reflect on the bottom of the pool but be kept in by the reflective surface of the bottom of the cover.

Sunlight heats by the light waves at certain frequencies hitting objects. Certain dark colors absorb heat more or less. You could make the water 'dirtier' to absorb heat, so the cover could keep heat in reflecting from the water.

Stirring the warmed water to lower depths could make more use of the heat so it isn't radiated nor convected to the air from the warmer surface.

I wondered why some towns are named Blackpool.

I used a clear one with the diamond pattern and it worked great, better than the blue I use now, but it only lasted 2 years before the bubbles popped and it was very heavy to get off, but the clear did seem to work very well.