Best Pool Leaf Nets and Covers

What a leaf net is, and is not

A leaf net is a mesh sheet that lies on top of your winter cover. It is not a winter cover, it is not a safety cover, and it holds no water back. Its single job is to catch the season's leaves so that when you lift it in spring, they come with it.

Without one, leaves land on the solid cover, rot into a slurry, and go into the pool the instant you pull it. That is the single most common reason a pool is green on opening day - and it is entirely preventable for the cost of one net that lasts years.

Sizing, which is where most of them fail

Mesh aperture, and the trade behind it

Mesh has to be fine enough to hold leaves and coarse enough to pass rain and snowmelt. A net that ponds water is a net that will tear under the load, so the coarser side of that trade is deliberate rather than cheap.

0.15 inch is the aperture two of the products below publish, and it sits about right: it holds a maple or oak leaf and drains freely. Most listings say nothing at all, which is why the ones that print a number are worth noticing.

Pine needles beat every one of them

A pine needle is narrow enough to pass through any mesh that still drains, which means there is no leaf net on the market that will stop them. This is a real limitation and it is worth stating plainly rather than letting you find out in April.

If you are under conifers, the useful measures are different: prune what overhangs, keep skimmer socks in year round, and accept that the spring clean-up is a leaf vacuum job rather than a lift-and-carry one.

The picks

Top pick - Sizing over an existing winter cover

Blue Wave BWC564 Rectangular Leaf Net Cover, 20 ft x 40 ft

A leaf net sits over your winter cover and gets dragged off in one piece, taking the whole leaf load with it.

The published figure

20 ft x 40 ft mesh leaf net for in-ground pools

A leaf net is not a winter cover. It goes on top of one, and the point is that it comes off cleanly in spring while the leaves are still on it.

Without one, a winter's leaves sit on the solid cover, rot, and slide into the pool the moment you pull it — which is the single biggest cause of a green pool on opening day.

Size it larger than the pool, not to the pool. It has to overlap the cover beneath it.

What it does well

• Removes an entire season of leaves in one lift
• Directly prevents the opening-day bloom
• Reusable for years if stored dry

What it costs you

• One more thing to install and store
• Only useful on pools that get closed for a winter

Skip it if you run your pool year round — a net over an uncovered pool is not the same job.

Check price on Amazon

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Pick 2 - Published mesh aperture

Yankee Pool Leaf Net Cover, 20 ft x 40 ft, heavy duty

One of the few leaf nets that publishes its mesh aperture, which is the number that decides what it actually stops.

The published figure

0.15 in mesh, stated on the listing

0.15 inch mesh is fine enough to hold ordinary leaves and coarse enough to let rain through without ponding.

That is the trade every leaf net makes, and most listings simply do not tell you where they sit on it. A net that ponds water is a net that fails under the weight.

Pine needles go through 0.15 inch mesh. If you are under pines, this is not the fix.

What it does well

• Publishes the mesh aperture rather than saying 'fine mesh'
• Passes rain without ponding at that aperture

What it costs you

• Pine needles pass straight through
• Rectangular only

Skip it if your trees are conifers. Needles defeat every mesh size that still drains.

Check price on Amazon

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Pick 3 - Smaller rectangular pools

Legigo Pool Leaf Net Cover, 18 ft x 36 ft

The size that actually fits an 16 x 32 pool with the overlap a leaf net needs.

The published figure

18 ft x 36 ft heavy duty mesh, for above-ground and in-ground

The commonest sizing mistake is buying a net the same nominal size as the pool. A net has to overlap the cover beneath it and be anchored outside the coping.

For a 16 x 32 pool, an 18 x 36 net gives a foot of overlap on every side, which is the minimum that works.

Buy larger and fold, never smaller and stretch.

What it does well

• Correct overlap for the common 16 x 32 pool
• Rated for both above-ground and in-ground use

What it costs you

• Too small for a 20 x 40 pool
• Rectangular only

Skip it if your pool is 20 x 40 or larger. Size up rather than stretching this one.

Check price on Amazon

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Installing one so it does its job

1. Fit it over the winter cover, not directly on the water.
2. Anchor it outside the coping using the grommets and rope supplied, tight enough that wind cannot lift a corner.
3. Check it after the first heavy fall. A net sagging into the cover is holding a load it should be shedding.
4. Lift it before the leaves are wet and frozen into it, if you can - a dry lift is dramatically easier than a wet one.
5. Rinse and dry it fully before storage. A net stored damp is a net you replace next year.

What we could not verify

Published mesh aperture for one of the three products here, and material weight or denier for any of them. Two listings state 0.15 inch mesh and we have quoted exactly that. Where a figure is not published we have said so rather than estimating it from a photograph.