Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself, your background and GLI Pool Products.

GC Responds: I grew up in the swimming pool business. My father worked in a steel mill and installed swimming pools as a sideline during the summer. I followed him around on job sites since I was ten years old. After college I decided to make it my profession. I eventually became president of a public company in the swimming pool business for 18 years before buying a division of the company with a partner and taking it private. That is how GLI Pool Products was born.

Q: Fall is pool cover time. Please tell about the origins of the swimming pool safety cover for GLI Pool Products?

GC Responds: In 1988 I saw the growing trend toward ensuring the safety of ones family, friends and pets. At the time we were the largest manufacturer of non-secured winter pool covers in the world. It felt good to introduce a product (safety pool covers) that not only protected loved ones, but also aesthetically enhanced the backyard environment.

Q: What are the benefits to the homeowner using a safety cover vs. a traditional winter pool cover for an in ground pool?

GC Responds: Aside from the visual advantage of a custom tailored safety cover stretched tautly across the swimming pool, safety covers owners also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing the swimming pool is protected from accidental intrusion when the safety cover is on. The safety covers are more cost effective over time as well. Their long life expectancy enables them to outlive several rounds of traditional winter pool covers.

Q: I have had people ask if they could use a "stock" cover on non-stock size pool. Is this an acceptable practice?

GC Responds: I wouldn't recommend this. The safety covers are manufactured to exacting dimensions in order to comply with safety standards. Attempting to put a stock safety cover on a custom shaped or sized pool brings several factors into play. The safety cover overlap may not be sufficient in certain areas to maintain the standards, and in other areas, an improperly sized safety cover may overlap too much into grassy areas or flower beds where it cannot be properly anchored.

Q: Please discuss 5' x 5' strapping vs. 3' x 3' strapping and the proper uses of each?

GC Responds: The question you ask refers to the width in the cross grids of strapping. 5' x 5' strapping is used on symmetrically even safety covers with reasonably smaller square footages which do not entail too many custom dimensions. This helps keep the cost of safety cover material lower. Once an application grows in square footage and takes on more complicated design, it is necessary to produce the safety cover in a tighter grid, 3' x 3' sections, to ensure a proper fit.

Q: Please discuss your custom safety cover operations? GC Responds: GLI Pool Products is located in a shinny new complex in sunny, romantic Youngstown, OH. We have 125 dedicated employees, many of whom have tenure dating back to our first safety cover operation in 1988. Once you visit Youngstown, you never want to leave....

Q: In the last couple of years your company has introduced a couple of safety cover innovations. Would you discuss why and how you developed the , Hyperlite solid safety cover and the , Sur-Flow solid safety cover?

GC Responds: Algae and bacteria always find their way into any body of water, including a swimming pool, and they become dormant in the Frost Belt during the winter. However, once it warms up in the spring, before the kids recess for the summer and before the pool cover comes off, photosynthesis takes place on an uncovered swimming pool or one with a conventional mesh safety cover. We all know what that means! Solid safety covers have grown in popularity because they completely block sunlight from entering the swimming pool. The Hyperlite solid safety cover is not only solid, it is made from a lightweight, high performance fabric that is easier to handle and lasts longer. We put a Sur-Flow drain down the center of the safety cover to keep water off the top.

Q: What are the benefits to the consumer purchasing a GLI Pool Products safety cover vs. other manufacturers?

GC Responds: Craftsmanship and stability. It is hard for a company in a small segment of the economy to gain consumer recognition. What I want to know when I buy an expensive product that is supposed to last a decade or more is that it is going to fit the first time I put it on the swimming pool, and that they company that built it is going to be there for the duration of the products life in the event I need them. I have just described our company.

Q: Do GLI safety covers meet all current coast guard/government codes?

GC Responds: Yes. Swimming pool safety covers are covered under ASTM standard F1346-91. Each brand of our safety covers are tested for compliance.

Q: Which safety cover do you have on your pool and why?

GC Responds: Please understand that no GLI employees swimming pool is spared from constant testing. We make a variety of products beside pool safety covers , so one will witness different Dirt Devil pool vacuums scurrying about our pools, different liner patterns being tested and photographed, you name it. My swimming pool had a Pro-Mesh safety cover on it last season, and I liked it. Drained nicely, carried the snow load well, and the water was clear this spring. This year, who knows what I'll find out there. I wonder if Ferrari dealers have this issue, never knowing what is going to be in the garage?

Q: Any 'inside' installation tips?

GC Responds: Invite your father-in-law over for Sunday dinner and ask him if he is interested in a little "project" you are considering! Seriously, it is all well detailed in the instructions. Read them through once before starting the operation, and you will be fine. Once the safety cover is measured properly for manufacture, the hard part is done.