Tarps for Africa are amazing and you shouldn't even look elsewhere.

Some reviews are done immediately, like restaurant reviews before the food poisoning kicks in. Some need a bit of time to make sure it's working. TL;DR: Tarps for Africa are amazing and you shouldn't even look elsewhere.

I bought a new place and have young kids. They can swim, but dislike me throwing them in the pool unexpectedly. The pool is also not closed off, so if other people come and visit, it's always a worry.

I got tons of quotes from a LOT of companies. The cheapest I got was very little below Tarps for Africa. I chatted to all the installers and decided to go with Tarps for Africa because they were really well priced and Mark is the kind of guy you want to invite over for a braai and a few beers. He knew his stuff and didn't push me in any direction.

It all started with a request on one of the social media sites at an unGodly hour. I got a call the first thing the next morning by Mark and he listened to my requirements, went through all the options with me and suggested the best solution for my needs. Next thing I know, Andre was here and measured my pool so they could quote me properly and they can custom make our cover. I got the quote, compared it, accepted it and within a few days Andre was back to install the cover. Andre was a pro! He didn't skip a beat when he got here and had the cover installed in no time. Such a great guy as well.

On to the meat... how is the cover?. I went for the pool cover with the poles that you can walk on. I can't remember what it's called. Our pool heater, that was probably bought second hand from Fred Flintstone, managed to heat our pool in this freezing weather by around 1 degree a day with the cover on. It was losing heat before we installed the cover. I got it up to around 24 degrees (when it's maxing out at 16 degrees outside) and decided that my even if people were going to swim, they probably shouldn't because they'd need to actually get out of the pool, so I switched it off. It took a while for the water to cool down. Longer than I expected. This cover keeps heat in! After realising that I need to keep unclipping it to check the temperature, and being a lazy sod, I eventually got a wireless thermometer. The pool is now at 12 degrees. Maintanence on the pool has also dropped a lot. Less water has evaporated. I use less chemicals. I spend less time cleaning it. Win. Win. Win. To top it off, it's school holidays and my kids were roaming the grounds (they were outside) and my biggest concern about the little one playing ON the pool cover was that she got her socks wet. A quick sock change and all was good again. No worries about unauthorised swimming and the associated hypothermia that was last experienced by Jack when Rose wouldn't let him on the door.

It's been a month. Winter in Joburg is characterised by hardly any rain and a lot of sunshine. The cover still looks like new. Granted, I clean the cover when I clean the pool, but still.

If you need a pool cover, don't want to spend a lot of money, like working with cool people who know what they're doing, like a smooth quick process and want a safe pool... go with Tarps for Africa. I promise you that you won't be disappointed.