Gearhead Mom

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Family Swim Time

Posted by Gwen R. @ 7:47 AM

My sister has a big backyard and when the heat started to kick in, she splashed out on a 12 foot inflatable pool for the backyard. Thanks for the review, sis!

At the beginning of summer, we needed to devise a system to keep cool without continually running the sprinklers in the backyard. Our six year old is a bit too big to just hang out in a kiddie pool and the local pool doesn’t exactly cater to our hours. Enter the Intex 12 foot inflatable pool. Kids of all ages – and even their parents – can get in and get wet. Our six year old can get in there and do laps, meanwhile the whole family can get in and go underwater enough to be refreshed on a hot day. It is a wonderful option for those of us who desperately want a ‘real’ pool but only have a small space.

Maintenance isn’t substantial but must be done.  When we first got it and only had tap water in it we got a pretty impressive layer of mossy green stuff all over.  A quick trip to the pool guy down the block and we were in business with a skimmer and a floating chlorine tablet system that floats in a little bobber thing - plus a bottle of shock to get rid of the moss. Of course, if you started with the chlorine, you wouldn’t have to do this step! They also sell covers for the pool, but we don’t use one since it encourages moss. The pool is tall enough that low-lying critters cannot climb in for a dip very easily at night. So far we have had no problems in that area.

The pool guy also told us that the filters on all these pools are too small. The 12-foot version that we have holds something like 530 gallons of water. The little pump isn’t quite up to it unless you run it around the clock (which we don’t). So we try to run it as often as possible (manage about 6 hours a day in the summer) and the water stays really clean. Added bonus, the kids think it is great fun using the skimmer to get leaves and bugs out! You need to change the filter every two to three weeks, they are about $10.00 at Target or online. If you treat the water and take care of it, you can keep the same water in the pool all summer long. We only add water once a week and that’s after some seriously rambunctious play.

If you don’t have a huge patio, you have to be willing to sacrifice some grass. The way the pool is designed really does require a flat surface; our back yard is Mostly flat and it works fine. You need to use some sort of ground cover. They sell ground covers for the pool, but you can use any tarp you have.

Overall the pool is an ingenious system. It was relatively easy to install. I was afraid because it seemed like it would be a lot to blow up, but that part was actually simple because all you inflate is the very top ring. The sides are a thick, durable plastic that are held up by the top inflated ring that literally floats on top of the water as you fill the pool. All in all, a great summer investment.

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