Inflatable swimming pools....

my neighbour has one and seems quite happy with it, it seems strong enough to use a weed eater around

if i'm home at a reasonable hour i'll ask her about it

My friend had one that was non-inflatable but was the same concept -- not a "real" pool, just something you sit on top of your lawn and use for 3 months. It was made out of some sort of sturdy plastic stuff, but the walls were only something like 3/8 of an inch thick, no inflation going on. I'll see if I can find it, it was great.

As far as I can tell the idea of swimming is "staying alive in water." I think not.

This seems close to what they had"



Looks more expensive than the inflatables though:

http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/Products.aspx?DeptID=0&CatID=037887&Grptyp=SIZ&ItemId=0bc9024

No wonder you live in the desert, dys!

I think the ones like you posted are better, soz. I looked at a few of those. The thing is that they are harder to put up and take down and that they take up more room when disassembled. That is why I started looking at the inflatable ones.

I would love to know what your neighbor thinks of hers djjd, if you get a chance to ask her.

I saw a pool like this at Big Lots for about $70 and I've really been thinking that it might be worth a try. It has been so cold this spring that I haven't been compelled to do anything about it yet though.

A visit to Texas is looking a little doubtful for this summer and not only does that make me homesick it makes me swimsick too.

I know I've seen some amusing scenes of pools collapsing and water going everywhere on "America's Funniest videos".

Does that help at all?

$70!

Day-um!

That's quite a deal. Also not such a tragedy if a weedeater gets it, at that price.

Re: Inflatable swimming pools....

We basically have the same pool in the original post...as GW said, they will pop, I don't get near mine with the weedeater, but it seems that the chemicals in the water {or something} keeps the grass at bay on it's own, at least a few inches out. We've had this one two years now...so it lasted longer than my expected "one season pool"....and they are cheap!

The main problem we have is the kids leaning on the side...once the water begins to flow out, it will keep flowing under it's own power...especially if a kid is stuck in the flow.

It will probably come with a couple of little black things that look like miniature derby's...don't throw those away. They are for plugging the filter hose holes, {try saying that fast three times} while working on the filter.

And of course, water seeks it's own level...so make sure the ground is as flat and level as possible. The weight of the water pressing on the sides equally keeps the pool upright, so it does not take much of a slant to screw the whole thing up...even a few inches out of plane will be quite noticeable.

Good stuff to know! Thank you all.

I had not at all considered the level ground thing - assuming that the pool took the form of whatever ground it was placed upon. A bit of leveling would save some serious headache. Thanks for the heads up.

I don't think my dogs would bother it as they are old and cranky. The cat is a bit of a knucklehead and would probably want to investigate. Do they come with a cover or can you get a cover for one?

A frog ladder! I've never heard of such a thing. A fish ladder, yes, but a frog ladder? I will look into that.

I'm thinking of kind of a shallow one - certainly no more that 3 feet deep.

Was thinking of reminding folks of no diving, but it seems redundant for a 3-foot deep pool....

We had one of the noninflatable ones when I was a kid. It got great use. However, after several years of abuse it had had it. You could hear the thing creak when us kids got rowdy in it. And one day - just like some one else here said it just fell apart. It was quite funny actually - at the time we were simply just too big for the 3 and ahalf foot pool.

We have also bought in the past some of the inflatable kind - the ones a bit smaller - about 2 feet - they didn't last us more than one season - always seem to get some sort of puncture.

Those pools are fun! I can see Mo having pool parties already.

For sure, make sure the ground is level. Sand seems to do well to even out a spot.

Some of them come already with cover,pump, and accessories. You can buy kits.
This is one where you need to put chlorine in right? If yeah, it can be annoying to keep them clean (bugs, leaves, dirt). I got into the routine of skimming it every night, then put the cover on for the night.

Oh, just a thing I thought of: if you get the pool, it might be a good idea to have a policy of sorts where the kid(s) or whoever uses the pool has a shower before getting in. They can get mucked up very easy.

If you find a good spot for it (not under a tree or where things can fly in or too much wind), it should be easy as pie.

Can you child proof it. children from next door/up the raod die in backyard pools. Seriously boom dont buy one unless you can fence it.

Are there small chilren in your neighbourhood. What local or state regs apply to backyard pools in your area.

Chlorine and wet traffic will kill the grass. You will end up with a mud puddle around your pool and a muddy trail leading to it. The mud and wet grass will move inside your house by osmosis or end up at the bottom of your pool.

Keeping the ph balance and correct chlorine concentration will drive you bananas and then you have to clean the pool of dead frogs leaves and such.

My yard is completely fenced with a six foot privacy fence but there are some neighborhood kids who would want to use it. Not too many though... most of the kids around here are older and some of them have their own pools.

Mo is a pretty good swimmer and I know they make surface alarms that screech if the surface of the water is broken.

The nice thing about these kind of pools is that if they become a hassle you can deflate them and put them away.

I might go look at one today and think about it a bit more.

I know they can be dangerous but if you saw how crowded our neighborhood pool was every day during the summer a backyard pool seems safer.

I went over and looked at them this morning. The one they have for $70 is 12 feet around and 2 1/2 feet deep. It sure sounds like fun so I think I'll take it up with Mr. B.

Meanwhile.... our neighbor's friend is wanting to give us a 6 week old Dalmation puppy for free. We have two Dalmations now though.... still, a puppy! I need to play my cards very carefully!

Okay, okay, I broke down and bought one today. It is supposed to be well over 100 degrees for the next few days and we don't have air conditioning so I did it.

And it wasn't easy.

Every single store in town is sold out of pools of any shape and size. Even the little plastic pools are gone gone gone.

I ended up paying a premium at an honest to goodness swimming pool store.

I can't wait to really get to use my underwater camera!!!!!!!

I'll let you know how it goes.

My review:

These things are fab!

Our neighbor helped us get it started last night and Mo played as it filled. This morning I got up and started doing the real filling and the minute Mo got up he started playing. Then we went to his swimming lesson and had lunch (about an hour and a half) then he came home and started playing in it again. He has spent over seven hours in the water today.

Mo has always had a little bit of a problem getting his head wet and especially with going under water. The swim classes have really been helping. But what really helped is when his 7 year old "girlfriend" came by today.

Her family has a pool so I know she knows how to swim - she swims very, very good. Inspired by her and attempting to impress her Mo really got into it today and overcame all of his underwater inhabitions. By the end of the day he was dog paddling, swimming underwater and doing cannonballs off the ladder.

Girls.

Girls can get a boy to do just about anything, can't they?

Up until the day they marry one. :wink: