Best Investment for Summer Fun

Would you like to know the secret to a summer full of fun for the whole family for under $150? The best investment you can make this summer that will please the whole family is a large above ground Intex pool. For under $100, you can purchase a 12 foot diameter, 42′ deep pool that comes with a very efficient pump that that cleans the pool and a ladder to get in and out of the pool Intex pools are virtually no-brainers to set up. For an extra $25, you can buy a solar cover and pool skimmer. Filling the pool will cost around $15 for water (rough estimate).

The top of the pool consists of an inflatable ring which keeps the pool in balance. As the pool fills, the inflatable ring rises with water keeping the sides level. The pool comes with a set up DVD but there are some pragmatic details that are missing from the instructions. Follow this guide for low maintenance summer fun. Here are several tips to keep your pool safe, fun and hassle-free.

First, select a piece of grass or concrete for your pool. Concrete makes smoother bottom, but children may hurt themselves more easily. Grass is softer, but the pool will kill the grass. Select a spot in the open and not under trees. This will keep the pool cleaner. Whichever you choose, be sure to smooth away all sharp objects, twigs, rocks, etc to prepare the surface. Lay a tarp down and place the pool on top of the tarp. This will protect the bottom of the pool.

To fill the pool, inflate the ring, spread the pool base out smooth. Don’t over-inflate, especially if you are filling the ring on a cool dry day. Warm humid air expands and may burst your pool ring. As always the instructions make pool set up look easier than it actually is. That’s basically because the pool you will be filling has been squashed into a box and is wrinkled. This makes it somewhat more tedious to get all the wrinkles out of the base. And you want a wrinkle free base in your pool. To make the job easier, you can set the pool in the sun to warm the plastic and make it easier to smooth. If you have a yard full of children eagerly waiting to swim, you can begin to fill the pool immediately, while doing what I call I call ‘walking out the wrinkles’. As the the pool fills, have everyone walk to the edge and around the base smoothing out the wrinkles.

Insert the garden hose into the base of the pool and begin to fill. This can be used to drain the pool by inserting a disconnected hose and the adapter it comes with. This way, you can divert the water to your garden or flower bed. When the water reaches a certain level in filling, the pressure will force the hose out. Remove the hose and place it over the side of the pool to continue filling. Keep an eye on the hose to make sure that it is filling the pool and hasn’t fallen out.

It isn’t necessary to buy expensive pool filters, cleaners or algae reducers. Simply add two cups of bleach, one for each 1000 gallons of water. Use the pump filter regularly to clean the water. For a small filter these pool filters work quite well. Don’t discard the filter, simply rinse the dirt out with your hose sprayer or kitchen sink spray nozzle. Place a bucket or pan near the pool and make everyone rinse their feet before they get in the pool. Skim out the pool daily. There is no need to empty the pool till fall, if you follow these techniques. You can add a little water occasionally. Remove the ladder and cover the pool each night. This will keep your pool clean and others safe.

For under $150, water included, you will have fun for the whole family all summer long!