Tips for Prolonging the Life of Your Above Ground Pool

The weather is warming up everywhere in the country now. It's time to haul out that pool you have stashed away in storage and fill that baby up for the kids.

I am sure most everyone has had an above ground pool for their little ones to splash around in. Ours is a three foot pool we got on sale a few summers ago. The pools I am referring to in this article are the above ground kind which are not hard and can get holes in them. I have gathered together a few tips to prolong the life of your pool.

Tip number one:

Put carpet under the pool. Not just a tarp or a soft patch of dirt. Look around on Craigslist or at your local carpet stores, for remnants big enough to put under your pool. Trust me; this is one of the biggest tips which will help prolong the life of your pool.

Tip number two:

Keep it clean: Make sure you get the chlorine pool cleaner for your pool; it will keep the green stuff from building up on the bottom and sides of your pool. If you absolutely need to you can use a tiny bit of bleach. However, there seems to be a bit of controversy about using bleach in pools. If you do this, use your trusty Google search to research what people have to say about it.

If you go to the Dollar Store and buy your kids a couple of butterfly nets, your kids can use them to clean the gunk out of the pool. My kids have a couple and I tell them to "go skim the pool." It really helps keep the filter clean.

A rug in front of the pool ladder for wiping dirt and grass off your feet also helps in keeping the pool clean.

Tip number three:

Do not let your children drag everything they own into the pool. Get a special box or a tub which you can keep beside the pool. This is where they can keep all of their pool toys.

Recently I went out to our pool and found a variety of toys, including a horseshoe inside of our pool. The next day, my son dragged a small chair into the pool. This all happened while I was outside with them and reinforces the fact that you should always monitor your children in water.

Hopefully these tips help to keep your pool clean and lasting for years to come.