Kiddie pool plastic how to#
There’s no one single way that’s best for everyone when it comes to how to keep the kiddie pool water clean and safe to swim in. What’s the best way to clean the kiddie pool? But how common is it for kiddie pool water to make kids sick? I couldn’t find the exact statistics for that, but in my own completely non-medical and unscientific experience, your kid is probably more endangered by the sun than by the water in the kiddie pool.īut then again, no one wants to risk explosive diarrhea or screaming earaches in the household, so it’s probably a good idea to do what you can to maintain a safe pool for everyone who swims in it. You’ve got to take the science into account, of course, and the fact that it is possible to get sick from the water. So, how safe is kiddie pool water for kids? Also: “Give children a cleansing soap shower or bath before they swim.” Um, yeah. To help ensure it doesn’t, the CDC recommends warning your children not to get pool water in their mouths. But that obviously doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen. Now, the CDC, to me, is the ultimate authority on such matters, but I’ve got to say, my sister and I swam in communal horse tanks and wash tubs and blow-up kiddie pools our whole childhood, and so has Ruby, and as far as I can recall, no swimmer’s ear, oozing rashes, or copious diarrhea ever resulted. And according to the Centers for Disease Control, the kiddie pool is positively rife with bacteria, especially if children from more than one family use it. coli! Shigella! Giarida! These germs can cause gastrointestinal, skin, ear, respiratory, eye, neurologic, and wound infections. Cue the Jaws music, and zoom in to all the microscopic monsters that lurk in the depths: Cryptosporidium! E. When I set out to write this piece, I was blissfully ignorant of the horrific dangers that lurk in the kiddie pool. I’ve done a bit of research on that front, and I’m here to share my findings with you. I’m going to keep the kiddie pool water clean and pristine. And then the kid doesn’t want to swim, and I don’t want to empty it, so it festers into a fetid pond of algae.Īnd if you’ve read my important piece on backyard mosquito control, you know that a stagnant, fetid pond of algae is an epic mosquito breeding ground.īut this year, I’m not going to make the same mistakes. But it doesn’t take long for the water to take on a slight, sickly green tint in the Nebraska heat and humidity. This kiddie pool holds a lot of water, and I do my best to keep it skimmed and clean so that we don’t have to refill it too often. Getting the last vestiges of soap and dirt out of the folds is a two-person production that usually involves Gerardo and me arguing over who has to hold the pool and who gets to spray it.
Ya can’t just flip ‘er over and spray ‘er down every time she needs cleaning. The problem with this kiddie pool is that it’s 120 inches-10 feet!-long. I haven’t had one for more than one swimming season, but the four we've gone through thus far have held up great under lots of use during that time. It’s also well-made and sturdy, and as far as I know, it’s durable. The great thing about this kiddie pool is that it’s 120 inches-10 feet!-long and 22 inches deep, and Ruby loves swimming from end to end in it.
At the end of the season, I’ll dry it out, fold it up, and store it for next year instead of furtively and guiltily dragging it to the curb, leaving behind a trail of slimy, oozing green water. Every year, I swear that this will be the last time I have to buy this particular kiddie pool for Ruby, because this year, I will dutifully keep it white ’n’ bright.