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How to Keep a Wading Pool Clean

A wading pool is a popular and convenient outdoor place in which your kids can beat the heat while remaining relatively safe from the hazards of larger bodies of water. Cleaning your wading pool thoroughly and regularly is absolutely necessary to avoid illness due to contamination from the fungi, viruses and bacteria that are introduced into the pool with repeated use. Keeping your wading pool clean will provide your children with a cool, safe environment during the hot summer days.

Things You'll Need

Towels Mild liquid dish soap Nylon scrub brush Garden hose Drop cloth Softball-size rocks Spray bottle containing 1:9 mixture of bleach and water

Instructions

- 1
  Eliminate as many contaminants as possible before they can be introduced into the wading pool. Have the kids shower and use the restroom before entering the pool. Germs, dirt, grass, urine and fecal matter will all contaminate the wading pool, so make sure that your kids are as clean as possible to avoid the risk of exposure.
- 2
  Place towels around the perimeter of the wading pool to provide a clean place for the kids to take off their shoes and wipe their feet before entering the water. This will further reduce the risk of contamination and keep the water in the wading pool cleaner, longer.
- 3
  Empty the wading pool weekly. Squirt mild liquid dish soap into the bottom of the empty pool. Clean the entire inside and outside of the pool with a soft, nylon scrub brush. Rinse the pool with your garden hose to wash away all dirt, debris and soap residue.
- 4
  Replace the towels around the perimeter and fill the wading pool ¾ full with fresh, clean water from your garden hose. Allow the water to remain in the pool until it warms to the ambient air temperature before letting your kids use it.
- 5
  Cover the wading pool nightly with a drop cloth. Place a rock on each corner of the drop cloth to hold it in place until morning. Once a month, dump the water, spray the pool with a mixture that's 10% bleach and 90% water, and scrub the pool with soap and water. This will kill germs. Spray the pool with the bleach mixture before storing it for the year. Wash the pool with soap and water before you use for the first time each year.

Backyard Toys