How to Keep Kids' Pools Clean

Keep your pool's water clean and clear for swimmers with a few maintenance steps.

Swimming pool maintenance and cleaning plays an important role in swimmer safety. Pools containing chemically sanitized and clean water pose less of a health risk than untreated water harboring bacteria and other contaminants. Cleaning a swimming pool, including smaller kid-sized pools, involves applying a sanitizer such as chlorine to the pool, scrubbing pool surfaces with a brush and vacuuming loose debris off the pool bottom. Due to their relatively small size, kid-sized pools require cleaning more often than standard pools, especially after a period of heavy swimmer traffic in the pool.

Things You'll Need

• Brush
• Cleaner
• Vacuuming equipment or water hose
• Chlorine shock

Instructions

1. Brush pool surfaces with a soft-bristled brush. Dislodge any dirt or other build up stuck in any folds or wedges in the pool liner material. For stains, apply a small amount of household cleaner to the brush to help break down the stain material.

2. Vacuum any debris off the pool bottom using pool vacuuming equipment. Debris left on pool surfaces cause staining and may cloud the water. If no pump or vacuuming equipment is available, back-siphon debris out of the pool using a water hose.

3. Apply a small amount of chlorine pool shock to the water after periods of heavy swimming or every two weeks. Chlorine shock kills bacteria and other contaminants that cause pool water to cloud and become unhealthy for swimmers. Wait at least three hours before allowing swimmers into the pool after shocking. Typically one pound of chlorine shock treats 10,000 gallons of pool water.

4. Empty the pool completely once a month and fill it with fresh water. For pools that hold a large amount of water, instead perform a double shock treatment. A double shock treatment is a standard chlorine shock treatment utilizing twice the normal shock amount to super-chlorinate the pool.

Tips & Warnings

• Perform regular maintenance and cleaning on the pool at least once a month to prevent algae growth or cloudy water.

References

• Pool Center: Pool Maintenance
• Pool Center: Cleaning Equipment
• Pool Center: Chlorine Pool Page