How to Keep Your Kiddie Pool Clean Without a Pump
Wondering how you keep a kiddie pool clean without a pump? With these easy tips and tools, you can make the most out of an inflatable kiddie pool without having to always dump the water!
When I stumbled upon the fact that a pool float could easily fit in our 10 ft kiddie pool, everything about my summer relaxation changed.
The problem was, I kept finding myself having to dump the water every week (depending on how hot it got) because the water would get so slimy and stinky after a few days of super hot weather.
Talk about a health hazard and a giant waste of water!
Not only that, if kids were in the pool a lot they inevitably dragged in piles of grass and dirt. Despite having a foot rinse off bucket.
And THEN I got smart and finally learned how to turn my kiddie pool into an adult (and kid!) oasis with sparkling, clean water all summer long without a pump!
How to Keep Kiddie Pool Water Clean Without a Pump
I thought I was doomed to live a life of constantly fighting the kid pool water battle.
We have a backyard that has a huge slope with no level spots and a patio with no outdoor outlets (who the heck planned our house?!) for a pool pump.
And then after a few summers I finally discovered an easy way to keep our inflatable kiddie pool water sparkling clean with just a few things!
If you want to keep your kiddie pool water clean, without a pump, you’re going to need…
- 10 ft Inflatable Pool
- Pool Skimmer
- Floating Chlorine Dispenser
- Chlorine Tablets
- Water Test Strips
- Plastic Tarp
- Bendable Wires
Step 1: Start with fresh water
If you’re trying to fix already slimy or green pool water, save yourself the time and multiple chemicals (chlorine alone won’t be able to do it) and start with fresh water.
Make sure the pool itself is also scrubbed clean before filling. You should be able to do this with Dawn dish soap and a wash cloth. Rinse well before refilling.
Then, fill your pool with fresh, clean water.
Step 2: Place a floating chlorine dispenser in the pool
Place one 3″ chlorine tablet in the floating chlorine dispenser. Put the chlorine dispenser in the pool.
My dispenser had an option to change the amount of chlorine that would be exposed to the water. Make sure you set it to at least half of what it would normally be because small kiddie pools (even a 10 foot long one like mine) don’t need much chlorine for it to work!
At the time of writing this post, a single 3″ chlorine tablet has kept our 10ft inflatable kiddie pool completely chlorinated for the past 2 weeks without having to replenish it.
Step 3: Remove debris with the pool skimmer
Use the hand pool skimmer as needed to remove pool debris.
The sooner you remove the debris, the less chance it has to break down. The less it’s broken down, the easier it is to scoop it out.
If you have dirt and debris that has sunk to the bottom, use the skimmer to stir the water up so you can scoop underneath it to lift it to the top.
Step 4: Keep the kiddie pool covered when not in use
When the kiddie pool is not in use, especially overnight, keep it covered with a tarp.
We use these bendable wires to help keep the tarp secured, even during crazy midwest summer storms.
Step 5: Test the kiddie pool water regularly
After the first day of leaving the chlorine dispenser in the water, make sure you test the water.
This will let you know if you need to adjust the dispenser for more (or less) chlorine, or if a different water chemical level is off.
Speaking from personal experience, the pH and alkalinity shouldn’t be too off when you’re filling from a hose to your small kiddie pool.
If your pH and alkaline levels are way off, either extremely high or extremely low, you’re going to want to balance those out. Be cautious, because with such a small body of water, you won’t need to use much chemicals to balance out the water.
Low pH can cause swimmer’s eyes to sting, skin to itch, and won’t let chlorine do it’s job.
High pH can also cause those effects, as well as wear and tear on swimwear and goggles.
After all of this, you might still be wondering…
Can you put chlorine in an inflatable pool?
The short answer, yes!
But you’ll need way less than you think, especially if you’ve owned a larger pool before.
How many chlorine tablets do I need for a 10 ft pool?
This will completely depend on how deep your pool is and how long you want your water to last.
With my water, I only needed 1 tablet that lasted over 2 weeks before I needed to refill my dispenser.
So if you’ve got a kiddie pool that you’re sick of constantly dumping and refilling, give these tips a try!
Especially if you, like me, don’t have a well and have to pay for city water. Or maybe household wells are weird Minnesota thing…
This is genius! pinning so I can come back to when I get my toddler a pool .
Thanks Sarah! I’m going on 3 weeks now without having to change the water and it’s still crystal clear!
Thank you for this tip!! I wanted to get a pool for the kids but the thought of icky mold made me shy away. I had no idea these tools were out there. Excited to get one for this “special” summer. LOL.
If there ever was a summer where we needed to make our own backyards an oasis, the summer of 2020 is it! lol
I’m so glad you experimented and found the perfect solution! Even better, you shared it with us. Thank you!
Happy to help 🙂
Had no idea you could do (or should) do this with a kiddie pool! Great tips.
I had no idea either, until I stumbled upon a floating chlorine dispenser! Growing up with a pool, the rest just seemed like common sense. Why can’t a kiddie pool be like a “real” pool, right? 😉
Great ideas and a real smart way to spend less on water , as well as reducing the work of emptying and refilling.
Thanks for this helpful article! Last year, I was too late to buy a pool for my new backyard, so I’m not taking any chances by ordering before pool season! I’m looking forward to relaxing in my kiddie pool on warm days–with clean, sparkling water!
How did you use the bendable ties to hold down the tarp? That is the biggest issue for me. Did you just tuck the ties under the bottom and they stayed put? Thanks.
There were grommets on the tarp that I used that I’m able to connect with the bendable wire. Hope that helps!
Where we live mosquitoes are a concern in still water. Will the chlorine prevent them from laying eggs in the pool?
I’m in Minnesota so I am all too familiar with mosquitos, and YES the chlorine seems to keep those pesky things from multiplying! 😀
How do you secure the bendable wires under the pool?
There are grommets on the tarp that I’m able to connect with the bendable wire. Hope that helps!
do you just twist then together and run them under the pool?
I wouldn’t run the twist ties under the pool or you can risk putting a hole in the bottom, you’ll want to find a tarp large enough that the pool can sit on top of one end of the tarp, wrap over the top, and then secure both sides together at the grommets. Hope that helps!
Hiii, so I know you said the tarp has the grommets on it to attach the bendy straps but how is it staying underneath the pool? Are you connecting it to the other side of the tarp by going underneath it or is it just sitting under there?
My tarp was big enough to wrap around the entire pool so I could secure one side of the tarp to the other using the grommets.
I was just wondering if the tarp size you got was long enough to put under the pool and then kind of “taco” over the top ? I am trying to figure out where the grommet on the top attaches to on the underside? Is there another tarp underneath with grommets?
Yes, the tarp I bought was big enough that the pool layed on top of one end and then I wrapped the other end over the top of the pool and secured the grommets together with the ties. Hope that helps!
I’m also wondering how the wires secure under the pool. I get how they attach to the tarp.. but what does the other end connect to? just bought everything else to try this! I’m hoping it will work with well water!
My tarp was large enough for my pool that I laid the tarp down first, put the pool over top on one edge closest to the grommets, wrapped the tarp over the top of the pool, and then secured the top of the tarp to the bottom with the grommets. Hope that helps!
How about using liquid chlorine (for pools)? How much to use?
You can definitely use liquid, the bottle should have a guide for how much to add depending on how many gallons of water your pool can hold. You’ll probably also have to wait awhile after dumping the chlorine in before swimming.
Hi there. Are the chlorine tablets safe to use when the kiddie pool does not have a pump and filter?
Perfectly safe as long as you don’t overdo it! You don’t need much to help keep a smaller kiddie pool’s water crystal clear 🙂 The pump and filter just helps with filtration of anything in the air that might fall into the pool, or if your water gets too warm and sits still for too long.
Thanks Bre,
I was als concerned as I didn`t want to empty the pool every week it still takes quite a bit of water to dump and fill.
Susi
It’s so much work! And we pay for water, so it was killing me to see all that money literally wash away.
Hey, Bre! Your post on keeping kiddie pools clean without a pump is fantastic! The tips are practical, eco-friendly, and easy to follow. Your clear instructions and alternative solutions make pool maintenance a breeze. Thanks for sharing your expertise! Looking forward to more posts from you!
Thanks so much!
I have a better solution for a 10ft x 6ft with a tarp thats 10 x13. Also the type that has gromlets every 3 ft and just hang one gallon Clorox bottles filled with water on the gromlets hanging down as weight problem solved
That’s a good idea, too! It was convenient to have some of the tarp to lay under the pool as an added layer of protection from my concrete patio.
Hello my pool is about 2 feet deep and 12 ft long, is it ok to use 3 1 inch chlorine tablets in my dispenser?
That’s probably a good place to start and they will probably dissolve really quickly, test your water with a tester strip after they do and you’ll know if you need to add more 🙂
Thank you for this!
Do you leave the chlorine floater in 24/7 or take it out sometimes?
My floater has a spot where you can slide to adjust how much the water flows through the chlorine tabs, so I usually just keep that closed all the way and leave it in at all times.
Thank you for the tips! When you do empty the pool does the water burn the grass or do you wait until the chlorine is low to empty so it doesn’t ruin the grass? I don’t want the pool water to run off and possibly ruin the grass in the neighbor’s yard too.
I never had issues with it, but my chlorine level wasn’t too high either once we had to dump it. There was definitely still chlorine in it when we emptied the pool, just not at normal or high levels.
Thank you so much!
I tried this and I have way too much chlorine in my pool and a very low ph.
Do you have any suggestions as to what to do?
The sun helps burn off the chlorine, so if that’s worrying you I would just not cover it during the day. Also adding fresh water as it evaporates will help as well. As far as a low ph, depending on how low it is it could cause some skin irritation. You can add baking soda to help bring the ph up, just make sure to add a little at a time!
Hi, are you able to use 1” chlorine tabs instead of 3”.??
Definitely! In my experience the 1″ tabs dissolve quicker so I would be careful about adding too much in the beginning.
Great tips on keeping a kiddie pool clean without a pump! I especially found the use of a floating chlorine dispenser and covering the pool with a tarp when not in use very helpful. The step-by-step advice on securing the tarp with bendable ties is practical too. Thanks for sharing these insights!
Super helpful, thanks! One question – I have a two-year-old, and am concerned that she will open up the pool floater and play with (or try to eat!) the chlorine tablet. The only childproof floater I can find is not available to ship to the US.. (https://baltresto.com/shop/wood-fired-hot-tubs/hot-tub-accessories/chlorine-dispenser-with-child-lock). My husband and I were thinking about taking the floater out when our daughter is in the pool. However, apparently you can’t leave it out of the water for more than 5 minutes (something about the chemistry of the chlorine tablet), so we were thinking to put it in a separate bucket of water, just when she is swimming. Are we overthinking this?? Anyone else struggling with this?
Something I never thought of as my daughter was older when we came up with this, but us moms can never be too careful! Especially when it comes to chemicals. I think you have a great idea by putting it in a bucket of water while she swims. Great thinking 🙂
where did you read about not being able to leave it out for more than 5 minutes? I would like to take mine out when my son is in as well
Did you ever have to use any shock?
Nope! Shock would be too intense for a small kiddie pool, in my opinion.
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Thanks!I’ve been dreading having to empty our pool multiple times.
Also, props to you for still answering questions so many years after you made this post.
This article was such a game-changer for me! I always thought I had to deal with the hassle of constantly dumping and refilling my kiddie pool because the water would get so dirty and gross, especially in the hot summer months. I had no idea there were simple tools and tricks to keep the water clean without a pump. I loved how the author explained everything so clearly—like using a pool skimmer, a floating chlorine dispenser, and even water test strips to keep things in check. The idea of using a plastic tarp to cover the pool when it’s not in use is genius! Now I feel way more confident about keeping my pool fresh all season long without wasting water or having to deal with slime. Great job on making it so easy to follow!