Inflatable Backyard swimming pools? Intex?

[rapunzal]

Saw Toysrus has a 15 foot Intex round inflatable pool for $179...is this a good quality pool? How are the Aqua Leisure pools? Saw one at Costco for $ 200 ...15 feet and 42 inches deep. Any recommendations appreciated...it is finally getting warm out!!

 

[Ladygator]

We bought the Intex pool at Sams. We love it. Our kids are 9, 7 and 4 and they love the pool. We can't keep them out of the pool. It is very easy to set up (so my husband says). You do have to make sure your ground is fairly level. Good luck in your decision.

 

[pjlla]

A bit hard to keep clean, however, if these are the ones without filters. You should keep it covered with a tarp when you are not using it, and make the kids rinse their feet in a bucket of water before they climb in. Be prepared to empty and refill about once a week, depending on the weather and number of kids. Fine if you are on a well, but it can get pricey if you are on town water.

 

[campingcorgi]

We got the Aqua something one at Wal-Mart. It's a 14 footer. We set it up on the driveway to be sure it was level--they REALLY stressed that in the directions and said you couldn't use sand to level the ground (which we were going to do). It set up really easily and it came with a filter, cover, tools, etc. It came with a ladder but it was a cheap piece of junk. Another ladder would cost about what the pool cost (!) so we are using a chair right now.

The kids are loving it!

 

[travelitis]

We bought the 18' pool at Walmart and leveled a raised garden to get a level piece of ground. I wonder why it said you couldn't use sand, because we had friends who did that, and it worked just fine. Ours has a filter and a passable ladder. You can't jump off the ladder into the pool, or you might burst it, per the instructions. I think if we are careful with the ladder we got, it should last. Our kids love it, and we consider it money well spent. We've had 5 kids in it but could have more.

 

[kilee]

We had the aqua leisure pool. It was 12 feet diameter. It is w/ it's 3rd family now for it's 3rd summer in use!! It's upheld really well. Be sure the ground is level. The first one we had sat on ground that was off by almost 6 inches. Once the water got moving once people were in-- it damaged the walls!! So we got a new one a few weeks later that summer. We used sand for the second one though and it worked fine. However it took a lot of sand-- not the play kind from Walmart either.

My only complaint was that it was hard to keep clean. They don't have a really good vaccum system for it, so once debris is on the ground it was difficult to get out. That and it lost it's chemicals really fast for some reason. I was adding more chlorine to that than I do to the 28ft pool we had put in last year.

 

[TSTEWARTFAN]

We had an Intex for a while. Think it was just at 6 or 8 footer. The kids loved it! We have Oak trees in the backyard, and had no problems with leftover acorns. Had the filter and everything. Then our homeowners insurance company paid our unfenced backyard a surprise visit, and cancelled our insurance.

 

[kilee]

One more quick thing. Many people don't realize these are subject to fence laws in many communities. I know this varies town to town and state to state. However in our town--- anything over that holds water over 2 feet deep that has sidewalls under 4.25 feet, must have a fenced yard. Where as standard above ground pool owners (w/ a basic 4 ft pool--- the sidewalls will measure more than 4.25 ft) can just have a removable or folding up ladder. Provided you don't sink it into the ground. Most people don't realize this. Last year they went on a mass fining spree. This can lead to "legal issues" w/ your local law, as well as have your insurance cancelled like a previous poster.

 

[preb]

Kilee,

I was just going to post the same warning. We have a fenced yard and a corner lot and still ran into trouble with our city for not pulling the proper permits before setting the pool up. We only had the mini version of the Aqua Leisure pool that was around 30 inches deep. Anything over 23 inches deep requires a permit and fence or you'll be hit with some hefty fines.

We had a very sad four year old when our permit request was denied and the pool had to be drained!

 

[Disney Ella]

We got the Intex 15' by 42" last year and are putting it up again today. It is about three feet deep inside and the kids love it. The only problem I had with it is that the pump doesn't seem strong enough to recirculate the water enough. Halfway through the summer, the water turned green, even though we were using the algacide (sp?). I think I will buy a larger pump this year.

If you want to read reviews, search for Intex pools on Amazon.com. Some people have really had some problems trying to put up the pool in yards that were unlevel. The place where we put our pool up varies by about two inches, but that isn't enough to cause any serious problem. One side is just a little deeper than the other.