To ask how you keep your blow up pools clean?

[YesIveChangedMyName]

We have one of those 10ft blow up pools with an attached filter. We've had it up 5 days now and it is going decidedly murky. I'm reluctant to empty and refill it as it will be freezing cold again and take days to warm up.

We normally only have the filter running when we are outside (its plugged into an extension lead which I don't like to leave out). If I leave the filter running all day tomorrow is it likely to clean it? Or if not does anyone know any other magic tips?

What chemicals are you using? The filter alone won’t keep it clean

Chlorine tablets

Milton tabs

Chlorine tablets. Plus ph balancer (alkaline) if needed. Make sure you’re washing an replacing the filter also. (Do not skimp on the chemicals, dirty pool water is very dangerous).

@Toty when you say Milton tablets, in at what strength do you use that? The same 1 tablet per 5L water as for sterilising? (I think that's the rate)

I use multifunctional chlorine tablets and put them in a dispenser that sits in the pool all the time. I check the levels with the test strips, but these tablets tend to keep the water at safe levels. We also use the oil absorbing pool sponges which are good to get rid of the sun cream layer left behind, we leave that to float when dd isn't in the pool. I bought a pool net with a separate brush attachment and once a week give the pool floor a scrub. I don't cover the pool as I found that this helps to cause a build up of algae so I stopped using that.

Thanks everyone. I had no idea about any of this! Feeling rather stupid now

Just to say you do need to empty it and refill it when you introduce tablets as the stagnant water could make you very ill

@YesIveChangedMyName

Thanks everyone. I had no idea about any of this! Feeling rather stupid now

Read up on Google. Pool maintenance is essential. If your pool is murky and you decide to empty it you will need to scrub it clean.

Two important points.
Chlorine kills algae.
Ph is important too.

You could shock the pool which means raising the chlorine level to over 10ppm and holding it there for 36hrs to kill the algae.
You will not be able to use the pool while shocking it as the chlorine level will be too high.
Don't use your pool if the chlorine is over 5ppm or the ph is under 7. Low ph will sting your eyes.
Ideally the chlorine should be 3ppm.
The ph range between 7.2 to 7.8.
You should run the filter for at least 4 hours a day.
The point is for all the water to be filtered every 24hours.

If you cover your pool when not in use the chlorine won't burn off so quickly and be effective for longer.
Don't cover when shocking though, fumes etc.

Actually @YesIveChangedMyName check if you can shock a blow up pool. It may be too strong for the material and may also discolour it.

Perhaps empty and refill. Our pool liner has faded over the years due to chlorine.

We have a 10ft one as well and usually empty it and clean it every 2-3 days. We haven't got it out yet this year, we were away all week. A job for today!

Does anyone have any recommendations for what I need? Do I need a chlorine dispenser?

Or a link to anywhere that gives trusted step by step guidance? I've just googled and found conflicting advice.

I joined a fb group called Bestway and other garden pools advice and ideas. It's really good for advice on what to use and where to buy pool accessories and chemicals etc. I found it really useful last summer.

We use a tablet in the floating dispenser, but IMO first you need testing strips to find out what it has too much/too little of and go from there. Don’t w”feel silly, I’m pretty sure most people do this the first time with those big pools.

You need to test the chlorine and Ph levels every day and adjust. Keep a floating chlorine dispenser in there always and just add more chlorine if the levels drop. You need to run the filter 8 hours a day minimum and fish out anything that falls in once a day.

Thanks everyone. I'm trying to get my head round it now

We have a hot tub (same principle as your inflatable pool) and at the risk of sounding all little womanish, thank god DH deals with all of that! I know it's really important but lordy, what a faff it is. It's probably even more important in a 10' pool as people are more likely to put their head underwater than they are in a hot tub, leading to a higher risk of ear/eye infections. Does the website of the pool supplier have any advice?

You've had some good advice on here. Somebody mentioned ^^ that they don't put a lid on theirs because it encourages algae, but I don't think that should happen if it's well maintained. And it will keep out leaves and bird shit.

I second the advice of joining the bestway facebook group.

We brought a.chlorine floater. Just wack tablets in and leave to float. It was off Ebay

I also found the floater alone defiitely wasn't enough chlorine. On a hot day with the cover off the chlorine burns off super fast and wil be down to almost zero really fast.