Pools

[MMouse6937]

Looking for some opinions from anyone who has bought one of those pools from Walmart/Kmart/Target. They are about $300 but have the cover, filter, chlorine, etc. I'm thinking about spending part of my tax rebate on one of these. It's so hot here in the summer and to have a little place to cool off would really be nice. I'm not sure they're worth it though. I would obviously hope to set it up and keep it throughout the summer. Anyone have any experience with any of these? I would appreciate any input. Thanks :D

[Jeff G]

We had one for several years and loved it. Ours was 17' and about 30 inches deep. The maintenance was minimal; I floated a chlorine tab daily, about once a week or after a busy day I shocked it and about every 2-4 weeks I either cleaned or changed the filter. By doing simple maintenance the water stayed clear and had a clean smell to it.

Last summer we upgraded to a 24' above ground pool because the kids were getting older.

[Disneyatic]

Do you only leave them up during the summer and then take down?
I have been trying to talk DH into one of these but I think he feels that it will be alot of work.

[Jeff G]

I drained mine in late August and put it away. I would say that set up takes a few hours, weekly mainenance is about 15-20 minutes and take down is a few hours at most.

[Dakota Rose]

We had one for two years and it was great. My only suggestion is to put it on one of those big blue tarps so the grass doesn't get all muddy. But then, we have a preschooler who splashes all the water out so that's probably why it was muddy!