If you have young children and a garden available on warm, Danish summer days, a paddling pool is indispensable. A paddling pool is guaranteed to create many wonderful moments with the little people in your life.

This section of the Swim & Fun Pool Guide is about small outdoor paddling pools of up to 1,000 litres. A round paddling pool with a diameter of 1.52 metres and a depth of 0.51 metre contains approx. 400 litres of water.

Paddling pools are available in a wide range of sizes, shapes and colours, and are particularly suited to smaller children.
Read more in this guide to paddling pools about situation, water care, and maintenance of the paddling pool.

 

 

Where is it best to situate the paddling pool?

To make sure place your paddling pool in the best possible place in the garden, consider the following elements:

  • Maximum direct sunlight
  • Shelter against wind
  • Not too close to trees and bushes
  • Level surface
  • Free space around the paddling pool

 

Maximum direct sunlight

It makes a big difference to water temperature whether the pool is in partial shade or in full sunlight. The temperature can vary 2-5 degrees. For this reason, you should place the paddling pool to get maximum direct sunlight. If you wish to shade the pool, you can use a parasol which is easy to move around as needed.

 

Shelter against wind

You should also select a place which is sheltered against wind as much as possible. Not only is this more comfortable for your child, the wind will have a cooling effect on the water and will increase surface evaporation. If it is not possible to achieve both direct sunlight and shelter, a mobile wind shield can be useful.

 

Not too close to trees and bushes

To avoid things falling into the paddling pool from trees and bushes, it should be placed at a suitable distance from these. This means less time spent cleaning and the water stays fresh for longer.

 

Choose a level surface

It is more comfortable to move about in a paddling pool placed on as smooth and level a surface as possible. If the paddling pool is placed on an incline, there is greater risk of children slipping and falling. There will also be unintended depth differences, and it is uncomfortable to sit on lumps and bumps on the bottom. It can be a very good idea to use a ground sheet as protection under the pool.

 

Plenty of free space around the paddling pool leads to more opportunities

If you make sure to have plenty of space around the paddling pool, it will be much easier to place parasols, loungers, wind shields, etc. where they are needed. It also gives room for water games around the paddling pool.

 

Bacteria and environmental effects from the surroundings

The paddling pool water will be affected by the surrounding environment. There is a constant addition of microscopic contamination to the water, such as wind-borne pollen. Those warm summer days where the water soon reaches temperatures above 20 degrees C are conducive to the growth of bacteria in paddling pools, and large amounts of rain water can affect the pH balance and turn the water too acidic. This is why you should check and adjust the pH balance and add water care products as needed.

It is easy and simple to check the water balance with Swim & Fun Test Strips (Article 1538), which give you readings for the pH value and Active Oxygen content of the water. Read more about water care under ”Clean water in the paddling pool”.

 

Clean water in the paddling pool

Regardless of the method used, it is important that you check the pH value when you have just filled up the paddling pool. You want to know if the water is balanced and has a neutral pH value. If the pH value is too high, the water is basic (hard), which can lead to skin irritation, itching and red eyes, and it also reduces the effect of disinfection products. A pH value of 7.2 is neutral, which is ideal. An acceptable pH value is between 7.0 and 7.4.

The easy and quick way to measure the current pH value is measuring with Swim & Fun Test Strips.

A pH value above 7.4 is lowered with the addition of pH Minus granulate (Article 1714).
A pH value below 7.0 is raised with the addition of pH Plus granulate (Article 1712).

Water hardness differs significantly between countries. For this reason, we always recommend that you measure the water pH value. In Denmark, the water is basic (hard, above 7.4) in most places. This means that you will most often need to add pH Minus.

 

SELECTING THE DISINFECTION METHOD

Most users prefer chlorine-free water care for the paddling pool. Since a paddling pool does not have the same water circulation as a swimming pool, due to the lack of a filter system, other issues must be considered when keeping the paddling pool water clean and fresh. The following options are available:

  • The chlorine-free all-in-one product KiddyPool
  • Disinfection with traditional chlorine-free water care products based on active oxygen
  • Frequent water replacement, and every day on very warm summer days.

 

The chlorine-free all-in-one product KiddyPool

You will save a lot of water by using KiddyPool (LINK), which protects the paddling pool water for up to two weeks, ensuring clean water fun for the youngest members of the family. The water is disinfected and deposits prevented.

Even when using KiddyPool you should still replace the paddling pool water inside 14 days, as the water is not circulated. The number of days depends on the surrounding garden environment, temperatures, pool activity, etc. If the water starts becoming unclear and the sides and bottom become slick, it is time for replacement.

 

Disinfection with traditional chlorine-free water care products based on active oxygen

You can also choose to disinfect the water with a chlorine-free water care product such as OxyChock (Article 1784), based on active oxygen, and Aktivator (Article 1735). It may require a little mental arithmetic, however, to get the dosage right, as the guidelines will have been produced for use with larger pools.

You must replace the paddling pool water as soon as it starts to become even a little unclear.

 

Replace the water frequently, and every day on very warm days.

Bacteria thrive in very warm paddling pool water. If you do not use water care products and the pool is used a lot, we recommend that you replace the water every day.

 

IMPORTANT

Regardless of method chosen, you must remove deposits, insects, etc. from the paddling pool water on an ongoing basis. This helps you keep the water fresh for longer. It is a good idea to cover the paddling pool when it is not in use.