How to Keep the Kiddie Pool Clean All Summer Long

Updated March 1, 2025

Every year, I swear this will be the last time I have to buy the inflatable kiddie pool pictured above, because this year, I will dutifully keep it white 'n' bright. At the end of the season, I'll dry it out, fold it up, and store it for next year instead of furtively and guiltily dragging it to the curb, leaving behind an oozing trail of slimy green, stagnant water.

The thing about this inflatable kiddie pool is that it's 10 feet long, so you can't just flip ‘er over and spray ‘er down real quick every time the water gets gross. Cleaning this pool is a production that involves two grown-ass adults arguing over who has to hold the pool up sideways and who gets to spray it down with the garden hose. Pool water can turn green and gross very quickly, so the cleaner you can keep it, the fewer times you’ll need to empty, clean, and refill the pool.

Here, I’ve compiled a list of tasks and products that can help you keep your pool water clean ‘n’ safe all summer long. If you click on a link to a product, I may earn a small commission. I only recommend products I've either purchased or would purchase, which means they're rated at least 4 out of 5 stars, have solid reviews, and appear to be the best bang for the buck! 

1. Put the pool in the right spot

Where you set up your kiddie pool can make a big difference in how clean it stays. Here are a few things to consider when choosing the perfect spot:

• Shade. Direct sunlight heats up pool water fast, which increases bacteria growth. To reduce the amount of direct sunlight the pool gets, set it up in a shady spot. If there’s no naturally shady spot in your yard, you can set up a shade sail, cantilever umbrella, or pop-up canopy to protect the pool — and your child’s skin — from the sun.

• Surface. If you can, set up the pool on the patio or deck to help prevent grass and dirt from being tracked into the pool. Alternatively, lay down a clean barrier, like a large tarp, on top of the lawn or other surface to help keep the area around the pool free of dirt and debris. You can even build a simple pool platform out of wood — lay down artificial grass or interlocking foam tiles for padding.

• Surroundings. To help keep leaves, bugs, and other flotsam and jetsam out of the pool, avoid placing it underneath a tree if you can. If you can’t, be sure to cover the pool when it’s not being used. 

2. Post the rules

How the kids use the pool has a big impact on how dirty the water gets — and how fast. Lay down a few simple rules before swim season:

• Step into a bucket of clean water to rinse feet before getting in the pool.

• Rinse off any pool toys that have sand, dirt, or grass on them.

• Keep food and drinks out of the pool.

• Don’t pee in the pool (good luck with that one, lol).

If possible, don’t allow pets in the pool. If Doggo wants to play too, get him a doggie splash pad! 

3. Cover the pool when it's not in use 

A pool cover keeps grass, dirt, and other debris out of the water. Perhaps most importantly, though, a pool cover blocks direct sunlight, which is a key ingredient for the growth of algae and speeds up evaporation of the water. It also keeps out the rain, which can contaminate the water.

Intex sells a rectangular kiddie pool cover that's made for our big inflatable pool, but it’ll fit any pool of roughly the same size. They also sell a one-size-fits-all round cover for the Easy Set pool and other round kiddie pools. These covers are easy to secure tightly around the pool, so they won’t flap in the wind or sink to the bottom of the pool when it collects too much rain water, like homemade tarp-and-bungee cord covers are wont to do. 

Hot tip: Rinse the pool cover with the garden hose before you remove it if there's lots of debris on it.

4. Skim the pool every day

No matter how hard you try to avoid it, grass, sand, dirt, and leaves inevitably blow into the pool or get tracked in by dirty feet. Having a skimmer of some sort on hand makes quick work of getting all this debris out. I've used these inexpensive butterfly nets to remove debris from Ruby's pool, and they work fine for most of the bigger stuff that gets in the water. They come in a pack of four, so everybody can skim! They also work great for catching fireflies and butterflies.

If you prefer the real deal, this HydroTools pool skimmer picks up smaller stuff, like the sand, dirt, and other gritty stuff you scare up off the pool floor. It's got an aluminum handle that's short enough that the kids can skim while they swim, and it telescopes to 12 feet so you can skim at a distance.

5. Vacuum the bottom of the pool

While regular skimming removes some of the sand and other smaller debris at the bottom of the kiddie pool, it won't catch all of it. For that, you need a filter pump or a pool vacuum. Pool vacuums can get ridiculously expensive (and most don’t have very good ratings or reviews), but this Intex pool maintenance kit includes a pro skimmer and a vacuum powered by the garden hose — no batteries or electricity necessary! It’s earned 4.4 stars with over 6,000 reviews, the majority of them positive.

Here are three more pool vacuum options, raging in price from a little north of twenty-five bucks to a little over a hundred.

POOLWHALE portable pool cleaner

This portable pool vacuum doesn't run on power, so there's no cords, chargers, or batteries involved — rather, it hooks up to the garden hose to produce suction. The bristles on the bottom help loosen debris, which is caught in a bag attached with a drawstring. For best results, the pool water needs to be about 2 feet deep, and the garden hose you attach to it should be no longer than 50 feet. More than 19,000 reviewers give this inexpensive gadget 3.9/5 stars — just under my normal 4-star threshold, but the reviews are overwhelmingly positive and point out that the suction strength depends on your water pressure and hose length (the shorter the better).

Intex rechargeable pool vacuum

This sleek little vacuum is great for removing debris from a small pool — it's lightweight and has an aluminum shaft that telescopes out to 94 inches. It comes with two interchangeable brush heads and a USB cable for recharging. This pool vacuum earns 4.1/5 stars, with over 12,000 ratings. Reviewers like that it's quiet and easy to use (even for kids!) and holds a decent charge. The suction is best if you keep emptying the filter — the fuller the basket, the lighter the suction. Some reviewers note that you have to go pretty slow, and only move backwards when vacuuming for best results.

POOL BLASTER cordless pool vacuum

This upright pool vacuum is a little pricier than the first two, but it's great for large pools or kiddie pools that collect lots of debris. It takes 4 hours to charge and runs for around 45 minutes per charge. Over 1,000 raters give it 4.3/5 stars, and reviewers note that it's pretty good at picking up leaves, small rocks, and other bigger debris. Like other vacuums, this one has better suction when the filtration chamber is emptied often.

6. Soak up the sunscreen and bodily oils

While skimming, filtering, and vacuuming helps keep the kiddie pool free of dirt, grass, and leaves, none of these are effective for removing oily substances like sunscreen residue and skin oils from the water. For that, you need something like the Scumbug oil-sucking sponge:

Each bug-shaped sponge absorbs 40 times its weight in oils, so if you slather your kid with sunscreen like I slather mine, this handy sponge will suck it out to help keep the kiddie pool clean for a longer period of time.

7. Use a pool filter pump

A filter pump helps keep a kiddie pool clean in two important ways: First, it removes debris from the water, and second, it keeps the water circulating to help prevent algae from growing.

Many mid-sized kiddie pools — including this 10-foot long Toysicle rectangular pool and this 10-foot diameter Intex Easy Set pool — come with a filter, but some don't. 

A filter pump setup is simple: The pump sits outside of the pool and holds the reusable filter. Two hoses connect to the pool and the pump — the intake hose sucks water from the pool and directs it into the pump and through the filter, which removes debris before the water is sent back into the pool through the output hose.

Even if your pool isn't designed for a pump — i.e., it doesn't have holes in the sides for the hoses — you can still use one to help keep any size kiddie pool clean. Read my complete guide to kiddie pool filter pumps for tips on choosing the right model for your kiddie pool.

8. Use chlorine and other pool chemicals

If you're not averse to using chlorine to keep your kid's pool water clean, it's not very hard to maintain clear, safe water for the duration of the swimming season — no draining and cleaning necessary!

But you can’t just drop in a chlorine tablet here and there and call it good — using pool chemicals is a commitment, and it requires a bit of maintenance. Pool chemicals accomplish three goals:

• They kill germs that can make you sick

• They maintain an appropriate pH balance for optimal comfort

• They prevent the growth of algae

To demystify maintaining a small pool with chemicals, I’ve created a comprehensive tutorial on how to keep the kiddie pool clean without draining it, including a list of everything you’ll need and step-by-step instructions.

9. Drain, clean, and refill the pool

When my kiddo was little, we went for these smaller inflatable pools, which can just be drained and refilled every few days without wasting too much water.

For a super small plastic or inflatable pool — especially if it has a slide — the Centers for Disease Control recommends draining the pool after each swim and filling it back up with fresh water before the next swim. 

Whenever you can, use the old water to irrigate your grass and plants — scoop it up in your watering can, or siphon it out with a garden hose.

After draining the water, give the pool bottom and sides a good scrub-down with a plain old kitchen brush and some mild dish soap, then rinse it thoroughly. Allow it to fully dry, ideally in direct sunlight to help kill bacteria.

How often should you drain and refill the kiddie pool?

How often you need to clean a larger inflatable kiddie pool depends on a bunch of factors, including your summer climate, how much sun the water gets, how much water the pool holds, how dirty the water gets, and whether you have children who are immunocompromised. 

As a general rule of thumb, here’s how often you should drain, clean, and refill the pool:

• Very small plastic or inflatable pool: after every swim. 

• Larger pool without a filter: every week.

• Larger pool with a filter: every two weeks.

• Pool with a filter and chlorine: end of the season, unless someone poops or voms in the water.

If a child poops or upchucks in a kiddie pool of any size — even if it's got a filter and you treat it with chlorine — it's always best to empty, clean, and refill it. Scrub all surfaces with dish soap, thoroughly rinse the pool, and let it fully dry. Once the pool is dry, set it in direct sunlight for at least four hours to disinfect — or apply bleach to all surfaces with a spray bottle, let it sit for 6 minutes, then drain and dry before refilling it with clean water.

How to turn green pool water clear again

Our kiddie pool got out of control one summer. Happily, that’s the year I discovered pool shock.

Ope! Life happens, and even just a few days of pool neglect can lead to the water becoming a swampy, green mosquito breeding ground. The good news is that you don’t need to drain and refill it in order to get that water crystal-clear again. Enter a handy little thing called pool shock, a super-concentrated form of chlorine that you pour into the pool in very high doses to kill microorganisms dead in their tracks — including the stinky, slimy algae that's turning the water green.

Pool shock works in a matter of hours. Here’s a handy tutorial on choosing and using pool shock in a kiddie pool to get that green water clean again.

After shocking: Same pool, same water

Other ways to keep your kids healthy when they swim

The CDC recommends the following health precautions while swimming:

• Warn your children not to get pool water in their mouths (good luck with that!).

• Give children a cleansing soap shower or bath before they swim (lady, the swim is the bath).

• Keep sick children out of a communal pool.

• Children who are immunocompromised in any way should only swim in kiddie pools that are either maintained with filtration and chemicals or filled daily with fresh water.

Happy summer swimming!

With a little elbow grease and attention to detail, it’s possible to keep the kiddie pool clean for a week or two before you need to drain it. But if, after reading this, you're thinking a kiddie pool sounds like a big pain in the arse, you’re kinda right — it sort of is. If you’re up for the task, it can be a great way to keep the kids cool and busy on those endless summer days. But if not, check out these super-fun water balloon games or these dazzling water sprinklers for kids instead, and call it good!