How often to change water in wading pool?

[BellinghamCrunchie]

Sorry if this has been posted before. I looked a bit but didn't find anything.

I've been draining the wading pool every 48 hours because it takes a while to get the water warm and water is so expensive here. Do I need to change the water every 24 hours? Or can it go even longer than 48 hours?

[LizaBear]

Daily - otherwise it becomes a breeding ground for mosquitos. Not to mention the debris that is in it, and just how scummy it becomes in a very short period of time.

[crl]

I'm rather paraniod about a child drowning if the pool is left full and unattended so I drain ours after every use before we go back inside.

[boongirl]

My dh is an aquatic toxicologist/environmental scientist. If you want, he will tell the scientific names of all the germs that can grow in water left standing for a while. We fill our pool each time it is used and dump the water on the flower garden after a few hours. We do not fill it every day because water is very expensive. We also scrub the pool every so often (maybe once a month) or when it looks dirty. We also stand it up to dry, leaning it against the deck railing. Also, the mosquito issue is a huge concern of dh's. They are spreading nasty stuff.

[Yooper]

Yeah, I am pretty lax about everything paranoid when it comes to MDC standards, but I do dump the pool after each use. It is never full for more than a few hours at a time. We have a very small one and it does not take much water to fill it. I put a small sprinkler in it so dd can play with the sprinkler while it is filling. I use it to water my gardens. I do not want standing water left in my yard both for liability and the misquitoe risk. We also wash it out with soap about once every 6 fillings. I keep it in the garage when not in use so it will not collect rain/dew water.

[BellinghamCrunchie]

Thanks for your responses. I do have a cover for it, so I'm less concerned about mosquitos, but am very concerned about bacteria.

Well, after reading the responses, now I'm concerned about our bottle of filtered water... we use a Brita filter and I don't refrigerate the water, and that water easily stands all day maybe longer. Should I be concerned about this as well?

[jgale]

Regarding the water pitcher: how long have you been doing this? Have you ever gotten sick? Unless your family has been battling chronic weirdo illnesses since you started leaving the brita out, I'd say that's what your immune system is for...

[boongirl]

In case anyone else is interested, we use a brita but keep it in the shade on normal and cold days and keep it in the fridge on warm and hot days. Keeps the pink and green slime away. And, we wash it in the dishwasher often. Do this and you will be fine. And, change the filter more than they say.

[sweetangelbrynlie]

daily here or else it gets stinky.

[OakBerry]

Daily, and I spray it out with high pressure on the hose before I fill it each time. My ds is very pale so he is always leaving a film of sunblock behind him. Plus the bacteria, fungi, and mosquito issues that other posters have mentioned.
We have well water and it's ridiculously cold. But it's hot here right now, so If I know we'll be hanging out in the yard, I'll fill it up early in the morning, by 2pm or so it's pretty warm.

[griffin2004]

I dump ours every evening. We have lots of raccoons, possums, 8 zillion cats, etc. in the area and I don't want to get known as the Varmint Watering Hole.

[mfp02]

We dump ours during the evening, turn it over, then right side up in the AM and refill.

[OakBerry]

Originally Posted by griffin2004

I dump ours every evening. We have lots of raccoons, possums, 8 zillion cats, etc. in the area and I don't want to get known as the Varmint Watering Hole.

Lol, same here!

[2Sweeties1Angel]

The kids share the wading pool with the ducks (don't ask) so it gets emptied and refilled before every use.

[BellinghamCrunchie]

Originally Posted by 2Sweeties1Angel

The kids share the wading pool with the ducks

OMG DD would LOVE that She loves ducks. It sounds really neat.

[boongirl]

Originally Posted by 2Sweeties1Angel

The kids share the wading pool with the ducks (don't ask) so it gets emptied and refilled before every use.

What! I had ducks when I was in preschool and they were always nipping at us. I did not like them. How have you trained yours?

[2Sweeties1Angel]

What! I had ducks when I was in preschool and they were always nipping at us. I did not like them. How have you trained yours?

They were raised in the house (in diapers) around the kids. They appeared to think they were cats for awhile because they were always playing with the cats, napping with them, etc. They're very affectionate. Now they live outside with the chickens full time and have for a few months because they prefer it. I assume they'll want to move back in when it gets cold outside.

The kids don't get in the pool *with* the ducks because ducks don't have sphincter muscles. Meaning they poop everywhere.

[wannabe]

Your Brita jug isn't getting weed in!!