How To Shock An Intex Easy Set Pool

On a hot summer's day, it'due south difficult to beat the feeling that comes with jumping into the common cold, crisp waters of your own backyard pond pool. You lot could try jumping into one of those Scrooge McDuck-style money vaults, we suppose, only we hear that'southward more painful than refreshing.

But if you don't have the room in your one thousand, or the gilt coins in your McDuck vault, for a traditional swimming pool, Intex pools offer a budget- and infinite-friendly alternative. Want a pool that'south easy to fix in the spring and so shop when summertime ends? Explore pool ownership without a life-changing delivery.

Intex Pools vs. Traditional Pools

Compared to inground or above ground models, Intex pools require less investment and zero structure. Options range from bones inflatables to steel-framed models you can convert to a permanent part of your thousand. They oftentimes include a ground cover and debris cover.

Intex pools often include cartridge filters and pumps as well, which makes it easy to go pond sooner. The filter pump'southward capacity varies with the pool size you choose. Intex pumps besides have a built-in footing error circuit interrupter that automatically shuts downwardly the pump if any electrical electric current is exposed to water.

Types of Intex Pools

The shared foundation of these above footing pools is a liner made of triple-ply polymer. More than elaborate versions add together a frame to ameliorate durability.

You can choose from several different sizes and styles, depending on your needs.

Like shooting fish in a barrel Gear up Intex Pools (Inflatable)

The smallest and near basic model lets yous blow up some fun without blowing your space or investment budget. Yous tin inflate the top ring, make full the puddle, and get swimming every bit soon as your h2o's balanced.

Piece of cake Ready pools are round and range from 8 ft. (2.iv m) to 18 ft. (5.6 one thousand) in circumference and 30 in. (76 cm) to 48 in. (122 cm) in height.

Metal Frame Intex Pools

More than durable than Easy Set model, this round puddle boasts a strong frame of pulverization-coated steel to resist rust and weathering. Information technology also sports a band of reinforced polymer material that circles the whole pool like a girdle for extra support—something nosotros wish we could get when swimsuit season rolls around.

Metal frame Intex pools have an xviii ft. (5.6 m) circumference and stand 48 in. (122 cm) high.

Oval Frame Intex Pools

A slightly different take on the traditional rectangular pool, these babies straddle the line between the Like shooting fish in a barrel Set's convenience and the durability of higher-end Intex pools. The elongated shape fits into narrow backyards that might not otherwise arrange a pool.

This model also makes a perfect lap puddle if one of your crew has Olympic aspirations or their centre on crossing the English aqueduct, wot wot.

Oval Frame Intex Pools are available in two sizes:

18 ft. (5.6 m) long past x ft. (3 m) wide past 42 in. (107 cm) high

20 ft. (6.i m) long by 12 ft. (3.7 m) wide past 48 in. (122 cm) high

Instead of all-around legs, these pools use a snap-on frame that provides back up where it's needed about without taking upwards extra infinite.

Ultra Frame^® Intex Pools

Boasting a larger footprint, the cream of the Intex crop has upgraded materials and aesthetics that more than justify their somewhat higher cost tag. Their powder-coated steel frames are rust resistant and extremely strong, and the actress-durable three-ply liner and exterior band feature an upscale grey and white color scheme.

Round Frame Ultra Intex Pools range from fourteen ft. (4.three m) to 16 ft. (4.9 m) in circumference and from 42 in. (107 cm) to 48 in. (122 cm.) high.

Rectangular Frame Ultra Intex Pools are available in 18 ft. (4.9 k) long past ix ft. (2.7 grand) wide past 52 in. (132 cm) high, or32 ft. (9.8 chiliad) long by 16 ft. (4.9 m) wide by 52 in. (132 cm) high.

These pools ofttimes include a cartridge filter pump, but y'all can spend a bit more to get a model with a sand filter pump instead.

Prism Frame™ Intex Pools

Nab the perks of the almost luxurious Intex pools—in a more compact package. You can get a sharp-looking showstopper without ownership more than pool than you need.

Like their bigger cousins, these models have a powder-coated steel frame that'south designed to fit together without beefy extra pins. They also have the premium color scheme.

Round Frame Prism Intex Pools range from 10 ft. (three m) to 24 ft. (7.three chiliad) in circumference and from 30 in. (76 cm) to 52 in. (132 cm) loftier.

Rectangular Frame Prism Intex Pools are 16 ft. (iv.9 m) long by 8 ft. (ii.4 one thousand) wide by 48 in. (122 cm) high. They have an enhanced, total-body version of the frame used on Oval Frame Intex Pools.

Square Frame Prism Intex Pools range from 14 ft. (4.3 m) to sixteen ft. (4.9 m) in circumference and from 42 in. (107 cm) to 48 in. (122 cm) loftier.

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The Pool Care Handbook

How to Treat Your Intex Pool

Don't let the convenience or its potentially temporary installation fool you. Intex pools have all the aforementioned needs as the fanciest rooftop retreat or humblest suburban "cement pond." Regular maintenance keeps Intex pools in prime status.

Your new backyard oasis needs a pump, filter, and a few tools to keep it clean and running smoothly. A little homework might exist required to master regular maintenance and the right mix of chemicals to keep the h2o clean and sanitary. You can likewise choose whether to clean and store your pool during the off season, or let it winter in place.

Start with the Basics

Earlier you dive in, take some time to get to know your Intex pool. Figure out how and when you'll be lavishing all this tender lovin' care on your new pool. If you're a new puddle possessor, familiarize yourself with the "3 Ts" of pool ownership: Tools, Techniques, and Terminology.

You don't have to enroll in a night grade at the learning annex, but developing a solid agreement of what your pool needs is the first step to enjoying it safely. Plus, y'all won't have to listen to your weird neighbor making fun of you lot for wearing the skimmer as a lid.

Stock Up

If you don't already take them, stock up on pool intendance tools, including:

telescoping pole
skimmer
pool vacuum
nylon-bristled puddle brush
extra hoses
test strips or a water testing kit
adequate supplies of:
- chlorine or your preferred sanitizer
- regular pool stupor or not-chlorine pool shock
- any other chemicals needed to keep your water balanced

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Get on a Schedule

Knowing what to do and how to do it leads to knowing when to do it. Set up a pool maintenance schedule for the season or, if you plan on making your Intex pool a permanent fixture, the total twelvemonth.

Planning ahead can aid you budget the time and money you lot invest in your pool so you can avoid nasty surprises and fix for larger expenditures of both when needed.

Balance Your Water

Any pool with unbalanced or unsanitary water is a pool nobody tin can bask. It'due south gross, might be hard to expect at, and can even brand you ill. Understanding basic puddle chemistry is critical to safe, happy swimming.

Monitoring and adjusting pH and alkalinity levels is but as important with Intex pools as whatsoever others. Pay attending to your water hardness and sanitizer levels likewise, only the foundation of healthy puddle water is balanced pH and alkalinity, considering balanced h2o helps your puddle sanitizer do its job more effectively.

Earlier you lot swim, catch your water testing kit and test your puddle water. Take a look at your pH levels. The ideal pH range for a swimming pool is 7.4 to 7.6.

Aim for an alkalinity level of 100–150 parts per million (ppm). Alkalinity protects your pool from wild changes in pH by buffering it against sudden shifts.

If your pH is as well low, your h2o is acidic. Add a base, like sodium bicarbonate (a.k.a blistering soda), to your h2o to enhance the pH. If your water'due south pH is too high, or bones, add an acrid such as sodium bisulfate, also known every bit dry acid or pH decreaser, to lower it.

Keep in mind that adding an alkalinity increaser will also raise your water'due south pH, so exist sure to monitor all levels carefully. Here's more data on using baking soda to raise your pool'southward alkalinity and pH.

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Baking Soda

Perfect for raising total alkalinity and pH in your pool along with cleaning tile and more. You'll need plenty on hand.

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Brand testing your h2o part of your daily pool care routine, and it'll exist easy to continue your h2o where it needs to be—and nip whatever potential problems in the bud.

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pH Decreaser for Pools

Use this chemical to lower just the pH level in your pool water.

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How to Shock Your Intex Pool

Nether normal conditions and for optimal sanitizing, the chlorine levels in your pool will be in the range of 1–3 ppm. But as chlorine in the water hammers away at contaminants and gets bound up with them, you need a manner to recharge it. Regular doses of pool stupor are the respond.

Shocking your pool breaks the bonds between your puddle's chlorine and the contaminants it'southward fastened itself to, freeing it to sanitize once more. Shocking your pool kills off leaner and algae that might otherwise exist setting upwardly shop.

How frequently you shock depends on how often you lot employ your pool, and the climate you're living in. We recommend shocking Intex pools every calendar week, especially if y'all're having a rut moving ridge or heavy rains. Oestrus and excess water can knock your chlorine levels to sub-par levels pretty quickly.

Utilise a puddle shock with a decent amount of bachelor chlorine, and run your filtration system after you daze your pool. The water might announced cloudy later you lot daze, but will clear as it's filtered.

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Calcium Hypochlorite Shock

Use the entire contents of the bag when opened. If whatever granules settle to the bottom of the pool use brush to disperse. Add together the correct dosage of this product during evening hours while the filter pump is running.

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The Importance of Proper Filtration

You can call up of your filtration system as your pool's kidneys. If they don't become a chance to work, all sorts of disgusting things tin can build up in a flash. Your filter pump circulates the water, evenly distributing sanitizer and other chemicals while cleaning the water.

Run your filter pump for at least 12 hours a day, every day. This will make certain all the h2o in your puddle circulates at least once. In an ideal world of bottomless money vaults, you could run your pool pump 24 hours a twenty-four hour period, but 12 hours is a good compromise.

Replace the cartridge filter at least one time a yr, or when y'all open up and close it if y'all shop your puddle during the off season. Too supplant it when information technology's worn, torn, or as recommended by the manufacturer to make sure your water is as make clean as information technology can be.

How to Clean Your Intex Puddle

People. Droppings. Rain. Critters. It might seem like anybody, and everything, wants to have a dip in your pool. And while you've probably invited at least some of them to join you for a dip, they bring with them assorted bits and bobs that tin can ruin your swim.

Leaves, sand, dirt, and other visible debris are not just cruddy, simply tin clog your filter organization and throw your water chemistry out of whack.

The aforementioned is true for the lotions and potions swimmers tin can bring into the h2o, from soap and perfume to sweat, expressionless skin, and, er, other bodily fluids.

Just like you, your pool's at its all-time with a regular daily cleaning. Our motto is simple. On the whole, cleaning the pool is good for the soul. Or at to the lowest degree the pool.

Utilise a skimmer to remove visible debris every twenty-four hour period. If your pool isn't seeing much use, or you somehow have the one pool on earth that doesn't concenter leaves from five counties abroad, you can probably get away with brushing and vacuuming every other day. But if it'south party cardinal for you and the trees, brush and vacuum daily.

Make sure you use a pool castor with nylon bristles just. The vinyl liner needs a gentle touch and might tear or scratch if you apply a stainless steel pool brush.

Intex makes a filter-line vacuum unit that'south designed for their pools. But adhere it to your system, and you lot'll be ready to suck away sediment and other debris.

If don't desire to futz around with attaching the cleaner to your pool, brand things a little easier with a rechargeable manual vacuum. Information technology uses internal power instead of your pool's filter arrangement to clean. Push it along the bottom and the debris gets sucked up into a filter bag inside the cleaner. It'southward a Dustbuster for your pool, without the '70s haircut.

Robotic Pool Cleaners

Nosotros love above ground automatic puddle cleaners for saving united states a lot of manual scrubbing and skimming. You probably will, too.

Modest robotic pool cleaners work well with all Intex pools, except the Piece of cake Set. Robotic pool cleaners and inflatable pools do not compute.

Vinyl walls make side-suction automatic pool cleaners a poor fit for Intex pools, so stick to manual cleaning if you're not ready to splurge on an aquatic assistant.

Merely recall, no robot can supplant a human, at to the lowest degree until SkyNet goes alive. Cleaning gives you a take chances to keep an eye out for frogs and birds, as well as algae, mold, mysterious stains, and other bug waiting to happen. Fifty-fifty if you apply a robotic cleaner, brand sure to give your puddle a thorough once-over daily.

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Troubleshooting Your Intex Puddle

Given its uncomplicated design and DIY construction, your Intex pool probably won't have some of the more avant-garde issues you lot might encounter with other pools. Alas, no puddle's perfect, and you might notice yourself with a torn liner, a malfunctioning filter pump, or a broken support pole, to name a few examples.

Some bug, like Bermuda grass growing upwards and into your pool (and threatening to rupture it) have simple solutions, like a skilful herbicide and a footing cover mat. More advanced issues, similar a sneaky pool leak or a misbehaving filter, might require some enquiry and a little DIY repair work for you or the person yous've bribed with ice-cold beverages to help.

You can also get right to the source and ask the horse, so to speak. Intex has an all-encompassing library of support videos and documents for its products, giving you specific and useful information with simply a few clicks. They can as well assist you with warranty issues, parts, and upgrades.

Stashing Versus Winterizing

Owning an Intex pool ways that, at pool flavor'southward terminate, y'all'll have a choice other pool owners don't necessarily have: do yous clean, dismantle, and store your pool? Or do yous winterize your Intex puddle in place?

Freezing temperatures can cause serious damage to your Intex pool. If you demand the infinite, don't want to deal with winterizing, or live in an expanse where wintertime temperatures dip beneath freezing, stashing your puddle is easy:

Remove all toys, floats, accessories, etc. from the pool.
Make clean the pool thoroughly.
Drain the pool completely.
Allow the pool to dry completely.
Disassemble the puddle.
Apply cornstarch liberally to the liner to prevent sticking and absorb any trace amounts of remaining water
Ringlet the pool liner to forestall creases.
Place the filter, manual, and any modest parts into a single box to keep them together.
Store the dry pool components indoors until needed

If winter doesn't get besides gnarly where you alive, you can winterize your pool in place:

Remove all toys, floats, accessories etc. from your puddle.
Clean and residual puddle water. If you lot have an Easy Fix Pool, double-check that the superlative band is fully inflated.
Replace strainer grid if necessary.
Clean and completely dry all pool accessories earlier storage.
For 10 ft. (3 thousand) and 12 ft. (iii.7 thou) pools, insert the Inlet and Outlet plug into the fitting from inside of the pool, using the provided plug.
For 15 ft. (iv.6 m), 18 ft. (five.5 m), and 24 ft. (seven.three m) pools, shut the Inlet and Outlet Plunger Valve.
If your pool has a ladder, remove it, allow it dry completely, and store it in a safety place.
Disconnect the pump and filter from the pool.
Add appropriate wintertime chemicals, as suggested past your local puddle dealer.
Install the Intex puddle embrace. note:Go on in mind that the standard Intex pool cover is not a safety cover. Have appropriate precautions to keep people and creatures abroad from, and out of, your pool.
Clean and drain the pump, filter housing, and hoses.
Remove and discard the used filter cartridge. Make certain you accept a spare on hand for next flavour.
Shop the pump and filter parts indoors in a dry, safe, and preferably heated place.

Customizing Your Intex Pool

Who wants to be a cookie cutter? Don't just toss an inflatable castle into the water and declare yourself Lord Fancypants, Male monarch of Summertime. You tin improve operation and make caring for your pool easier with a few strategic additions and modifications.

Embrace the Iii Cs

The Iii Ts got yous started down the path to Intex Puddle mastery. But to get better performance from your pool and save money while you practise it, make the 3 Cs part of your pool intendance routine.

The first and most important C is circulation. It'southward the key to the other Cs: cleaning and chemicals. The better your pool's water circulation, the less cleaning you'll do, and the fewer chemicals you lot need. Control the first C, and you'll conquer the other 2.

Your puddle's return jet circulates water, but it only flows in one direction. Modifying your render jet with a circulation enhancer creates a 360° mini-maelstrom of rushing h2o.

Information technology's specially useful if your Intex pool has a heater or a salt system, since the improved catamenia mixes the heated or treated water throughout your entire pool more effectively.

Warm Up to Solar Pool Heating

Installing a gas heater on your Intex pool would probably atomic number 82 to some pretty epic Wicked Witch of the Due west-style melting action, merely vinyl-based psychological trauma doesn't really play well on a sunny summer afternoon. Instead, harness the dominicus'due south power to heat your pool water with an Intex solar pool cover.

Using this comprehend warms your your water during the day, and helps your pool maintain that heat even after the sun sets. Upgrade your standard cover to the solar model designed for your pool and go cookin'.

If you're not interested in a physical cover, you tin can endeavor one of the liquid solar covers on the market. Just pour information technology on once a month to aid conserve water while gently, and safely, heating your Intex puddle.

Want more power? Rev things up with a solar mat from Intex. Adhere information technology to your pool'due south filter line, and water volition travel through its serpentine tubes, warming equally the sun blasts the pitch-blackness mat. Every wheel warms your puddle a little more than.

Use an Intex solar pool encompass with the solar mat for a killer combo. The solar mat brings the rut, and the cover seals information technology in like Tupperware. Well, if Tupperware harnessed THE MIGHTY POWER OF THE Sunday, that is.

Upgrade to an Intex Common salt Organization

Why settle for a puddle when you can rule your own tiny sanitized sea? Stop adding chlorine to your pool and convert your Intex puddle with a salt generator organisation.

The Intex saltwater system is a two-stage mechanism that pulls the salt's chlorine out in the showtime stage, and and so creates powerful, pool-sanitizing oxidizers from salt h2o in the 2nd.

With this system installed, you add table salt to your pool instead of chlorine. The salty water then runs through the generator, producing a steady menstruum of chlorinated water. The second stage, chosen electrocatalytic oxidation, pulls compounds out of the water that piece of work in concert with the chlorine to kill bacteria and algae. Poseidon himself would be hard pressed to exercise a amend job.

Upgrade Your Intex Puddle Filter Cartridge

The standard filter cartridge that comes with your Intex pool is perfectly functional. But you might come across improved performance with an after-market filter cartridge.

These filters may take a longer functional life, with improved filtration materials that allow you to modify your filter less frequently during the season due to wear and tear.

Consider Yourself an Intex Pool Insider

Expect at you, balancing beauty, price, and performance with versatility. You've unlocked the secrets of Intex pool ownership and customization. Forget the backhoes and the upkeep-busters. You're ready to turn your backyard into a white-hot supernova of DIY swimming fun.

Y'all've got everything yous need to choose, maintain, and enjoy your Intex pool this flavor—and in the years ahead. Come on in—the water's fine.

Happy Swimming!

Matt Giovanisci is the founder of Swim University® and has been in the pool and spa manufacture since 1995. Since then, his mission is to brand puddle and hot tub care easy for everyone. And each year, he continues to help more than people with h2o chemistry, cleaning, and troubleshooting.

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