14 answers

How to set up a soft side pool?

We bought a soft side pool, the 18' by 42".. when we went to set it up, it became lop sided, and now we are trying to figure out how to correct it without dumping all that water.. any thoughts? or other experiences we should know about ahead of time??

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Summary

Most parents said that the ground has to be ABSOLUTELY flat or the pool will "creep" and eventually collapse. Do not let kids in if it is really leaning. Look at the owner's manual before setting the pool up, or contact the manufacturer for more safety info.

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We did that last year and had to let 1/2 of the water dump out. Then, we (very difficultly) pulled the side up and pushed out the bottom and kept doing that and kept doing that until it was popped mostly up evenly.

GL!

1 mom found this helpful

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We did that last year and had to let 1/2 of the water dump out. Then, we (very difficultly) pulled the side up and pushed out the bottom and kept doing that and kept doing that until it was popped mostly up evenly.

GL!

1 mom found this helpful

We just have an 8' pool and a 10', but when ours fell over about half the water came out and then my husband and I got sand and he lifted the sides as I shoveled sand under the outside edge and we worked our way around the pool till it was even. Stayed up the rest of last summer. We haven't got it up yet this year. Been to windy on our days off.

Dump it, move it to a more level spot. We moved ours 3 times last year. If kids are in it at the time it falls over it could trap them inside and drown them. That's what the web site says. It is worth the effort just to not have that worry.

Have a fun wet summer.

We have a Intex Easy Set pool and so far LOVE it! There's no way to move it without the risk of tearing the vinyl liner with water inside it. Next time, only allow about an inch of water to determine if your ground is level and the water is the same all the way around. You may have to buy some sand and fill in any low spot on the pool site.

Happened to me about 3 years ago and we had to dump it. If it isn't to bad, I would just leave it as long as it covers the filter. Good Luck!

I hate to say that you will have to empty it and level it. This happened to me a few years back and I ended up having to have sand brought in and spent all day with a level and a two by four. Once it is level it will fill up just fine. Even the slightest bit unlevel will make it sit lop sided. Bummer huh?

We have the Intex Easy Set soft side pool in the 18 x 42. The ground has to be level for the thing to sit properly. I had to dig up the grass and level the ground before ever setting up the pool. Our yard didn't seem too unlevel, but it has to be nearly perfect for these pools. The leveling work was a pain, but now we are using the pool for the 3rd summer with no issues at all. My 5 year-old son loves it. I would very highly reccomend these pools to anyone. There is some hard work initially, but after that, you just enjoy it for years to come. It's fairly easy to take down for the winter and put back up in the summer. I do have to say that I have never been able to figure out how to get the skimmer to work properly, though. It always seems to pop up out of the water, which makes the pump stop. In three years, I have never used it. It's not a huge deal, though.

Easy to set up and no sand needed, right? We got the same pool a couple of years ago for our seemingly perfectly level backyard. It took three truckloads of sand and lots of painstaking backbreaking work to get it right!! My husband finally strung off the entire area using a level and we filled it all up with sand. Even after all the frustration, it is soooo worth it!! If you do leave it up lopsided, it will most likely collapse at some point. Unfortunately, you will have to drain the water to get it right. Or, you could just wait until the collapse and then make it right!! Your spot has to be completely level for it to be as it should. We covered ours and left it up. Just to let you know how much i think it is worth the work. We've already bought a new one for next year, so that at the end of this season we can just throw this one out and have a new one to set up early next year. These pools are hard to get set up, but i think they are the best invention ever for people with small back yards. If i can be of anymore help, just let me know. Good luck!!

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