DUMP IT EVERYDAY. Not only is it dangerous to your little ones, but you do not want to be a liability to other kiddos in the neighborhood (even if it IS behind a fence.) As far as putting chemicals in something as small as a baby pool?? That's UNTHINKABLE!!
Water your plants at the end of the day and then you have a win-win situation. I have my kids take cups and they water the plants FOR me!! They use water from the baby pool, they think it's SUPER FUN, and it's one less thing I have to do!!
Fill the pool only a couple of inches if you are really concerned about your water bill. I promise it's JUST as much fun!! Before you put your kids or other kids safety at risk or introduce more mosquitos or chemicals... how much could a few extra gallons a day add up a month on your bill - a few bucks? If the money is a concern, try calculating it and then decide if it's worth it.
Take Care!!
I usually dump our kiddie pool every 2-3 days(depending on how dirty the water has gotten). Also, I put peroxide(NOT BLEACH) in the pool water. It's safe, and it disinfects the water(I'm a bit of a germ-a-phobe). I don't know if it wards off mosquitos, but if you dump the pool regularly you won't have a problem with mosquitos. I've never seen any of their larvae in our kiddie pool(Thank God!!!). I also have a tarp to cover the pool with when we're not splashing in it! I hope this helps.
Another option is to use Baking Soda. You can get a big box of Arm and Hammer baking soda in the laundry aisle and there are instructions right on the box for use in pools as an alternative to bleach. As long as you kiddie pool is in a fenced area, and depending on use I would probably dump it once a week. After all people who have full size pools in fenced areas take precaustions to keep unwanted people and animals out and they can't empty their pools everyday, and I am sure you know the dangers of water and watch your child. I think it's ridiculous of people to assume you don't.
We definitely need to conserve water and if you use an additive to keep the water clean (preferably a natural one although a small amount of bleach is perfectly safe.) Then you just have to use your best judgement on when to dump it!
I put a big splash of bleach in the water while I'm filling it and it tends to keep for about 3 days. And in Corpus that seems to be quite a while. Before I started adding bleach it wouldn't even make it through a full 24 hours without growing green stuff in the water. And it makes it ten times easier to clean it. I don't see any mosquitoes near it. So I would assueme that it helps with that. I put just enough in that you can ALMOST smell the chlorine. Hope this helps.
Here is a link to control the mosquito larvae and brother they WORK! They just said to take out before they swim bc it may irritate eyes. The working element is Bacillus Thuringiensis-- A.K.A -- B.T.
" B.T.I. is a bacterium that controls mosquitoes and black flies in their larval filter feeding stage of development. The larvae die after consuming the bacteria that causes a disease specific to them but are harmless to all other forms of wildlife." Below I have placed the link : http://www.northlineexpress.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=5SU-111
These people are the cheapest on the web and very nice to deal with.
It is approved in all 50 states and even in Canada!
If you want to get rid o all the little blood suckers so you can once again own your own backyard I suggest using Garlic Barrier. http://www.mosquitobarrier.com/index.html
I as well as my neighbors who have tried it as well use it asthe ONLY thing that works and is completely friendly to the environment and that means you and your family as well! I used it once then twice and VOILA! NOT A SINGLE BITE SINCE! No mosquitos, gnats, no see ums etc. You will be entralled if you go read the site. AMAZING and shocking is all i can say for the results! AND! IT gets RID of FIRE ANTS POOF!! They LEAVE and DONT come back! One qt lasts the season ifyou have the average small yard. You need a small pump sprayer and you can get that at Walmart. You will never go back to pesticides again. PROMISE.
This has been so informative! At first I told myself that it was a silly question, but I must say that I have become better educated! THANK YOU ALL! We only recently bought our first kiddie pool 2 weeks ago. I had already toyed with the idea of maybe adding salt, vinegar, bleach, or dish washing soap to the water. However, our pool is the inflatable kind (not hard plastic) and we thought that anything too caustic (like bleach) would eat through the plastic. I had not considered baking soda…?! Makes sense, its a base instead of an acid…
And that being said, I’m not actually convinced that I will leave water in the pool after each use. You’re right, she’s not entirely potty trained and there is always the possibility of a drowning danger… (And knowing my child, she’s probably contemplating how to scare the living ‘bejeebees’ out of me at this very moment… 'Cause she undoubtedly thinks that’s funny… ?!) Actually, one of my girlfriends told me that her sister saw her 4 yr old lose his balance while bending over the side of a kiddie pool and was upended, legs sticking out in the air and couldn’t get out. Luckily there wasn’t water in the pool (and I’m not sure how high of a side wall it had). But if a 4 yr old can get in trouble around a kiddie pool, I’m sure my 2 yr old can too.
And of course, water conservation is something I need to keep working on… I appreciate all your good tips! Thanks again!