Having an inflatable pool at home is a great way to stay cool during the summer. Inflatable pools are less expensive than permanent pools, and when the hot season is over, you simply drain, deflate, and store your inflatable pool until you need it again.
However, there is one major disadvantage: if you don’t have a solid hard surface to place your pool on, setting it up on the lawn is your only option. Unfortunately, this will destroy your lawn because it requires air and light to grow. Your grass may not grow back after you set up your inflatable pool if you reside in a region where heat waves occur frequently. So, how can you prevent this from happening?
Continue reading for some suggestions.
Methods for Preventing Your Pool From Killing Grass
There are various methods you can use to keep your pool from ruining your lawn. Some are quite simple and easy, others require more time and patience. Determining how frequently you will utilize the pool and available free space also needs careful consideration.
If you install your pool on your lawn, the grass beneath it will die within 12-24 hours. As a result, to keep your lawn from dying, consider moving your pool daily, which may necessitate emptying the pool of water, and using ground cover, to name a few suggestions.
Where to Install Your Pool to Save Grass
Inflatable pools may appear light in comparison to larger pools, but it is not the weight of the pool that is killing the grass. Pools obstruct the air, sunlight, and water that a lawn requires to thrive. When an inflatable pool is kept in one location, sunlight, air, and water cannot reach the grass beneath the pool.
Emptying the pool and hanging it to dry after each use would help your lawn last longer, but if that’s too time-consuming, at least move it every 12 to 24 hours.
Pool Location Options
If you don’t want to keep moving the pool, the next option is to place it on a hard surface, such as a patio or driveway. Locating your pool on a firm surface will keep your lawn from dying, and you won’t be dumping dirty water on it.
Furthermore, if you are concerned about your children playing in a pool on a hard surface, place something beneath your inflatable pool, such as a mat. Because of the mat, the pool base will stay cool, and the bottom of the pool will not feel as hard due to the barrier created by the mat.
However, installing your pool on your patio or driveway may be impossible. If you are forced to set up your pool on your lawn, don’t worry; there are other options.
How to Prevent an Inflatable Pool From Killing the Grass
Inflatable pools harm the health of the grass. The health of your lawn deteriorates each time you set up the inflatable pool.
However, you can save your grass by taking the necessary precautions to lessen the impact of the inflatable pool on your yard. Here are some ideas to keep your lawn from dying
1. Reposition of the pool
The first way to reduce the effect of the inflatable pool killing your grass is to relocate it. Even though this appears to be a difficult task, it is quite simple.
Simply drag or slide the inflatable pool to a new location in your yard where the grass is growing. Once a day, keep moving the inflatable pool.
Shifting the pool can be difficult if you have a large inflatable pool, but it is doable. Moving a smaller inflatable is less difficult.
2. Apply a ground cover
If shifting your pool is not an option, use a ground cover to protect the surrounding grass. Utilizing a ground cover will allow the grass to grow beneath the inflatable pool while maintaining the current color and health.
There are numerous inexpensive and easily accessible ground cover options.
Read More | Can You Spray Paint Inflatable Pool?
3. Every day, drain the pool
The best thing you can do to keep the inflatable from killing the grass is to empty it every day. If you have a larger pool with more than a thousand gallons of water, consider draining half of the water, shifting your pool, and then continuing the emptying process. This method works best at the end of the day after you’ve finished using your pool.
This will also provide the grass with the light and air it requires to thrive. Even if you end up with dormant patches of grass as a result of installing your pool on the grass, this will grow back when you empty the pool.
Also, if you don’t use your pool every day, you can hang the inflatable pool around the house after you’ve emptied it.
4. Repair the grass after deflating your pool
If you can’t move your pool every 12-24 hours or put a recommended ground cover underneath it, you’ll have damaged grass by the end of the season. To avoid leaving a large, dead, brown spot where your pool used to sit, the grassy area must be repaired.
The amount of time it takes to notice changes, depends on how long the inflatable pool was on the grass and how much damage it caused. An inflatable pool can seriously damage the grass by making it dormant or even kill it. If the grass is dead, you must entirely replace it with new grass.
The good news is that most lawns can go dormant for three to four weeks without significant damage. Since the grass has been depleted of both water and oxygen, water it immediately and a few inches deep.
Many people believe that since dormant grass grows slowly, it does not need to be mowed. Mowing the grass, on the other hand, will encourage it to grow back. Leave grass clippings on the lawn to fertilize the regrowth naturally. Applying store-bought fertilizer will not wake up the lawn and will end up causing the blades to grow faster than the roots.
Reduce foot traffic after watering, weeding, mowing, and fertilizing to protect the grass and allow it to recover.
If you don’t have time to properly restore the dormant grass, watering it will keep it alive until you can. Watering is by far the most important stage.
Zoning Regulations May Apply
Zoning regulations vary by location, but most places have restrictions on where you can build a pool. These restrictions may differ depending on your state, county, municipality, or even the neighborhood where you live.
One of the most typical requirements stipulates that the pool must be set back from the property lines and the main residence. Other areas necessitate pool fencing or other safety-related measures. Make sure you’re aware of any applicable zoning regulations in your area.
