How to Clean And Maintain Your Intex Pool?

When the amount of space you have available is limited, it’s time to turn to more efficient options. One of these options is the Intex pools. While Intex is a brand name, it is also used to describe a certain type of pool.

Call it a quick-set pool, an Easy set pool – they are all essentially the same thing. These are above ground pools with an inflatable ring.

What makes them stand out from in-ground pools and other above-ground variants is the amount of work that goes into setting them up. 

These pools are extremely easy to install and remove. Everything you need is conveniently included in the boxed set. This means you can lay out the pool, hook up the filter pump, fill the pool with water – and you are good to go!

This pool type is perfect for homeowners who don’t want to hassle with long installations.

Are they easy to maintain?

Don’t let the short installation time or the convenience of this pool type fool you. Even though you can virtually set it up within an hour, it still requires proper cleaning and maintenance. 

Just like any other pool, caring for the cleanliness is a must. This includes debris removal, regular water testing and cleaning the filter.

Because they are intended to be installed or removed quickly, these pools are typically smaller. Cleaning them is necessary, but doing so is slightly different from your average pool.

You will usually have a smaller surface to cover, so you could say it makes cleaning that much easier. Let’s take a look at how to clean an Intex pool.

Use A Skimmer Net To Clean The Pool Surface:

Skimming the surface of your Intex pool is something you need to do daily. You will have a filter pump included in the set. Simply letting it run for a few hours each day is a good practice. 

However, doing this alone won’t do the trick. You should get yourself a pool net skimmer.

The skimming net is a fine mesh basket that you can attach to a telescoping pole. They are pretty cheap to obtain. Normally, you can get a good quality skimming net for $12. The more expensive kinds can cost up to $40. 

Some of them come with a telescoping pole, while some of them will require you to have your own. Whether you buy them separately or not is entirely up to your preference.

You would use it to skim across the surface of your pool and remove the debris inside. If you are vigilant and committed to doing it every day, you can decrease the amount of debris dramatically. 

Watch the following video to know about the easiest way to clean an intex pool by using a skimmer:

N.B: You should tend to do this at least once per day, regardless of how much debris your pool may have. By skimming the surface regularly, you are removing large debris. You are also stirring up smaller debris and dirt particles. This is helping your filter pump extract them from the pool more easily. (You can read more about removing dirt from bottom of your pool here.)

Brush The Liner, Walls and the Pool’s Bottom:

Brushing your pool is the next in the line of your cleaning checklist. Ideally, you would be able to brush your pool every day. The best practice would be to do this immediately after skimming the surface, as described above. 

While skimming the surface lets you scoop out debris from the water, brushing removes more persistent dirt. You would need to scrub your pool’s walls and bottom. This is done to ensure these areas stay clean. It also prevents gunk and algae build up.

There is an important thing to keep in mind. Your pool’s liner and the bottom are made of a softer material. This means that you can’t use just about any brush you can think of for scrubbing. 

You’ll want to avoid using a brush with stainless steel bristles at all costs. Instead, pick up a pool brush with nylon bristles. These will still allow you to scrub the pool clean, but won’t damage the sensitive vinyl liner. These are also considered generally cheap. The price ranges between $9 and $30.

Clean Your Intex Pool By Using A Pool Vacuum:

Right next to skimming and scrubbing, vacuuming is also a good cleaning practice. By vacuuming your pool in addition to the other cleaning methods, you will decrease the amount of cleaning needed. This will allow you to spend more time having fun and less time cleaning the pool.

Pool vacuums come in many shapes and sizes, so not all of them will be a good choice for your easy set pool. Since you’re not going to be covering a large surface, your best solution would be to get a manual pool vacuum. This is a simple, handheld vacuum that requires manual operation. You can read our details guide for the best vacuum for intex pool.

Some of them can be attached to your filter pump, to use its suction power. Others can work independently with their filter bag included. 

You can get one of these handheld unit for about $30. While this is a solution on its own, a much better way to handle vacuuming your pool would be inves
ting in a pool blaster. These are on the pricier end of the scale. The cheaper ones start at $80 and can cost up to $200. 

What makes these such a good choice to consider is that they are handheld and battery-powered, making your cleaning both easy and fast.

Another thing to consider would be investing in a robotic pool vacuum cleaner. While you are guaranteed to love its autonomy and thoroughness, it doesn’t make sense to get one for this pool type. 

The reason behind it is that your pool surface is most likely not going to be big enough to warrant one. It would simply be overkill in considering how expensive robotic cleaners tend to get, you are probably better off with a pool blaster.

Use A Floating Chlorine Tablet Dispenser:

Finally, make sure that your chlorine levels are stable, you will need to have a way to manage the chlorine levels. 

Usually, for an Intex pool, you will want to go with the floating chlorine dispenser. The cheapest ones go for $8, but they generally don’t cost more than $30.

What it does is literally in its name. It’s a floating container that you fill with chlorine tablets and let it float around in your pool. It goes across, dispensing chlorine across the surface and letting it dissipate in your water over time. 

Needless to say, you’re also going to need to chlorine tablets that go into the dispenser. You will want to go for the 3-inch chlorine tablets.

You can get these either online, a specialized pool supply store or retailers such as Amazon. Depending on how big your pool is and how often it’s used, you’ll need to dose these tablets accordingly.

Make sure to read the instructions in the packaging and to be in safety gear while handling the chemicals.

• Make sure that your filter pump is running at least eight hours per day on warm weather. N.B: If you’re not sure about your pool size and run time, you should definitely read our in-depth guide on pool pump run time.

• Skimming and brushing should be done daily. Try to schedule these just after the pool has been used.

• Make sure to test your pool’s water frequently to see if there any chemical imbalances.

• Keep a steady supply of water testing strips/kits and chemicals that you’ll need regularly.

• Don’t forget to clean your pool filter occasionally. If you own a sand filter for your above ground pool, then you should keep tracking its pressure gauge level to keep it normal. 

• Shocking your pool once a week is a must.

• If you want to extend your swimming season, you should get a pool heater that specifically made for intex pool. There’re several pool heating system that you can use in your pool. You may use a solar cover which is the cheapest options or invest in an above ground pool heater for the best result.

Q 1: Can you shock an Intex pool?

A: Yes, and you are recommended to shock your poo
l at least once a week. Ideally, you want your pool shock to contain no less than 70% calcium hypochlorite.

Q 2: Can I use chlorine tablets in my Intex pool?

A: Absolutely! You are highly recommended to use the 3-inch chlorine tablets. You would use them with a floating chlorine dispenser. You’d usually load the dispenser with 1 to 3 tablets at a time.

Q 3: What chemicals do I need for my Intex pool?

A: Here are the chemicals you’re going to need regularly, to treat your water’s chemistry imbalances:

• Chlorine tablets (3-inch if used with a dispenser)

• Sodium Carbonate (to increase the pH levels)

• Sodium Bicarbonate (to increase the Alkalinity levels)

• Sodium Bisulfate (to decrease Alkalinity and pH levels)

• Calcium Chloride (to increase the calcium hardness levels)

• Flocculant (to decrease the calcium hardness levels)

• Algaecide

Final Verdict:

Overall, Intex pools may be easier to set up. But they are certainly just as demanding in cleaning and maintenance needs as any other pool. You won’t be able to skip regularly cleaning and treating your water without noticing the consequences. 

Seeing as you now know how to clean an Intex pool, you could go ahead and make a cleaning schedule, make sure you stay on top of things. You could make a comprehensive schedule, detailing a daily, weekly, monthly and annual maintenance checklist.