Kiddie pools have gained popularity lately as sensory toys. Parents fill them with sand, dry corn, and all sorts of texturally pleasing options. However, most kiddie pools still get filled with water.
The trouble is, they’re not much fun once the water gets cold. How do you warm up a kiddie pool fast? I’ll help you get the last bit of swimming fun in before winter temperatures spoil the fun.
The fastest way to warm up a kiddie pool is with an immersion heater. These tiny heaters can heat up 5 gallons of water up to 180 degrees in just a few minutes. Be extra careful with the plastic bottom and sides of the pool since too much heat can warp, crack or melt the material.
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How To Warm Up Kiddie Pool
Whether you use it for dipping your toes or the kids splash their hearts out in it, a kiddie pool is a delightful way to while away the warm summer days.
However, once the seasons change, it gets cold at night, and the water temperature tends to drop quickly. Sadly, cold water isn’t as much fun. I’ve collected ten ways to heat your kiddie pool fast and keep it warm longer.
1 – Immersion Water Heater
An electric immersion water heater might seem like a dangerous idea, but they are surprisingly safe when used correctly.
More importantly, an immersion water heater is among the fastest and most economical ways to heat a kiddie pool quickly.
Especially if you have a smaller plastic kids pool, this will warm the water in no time. Remember to keep it away from the sides and bottom or heat buckets of water and dump them inside.
I recommend the Gesail 1500W Electric Immersion Heater from Amazon. This tiny yet powerful heater can get five gallons of water up to 180 degrees in a few minutes.
Better still, it has an auto-shutoff, so it cannot boil the water, which might damage your pool. This clever UL-Listed heater meets US safety standards, though you need to wait to go in the water until after the heater is removed.
Plus, it comes with a twelve-month warranty.
2 – Solar Mat
Solar mats go over your pool when it’s not in use. These mats can help warm your pool water before you ever decide to get wet by collecting and radiating the sun’s natural heat.
Put the mat over your pool whenever you finish swimming, and it will heat the rest of the day and start heating again as soon as the sun comes out in the morning.
3 – Pool Enclosure
A pool enclosure for a kiddie pool doesn’t need to be a permanent fixture. You can set up a basic wooden or PVC pipe frame and drape reflective tarps between the poles to help warm a kiddie pool.
However, you should pull the reflective tarps down and use sunscreen while swimming to prevent sunburn.
4 – Liquid Solar Cover
Liquid solar pool covers are a great and often overlooked method for getting and keeping a small pool warm.
According to Pool Care Guy, “liquid pool covers reduce overnight heat loss by 50%, reduce energy usage by up to 40%, and conserve about 30-50% of the water you would normally use to refill your pool.”
You can even swim worry-free with this in your pool. However, you’ll need to add a new layer every time you refill the kiddie pool.
5 – Extend Washing Machine Hose
Another simple way to make a kiddie pool warm extremely fast is to fill it with hot water. You may need to add some cold to get the temperature right, but it’s easy.
You only need a couple of long hoses and an adapter piece that will connect the two.
Move your washing machine and turn off the hot tap. Then you connect one hose end to the indoor hot water line and place the other end in your kiddie pool.
Turn the hot water on, and presto, you have hot pool water. Be careful not to get burned and remember that your water heater will eventually run out of pre-heated water.
6 – Reflective Cover
Use a heat reflective pool cover. You can usually find these in the correct size and shape for most pools, even the small ones.
The shiny material will reflect heat into your pool whenever it is covered, reducing heat loss.
The downside to this method is that the water needs a chance to heat up first, so this is best used when you have a warm pool, and you want to keep it that way to use again later the same day.
7 – Black Hose
If it’s sunny where you live, a black hose may be the answer you need. The dark rubber heats up fast in the sunshine, so all you have to do is spread out the coils to maximize the hose’s exposure to the sun.
Please turn it on low and fill the kiddie pool slowly with warm water when you’re ready.
8 – Heat Pump
The smallest kiddie pools won’t benefit from a heat pump, but most mid-sized inflatable pools for older kids work well with this solution.
A traditional above-ground pool heat pump is ideal for extending your swimming season into the autumn months. Sadly, these small heaters don’t do so great when freezing weather hits. Until then, you can swim in comfort.
9 – Solar Blanket Insulation
Pick up a large, high-quality solar blanket or two. By wrapping these around the outside of your kiddie pool, you can help insulate and warm the water.
This method works best if you have a lot of sunshine, and it won’t heat as well as a pump, but it will give you a few extra days of summer-like splashing.
10 – In-Pool Solar Heater Mat
An in-pool solar mat captures the warm sunshine efficiently. These are designed for above-ground pools, so they come in pretty small sizes.
The mat goes on the bottom, and you will need to hook it up to a pool pump to circulate the warm water.
Intex Solar Heater Mat for Above Ground Pool
- Solar heater mat uses solar technology to increase the temperature of the pool water by approximately 5 to 9 degrees depending on the weather
- Features an 11-square-foot surface to absorb the sun's rays to heat up above-ground pools; Dimensions (L x W): 47.25 x 47.25 inches (flat)
- Simple and economical to use, compatible with filter pumps with up to 1/3 HP or a pump flow rate less than 2,000 GPH; Weight: 6.41 pounds
- Includes a 1.25-inch hose attachment point, a bypass valve, 1 adaptor A, and 1 adaptor B for a 1.50-inch hose connection
- Constructed of heavy-duty UV stabilized PVC; Suitable for above-ground pools up to 8000 gallons; Folds for compact winter storage
Last update on 2024-07-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Helpful Tips To Know About How To Warm Up Kiddie Pool
Warming up a kiddie pool quickly doesn’t need to be a headache. As you can see, there are plenty of methods that will accomplish this within minutes or hours, depending on how patient you are.
Here are more helpful tips to know about how to warm up a kiddie pool.
- Sun rings or lily pads, as they are sometimes called, will also help warm your pool using solar power. These are floating circles. You can also find them in ‘heat squares, but the concept is the same, a sun-absorbing pool float that covers part of the pool and radiates heat into the water. Plus, they help prevent evaporation, which is a naturally cooling event.
- Don’t limit yourself to just one warming method. By combining two or more of the ideas on the list above, you can keep your kids’ pool warmer for longer.
- Use a pool mat instead of a tarp or bare ground under your kiddie pool. A little bit of insulation goes a long way toward keeping the heat inside your pool water where it belongs.
Final Thoughts
The fastest way to heat your kiddie pool is with an immersion heater or a heat pump, but there are plenty of good options.
The sun will help you heat a small pool even in cold weather if you use the proper solar equipment. You can use insulation and solar blankets to help keep the heat you already have.
Of course, filling it up with fresh hot water will also do the trick fast if you don’t mind unhooking a washer. Whatever method you choose, you can easily extend your kiddie pool good times by a few weeks.
