Paddling Pool Repair

Ebe_Scrooge

We've got one of those big 10' diameter paddling pools, which has just one inflatable ring at the top and as you fill it with water the sides rise up. The kids ( and all their friends from the neighbourhood ! ) absolutely love it.

However, the inflatable ring has a slow puncture - the inevitable result of a group of boistrous kids I suppose. Anyway, over the last few days I've managed to locate about a dozen tiny holes and repair them with an ordinary bike puncture repair kit, and they're fine. But there's still at least one, and probably more, very tiny holes, that are so small it's proving very difficult to locate them ( I use the traditional method of coating with washing up liquid and looking for bubbles, as well as listing for escaping air ).

Anyhow, I was struck with a great idea. How about if I got a big pot of rubber solution ( like the glue that comes with puncture repair kits ), or some sort of liquid rubber, or perhaps latex, and painted the entire ring with it ? That would stop all the leaks, however many tiny pinholes there turn out to be.

Problem - I can't seem to find such a thing at all. Any ideas if such stuff exists, or where to look for it ? Or any other ideas to fix and reinforce the plastic ? I'm thinking that if I could do this it would cure the existing leaks and also help to prevent future leaks.

gmgmgm

You'll find plenty of this sort of membrane coating if you look at roofing or caravaning products.

But- it will not be cheap and probably not worth it unless it's a premium pool.

Alternatively, you can get squirty goo which goes inside tyres and seal from the inside... maybe this would help. Holt tyre-fix, or the bicycle equivalent.

Ebe_Scrooge

Thanks, I'll take a look at caravanning sites. I was hoping for a cheap 'n' cheerful fix, like you say it may not be worth it. But thanks for the tip, I'll have a browse around. I may end up just spending hours trying to find the tiniest of holes - fixing them is easy, it's finding the little blighters that's the hard part !

gmgmgm

Sorry, missed the reply there.

If you cover the pool in fairy liquid, then you should be able to see where the bubbles are coming out. That's the theory, anyway...

Alternatively, find an even larger pool and submerge it in there to see the bubbles.

toadyfrog

I have a hole thanks to a nosey cat, luckily he didn't fall in. I just went round the ring, half inflated and pushed it into the pool and waited for the air bubbles to indicate a hole. Luckily my hole was on the inside of the ring maybe thats why it was so easy to find.