A new question on Drop-in Steps

[CarlD]

On another thread, people were discussing how to weigh down drop-in steps.

For years I've put bags of filter sand into 3 giant zip-locks that came with the steps. Last season, taking them out, they failed. Replacements are a pain to get.

Today I came up with two brainstorms:

1) I went to fill up my water softener today, and as I was slicing then ends of the 80 lb bags of salt, I noticed that these bags are easily thicker than the giant zip-locks--and they are free. I'm not sure about sealing them--is there an underwater tape? But they are perfect and free.

2) As I was looking at them I thought: Why not just use two salt bags to weigh the steps down? They are 80 lbs, so they weigh more than the 3 50 lb bags I normally use. They are sealed and should have NO floating issue, and if they leak, So What??? They won't grow algae, unlike sand, any salt that leeches out will soften the pool water, since people who add salt for the feel use the same stuff, and the higher levels of salt in the local area should inhibit the inevitable algae growth inside the stairs. Am I off my rocker on this one????

[Islander2C]

Depeding on the type of steps, couldn't you use dumbell weights? They are plastic, and easy to remove in the fall? Just a thought.

[CarlD]

Depeding on the type of steps, couldn't you use dumbell weights? They are plastic, and easy to remove in the fall? Just a thought.

Should be able to. The biggest freezer zip-locks should fit around them. But I don't have them. I have 3 extra bags of filter sand, and 3 80# bags of my water softener salt.

[Mom2Czars]

This is our newest challenge. Just dropped the steps in Sunday and they're 'wobbly.' I can't see how the two little straps they provide to screw into the deck is going to make that much of a difference either. I think we need more weight, although honestly, we've got 120# on it now. I like the bags of water softener salt idea.

Oh, and in my area, the grocery store now carries Ziploc XXL bags. They come 3 or 4 to a package depending on the size you get and they're over 2' long, heavy duty and even have a handle built in. I think it was $6 for the package of 3 super huge bags.

[waste]

Carl, the salt bags sound like a good idea, the only problem I can see is if they do leak, the steps would become steadily unsteady Sorry, I can't think of a better alternative, but if you use them - keep an eye on how well they're weighting the steps.

[CarlD]

Carl, the salt bags sound like a good idea, the only problem I can see is if they do leak, the steps would become steadily unsteady Sorry, I can't think of a better alternative, but if you use them - keep an eye on how well they're weighting the steps.

Well, the salt bags turned out to be a LOUSY idea, well, just not a good one. They had just a few tiny leaks, but that was enough--they are empty. I have a two-rail unit so it's holding it down, but I'll need to put sand in there. The good news is it DID prevent algae in the steps AND the water in the pool is nice and softer.

[gonefishin]

The new XL ziplock BigBag (2ftx1.7ft) and XXL BigBag (2ftx2.7ft) are nice for containing whatever you use to weigh down the stairs. The plastic and "lock" both seem much better than the piece of junk I received with my steps (yes, it failed with sand twice)

The only plastic weights I could find are standard metal weights that are encased in plastic. I put 50#'s of weights into an XL BigBag. I did this twice then weighed down the steps with the 100#total, in two bags. After I screwed the steps to the top plate it became very stable.

I currently vacuum behind the steps every time I vacuum the pool...but I do wonder if there's anything else I could do that may be a little easier than trying to hold my breath while vacuuming under water. Could a 1/2 gallon milk jug filled with bleach and one small pin hole work? Maybe tie it so it would stay inside the steps???

take care,
dan

[matt4x4]

Carld, just a thought, the bags my dog's food comes in are resealable (ziploc type) and are made of a very thick plastic - sure, they got a pic of an Australian shepperd on them, but hey, that just gives your divers something to look at!
The brand is Nutrience and you can get them in several sizes. If you got kids, you can probably even pawn the contents off on them without them noticing - my kid likes to snack on a few ocasionally as a reminder of how good his life is in comparison to the dogs!

[CarlD]

Carld, just a thought, the bags my dog's food comes in are resealable (ziploc type) and are made of a very thick plastic - sure, they got a pic of an Australian shepperd on them, but hey, that just gives your divers something to look at!
The brand is Nutrience and you can get them in several sizes. If you got kids, you can probably even pawn the contents off on them without them noticing - my kid likes to snack on a few ocasionally as a reminder of how good his life is in comparison to the dogs!

LOL!!!!! No, I don't feed my kids dog food! The big one is too wise to be fooled and the little one too picky--and he's no fool either!

I'm just going to put a bag of sand in one of the salt bags--they are SUCH thick plastic--and use some waterproof tape to close it.

[threekittens]

I bought 2 large plastic gas cans at Wally World. (Red was cheaper than the yellow and blue ones and they are the exact same shape, etc.) Total cost 10 to 12 I think.

Then we filled each jug with pea gravel (one bag of rock filled the 2 cans).

We next tried putting them in like that but the jugs floated. So, we then filled the jugs with water too. That worked great. Steps have been holding in place just fine. Should be easy to grasp and take out again in the fall.

I actually think I read a suggestion to use these jugs on the board last year. Don't recall from who.