Intex Easy-Set - Under-Pool mud and MAJOR FUNK!

[Snowymoon]

Oh goodness! We just took down our Intex Easy-Set pool for the season. All went well until it was time to begin folding it up.

We did have the ground tarp down under the pool over grass. Big mistake! We really should have removed the grass or put a *lot* of sand down. I will explain in issue #2.

I had 2 issues. The first issue was that the outside perimeter of the underside of the pool got muddy (mud soaked up through the ground tarp, which is we learned is not waterproof or mudproof), and there were chunks of dried mud I could not get off without getting the inside of the pool all wet and muddy. There was too much mud, and I do not own enough towels to get it all off. We wiped it off as best we could and just left it.

Issue #2 was a serious funky smell from the dead grass that had been trapped underneath the pool for the past 2 months. I mean, it smelled like dead rotting cow butt. We dried it off and put the pool away in the shed. The stanky, muddy tarp will go there too (we really tried to hose off the tarp, but the mud is seriously embedded). We had planned on putting the pool in the warm basement for the winter to minimize damage, but with that funk going on, there is no way it is going inside! It smells like death!

Should I take the pool back out, unroll it, risk turning it upside down on the grass (the tarp is far too gone to use for this) and try washing it with a bleach and water dilution? It is the most FUNK-AY thing I have ever smelled!

Next year we are getting lots and lots of sand for under the pool.

[matt4x4]

I would say toss the tarp, get a new one next year.
As for the pool, I would turn it upside down and scrub it with a mild bleach solution, if you have an older broom or a garage broom, use it to help you scrub the pool bottom.

[RavenNS]

SnowyMoon ( cool nic btw )
I know exactly what you're talking about.
I had the 18' donut pool for two summers...
After I drained it the first summer, holy funk batman! WHEW & PHEW!
- mere words simply can not describe just how disgusting that rotton grass smell can become ( especially in the heat of summer, when I drained the first time)... it smells worse than dead skunk!
I swear we attracted every fly in a 5 kms area!
My neighbourhood stunk; it was embarrassing to hear the neighbours complain about the smell ( although they didn't know what it was or where it was comming from).
After that I had an excavation company come & remove the dead ground ( the smell actually sank a few inches down as well) & flatten/level the area out & then put some small-stoned gravel down.

I think that bleech will probably work fine for getting the mud/smell off. I used vinyl pool cleaner in a spray bottle. sprayed it on & left it there for a couple of hours before hosing it off & then letting it dry ( as best as I could; its so difficult because of the shape of these pools, it's practically impossible to dry the whole thing with all the folds in them)
If you have a pressure sprayer, this will take some of the work out of cleaning it.

You will probably need a new ground sheet.
I also bought a few smaller sized tarps ( because you can get a cheepo ten foot tarp here for about $10). Then I rolled up the pool like a burito for storage, using bungee cords to keep it completely closed.
The 1st winter, I left it outside in burrito state in the snow, it was fine the next summer ( no holes or apparent damages). the 2nd winter I wrapped it up & put it in the shed... I assume it waas okay since it weathered the 1st winter so well, but I sold that pool with my house, so I can't say for sure.

Anyway, hope something from my experience with this helps you,
Best of Luck to you & here's hoping that stentch goes away quickly

[jonv112]

I experienced the exact same thing. I just took my pool down Monday, but the pool and ground tarp are still on the ground drying (thankfully). We are thinking about getting an AGP because of the hassle of taking it down each year. I used Dawn antibacterial to clean the pool inside and out, which worked well.

[MarkC]

I use to put up a seasonal pool on a sand bed and it still stunk like crap when I took it down in the fall. I used to replace the liner every year. It was only a 12ft diameter pool so the new liner was only $50 or so.

[Snowymoon]

Thanks everyone. At least I know I am not the only one who has experienced this. I am surprised to read that the sand did not help with this issue. I don't think death could smell much worse than the bottom of that pool did. Blech!..::giggles::

We have not taken the pool back out to re-clean the bottom as of yet, but it is in the plans. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.