Pool Owners Upcycle the Old Solar Pool Cover as a DIY Slip and Slide

Hey fellow pool owners? Stuck for ideas on what to use your old solar pool cover for? Don’t just toss it, upcycle it! Think Slip ‘n Slide:)

How? Let me share our fun new epiphany with you! It’s the kids’ fave idea of summer:)

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So much fun!

The mini surfboard is called a COOP Hydro Subskate board. My boys love trying to stand on these boards in the pool, floating on them, and jumping into the pool to try and land on them. Loads of fun, though hard to stand on for long in a pool…a good and fun challenge!

Slide down the giant slip and slide on the smooth side of the board for best results. Add dish soap as desired.

COOP Hydro Subskate,assortment

 

 

Our family has an in-ground pool in our backyard and we really enjoy being pool owners. To maximize heating up the water and to retain heat overnight, we utilize a solar pool cover. From time to time, the pool cover needs to be replaced because of tears. Plus, we find the plastic of the bubbles begin to fall off making a mess of plastic circles in the pool and rendering it less effective as a heat retaining/producing product.

We recently purchased a new solar pool cover and our kids found a fun use for our old one as it became a giant slip and slide! Serious summer fun, giggles, and hours of entertainment ensued! This is the best upcycle of the old solar pool cover I could imagine and the kids were in heaven sliding down the slide for hours:)

 

Supplies Needed for the Giant Slip and Slide

The supplies needed for this genius idea for a giant slip and slide are easy when you are a home pool owner. A pool cover makes a perfect sliding surface because it is made of thick plastic and it even has bubbles underneath to create a bit of a cushion as kids slide.

• an old solar pool cover, any size (cut it as needed to fit in your space)
• a garden hose
• sprinkler (at least one)
• plastic stakes (2-4)
• dish soap (optional)
• tube, mini foam surfboard, hydro subskate (optional)
• a hill (slight incline works great for boards)

Simply lay out the old solar pool cover smooth side up flat across the grassy lawn on a hill. Secure the top of the solar pool cover to the ground using old slip and slide stakes or tent stakes by stabbing through the plastic into the ground. Attach a garden hose to a sprinkler and set it at the top of the cover on the grass (works best). Turn on the sprinkler in a mode that provides a wide sprinkling of water across the cover.

Add dish soap for an optional idea to make the old solar pool cover turned slip and slide more slippery or apply soap directly to the bottom of a foam swim board or tube to make it more slippery. Be sure to be careful not to make it too sudsy to avoid getting soap in the eyes.

Upcycle!

This is the perfect upcycle idea for an old solar pool cover that is just going to be thrown away. Save it for your kids or grandkids and make it into a superb wide slip and slide! Commerical slip and slides are so narrow so a pool cover works great to widen the sliding area and even allow for more than one kid to go at once (if wide enough).

This idea is the perfect sidekick to a pool party!

 

Don’t have a pool? You can buy a pool cover to make your own giant DIY Slip and Slide. The plastic is thicker than the traditional slip and slide. Your kids will love this if you buy it for them.

Thermo-Tex 2831224 Swimming Pool Solar Pool Cover, 12′ x 24′, Blue

 

Family Fun for Hours

This DIY slip and slide is perfect summer entertainment for hours of fun. Great for kids including elementary aged kids, tweens, and teens. Parents could even venture a ride down this huge slip and slide for some fun!

Great for parties, sleepovers, or a hot afternoon. A fun way to keep cool and stay active in the summer. My boys play so much on this fun slip and slide that their muscles are usually sore the next day.

My kids would run and slip down on their bellies, knees, foam swim boards, or mini foam surfboards. Sitting to slide works too if the hill is steep enough. We have a more gradual hill which worked great for the mini foam surfboards. They would often sprinkle some dish soap in the bottom for extra slipperiness.

When using the Hydro Subskate board, slide down on the smooth side.

 

 

 

 

Wipeouts!

Wipeouts happen and are a part of the fun! Often the kids would wipeout and then slide down the rest of the way giggling the whole time.

 

 

Other Tips About the Solar Pool Cover Slip and Slide

A word of caution for the grass while using this slip and slide: the grass beneath the slip and slide could die off if the slip and slide is left on the grass for too long on a hot day. We’ve left ours on our lawn for hours without any problems, however, the grass could start to be killed off after an extended time in hot weather so check it as needed to make sure your lawn doesn’t begin to brown beneath.

The giant slip and slide did compress our grass flat but it popped back up with time.

Storage of the Giant Solar Pool Cover Slip and Slide

Simply fold up the solar pool cover and store it in a garage or shed away from where mice might chew or make a bed in it. It is easy to store it for the next summer and years to come.

 

Have fun!

I hope your family and kids have a blast with this upcycle idea! My family sure has enjoyed it this summer and I love reusing something that was going to be garbage, plus it’s a major bonus to use it for something fun:)

Looking for more family fun ideas for the pool? Check out my posts for homemade pool toys and how to reuse an old kiddie pool as a boat!

Pool fun!

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