A PADDLING pool is the perfect way for families to beat the heat – but topping up that inflatable fun could leave your wallet high and dry.
With the sun blazing, households up and down the country are dusting off the paddling pools to keep the kids cool and entertained during the school holidays.
But with cost of living still at a high, some of them may be worrying whether it is still affordable
If you're in two minds about whether to rag yours out of the back of your shed, here's all you need to know.
There's two things that will impact the cost of filling your paddling pool. The size of the pool, and the way you pay your water bill
If you are on an unmetered contract it's not going to cost you anything extra to fill.
This is because your bill is not based on how much water you use - but on a standard charge already agreed with your provider.
But if you are on a water meter, things could get expensive as you pay for the water you use.
If you are worried about the cost, you might wish to stick to a smaller pool.
Swimming pools come in a range of sizes, but the smallest standard size is usually 6ft wide - enough room to fit three to four kids in.
These sized pools can hold up to 3,000 litres of water. But how much does it cost to fill up one this size?
Natalie Mathie, energy expert at , comments: “If you’re on a water meter, the cost you pay per litre has gone up by around 50% in the last four years.
“Filling up a large paddling pool that holds around 3,000 litres of water would cost you more than £14, making it more expensive than you might think.
“Be sure to check how much water your paddling pool holds before taking the plunge and filling it to the brim.
“If you fill it from the hot tap it will cost you even more, so be wary of any requests from children to make it warmer.
“It might sound silly, but you can warm your paddling pool for free by putting a black bin liner in the water on a hot day. The black material absorbs the sunlight and heats up the water.
“For the best results, fill the paddling pool early in the day in a place where it will get plenty of sun, and leave the bin liners to float on the surface of the water for as long as you can, to warm it up as much as possible. Take them off just before paddling time.
“Don’t let the paddling pool water go to waste afterwards – you can use it to water your garden plants or even wash your car.”
You can lower costs by buying sterilising fluid or using a filter - which means you don’t have to keep filling your pool up.
Sterilising fluid can be picked up for as little as £4.20 for a litre, from Sainsbury's and will help stop the growth of bacteria and algae.
Or you could get a filter that you place into your pool - when we checked prices online at Amazon, we found the cheapest ones would cost around £13.00
You should always shop around to find the best price.
JUST because something is on offer, or is part of a sale, it doesn't mean it's always a good deal.
There are plenty of comparison websites out there that'll check prices for you - so don't be left paying more than you have to.
Most of them work by comparing the prices across hundreds of retailers.
Here are some that we recommend:
Some recommend using a chlorine float with a tablet, which just sits in the pool and gets to work.
However, you should be careful as the have% previously warned that it is "not safe to use bleach or pool disinfectant (chlorine or bromine) in the water in small inflatable or plastic kiddie pools and water slides".
If you are on a water meter you don't pay a fixed amount. So if you use less, you pay less.
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) has a tool that can help you calculate .
For some, having a water meter saves cuts hundreds off their annual bill.
But of course the down side of having a water meter is that you'll have to pay more if your usage increases.
Martin Lewis recommends a simple check to make to see if you could save or not with a water meter.
If you've got more or the same number of bedrooms as people in your home, switching to a meter could save you money.
That's because households without a meter are charged in line with the value of their property.
But if, for example, just two of you live in a four bedroom house, you're probably being charged more than you actually use.
IT'S always worth checking if you qualify for a discount or extra support to help pay your water bill.
Over two million households who qualify to be on discounted social water tariffs aren't claiming the savings provided, according to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW).
Only 1.3million households are currently issued with a social water tariff - up 19% from the previous year.
And the average household qualifying for the discounted water rates can slash their bills by £160 a year.
Every water company has a social tariff scheme which can help reduce your bills if you're on a low income and the CCW is calling on customers to take advantage before bills rise in April.
Who's eligible for help and the level of support offered varies depending on your water company.
Most suppliers also have a pot of money to dish out to thousands of customers who are under pressure from rising costs - and you don't have to pay it back.
These grants can be worth hundreds of pounds offering a vital lifeline when faced with daunting water bills.
The exact amount you can get depends on where you live and your supplier, as well as your individual circumstances.
Many billpayers across the country could also get help paying off water debts through a little-known scheme and even get the balance written off.
Companies match the payments eligible customers make against the debt on their account to help clear it sooner.
If you're on a water meter but find it hard to save water as you have a large family or water-dependent medical condition, you may be able to cap your bills through the WaterSure scheme.
Bills are capped at the average amount for your supplier, so the amount you could save will vary.
The Consumer Council for Water estimates that bills are reduced by £307 on average through the scheme.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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