SWIMLINE HYDROTOOLS Protective Mat for Above Ground Pool Ladders/Stairs/Steps, 9" x 36"

I am ordering my unit as a replacement. This will be my pools 3rd year of operation. I have the 18’x48” easyset. Plastic round pool, no metal frame. I have the cartridge B/saltwater pump. The skimmer is a bit worn but not unserviceable. Several of the tiny plastic nubs are gone from the shell. The nubs hold the inner blue cylinder in the skinner frame. This skimmer does an awesome job of clearing debris, blowing dust, and bugs from the surface of the water.I have several improvements for operation. I built a deck and ordered a set of drop in stairs to attach to the deck. I ordered a set of Hydro Tools Swimline 87952 Vinyl Protective Swimming Pool Ladder Mats to place under the ladder. (not through Amazon). Notice I discuss these mats in the next paragraph. Mine are 87952 but on Amazon you have to order 87953. The only difference in 52 and 53 is the length. The length can be fixed with a pair of scissors. You cannot get 87952 on Amazon.One of the problems the Skimmer unit has is the tendency to float crooked. It also tends to crush the air tube runner around the top of the sidewall, which causes the skimmer to come out of the water. The air tube running around the top of the pool is not made of stiff enough plastic when you are trying to use it as a support mechanism. Two steps I have taken to solve these problems. I took one of the vinyl ladder mats out from under the ladder and laid it over the side of the pool. Then, I placed the “hook”, which holds the skimmer in place, over the vinyl protector. The results were amazing. The hook no longer crushes the air tube. It stays where you place it even with a bunch of highly active kids sloshing water out of the pool. The vinyl mat forms itself perfectly over the air tube. You can order Hydro Tools Protective Pool Ladder Mat 87953; look for the 3 sizes listed midway down. Select the 9” x 36” to get the right material. It’s the smooth black vinyl on the back and ribbed blue on the top(looks like it comes in a roll not a flat mat). You can trim the mat with a pair of scissors. Trim it down to about 30” or less and it will fit beautifully. Do not order the smaller sizes; they are a different mat made of different material. You could also try other materials like a thin vinyl car mat cut to fit. Maybe something like a thick floor mat; any soft flexible vinyl type material, ¼” thick material cut to fit.The next thing I did was center the skimmer over the hose outlet. I attached the hose. Notice the hose makes a bad U shape and it forces the top of the skimmer to tilt toward the side of the pool. The plastic hose is too stiff to bend easily. I took some plastic bailing string, about 20” and tied it around the hose near the top of the outlet. Then go around the hose close to the skimmer and back to the outlet end of the hose. Get a string long enough to make a couple loops. Pull the string around the outlet hose and SQUEEZE the two ends of the hose together. Tie it off. You end up with a sharp U shaped hose. Like a P trap in a drain. You might try a very large rubber band. This causes the skimmer to level itself in the pool. This along with the vinyl mat will perfect your setup and give you a problem free summer, in regards to your skimmer.I did not figure these improvements out until the second year. I believe these improvements will extend the life of my skimmer by holding it in place and reducing the amount of repositioning I kept repeating the first year.By the way, on the ladder mat 87953, there are a lot of negative comments about these mats. I have not any problems with these mats. They work beautifully under my stairs. (Blue Wave Easy Pool Step for Above Ground Swimming Pools).I also have the solar cover (Crystal Clear Solar Cover 15 ft. Round 16 Mil from solarcovers.com). I love this cover. It raises the pool temp on average 10 degrees above the outside temperature. Practically feels like a hot tub in mid summer. I live in texas and can swim most years until late October.I also ordered Vio Products 11000 Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Floating Thermometer. Piece of junk, the floating part works well enough, but forget about the wireless read out. Won’t connect or stay connected beyond 5 feet away.

Solid heavy duty mat, originally had two long strips. This mat cover the whole base of the pool stairs nicely. Just have to cut to size and round off the corners to avoid any damage to pool liner.

These mats can be really expensive and this was a good price. It barely fit my wedding cake steps but it made it. I was worried it would be thin & cheap being it wasn't as much as others but was happily surprised. I'd recommend this to friends.

Sturdiness under ladder, size was just big enough. Easy to install in pool. Great performance lasted the whole season.

If these are necessary for under the ladder, which I think they help protect the pool bottom, then there has to be a better way.They slide around and don't stay put.

Great price

Ok, I don’t get what all the bad reviews are about! Maybe they are old reviews and the ladder mat has improved, but all I can say is that, it works! It does exactly what it’s supposed to do! We just got a new pool installed, and the installer recommended that we get one of these. That was a surprise to me since we had a pool for 19 years without one, and never had a rip in the liner. But, I did some research and decided to try this one in spite of the bad reviews. First off, it does NOT float. I threw it into the pool and it sunk directly to the bottom and stayed there, without anything holding it down. Secondly, it is a bit thin, but why is that bad? It’s meant to act as a protection to the liner, not to raise the ladder. I’m glad it’s thin! Third, it’s the perfect size for an average ladder, (ours is a ladder that comes in off the deck.). I’m sure if you have pool stairs, rather than a ladder, this would not work. But if you read the measurements, why would you think it would? I’m sure there are bigger ones for stairs. So, if you’ve bothered to read this review, you must be considering purchasing this. Go ahead and do so! It will work for you! See my picture as proof!

This product seems to be perfect sizing. We replaced a 10-year-old smaller mat that was really gross. This one came with a hole in it and that's the only reason I'm giving it four stars. I decided not to send it back cuz I didn't want to wait for another one we were opening our pool.

Great mat- does the job! Fits perfectly under our stairs. Product is true to description.

We bought this so the legs of the latter wouldn’t damage the bottom of the pool. Very durable and non slip.

Great product, works well

Excelente para proteger el fondo de la piscina , tiene aprox. 1 milimetro de espesor

This mat is not 1 inch thick as described.It's only 0.17mm thick.