While everyone is enjoying a dip in the pool on a hot summer’s day, there is nothing like finding a hole in your inflatable pool toy to ruin your fun. Usually made of vinyl, inflatable pool rafts and toys are easy to move around and play with in the swimming pool, but their lightweight construction and design make them susceptible to tears that can reduce their lifespan.

Follow these steps to repair a hole in your float with things you already have around the house, and get it back in the pool instead of in the garbage bin.

Step 1 - Identify the Hole

Submerge your float in a bathtub or pool and look for escaping bubbles. This will indicate the exact spot of the leak. Another alternative to this is to spray a mixture of water and soap directly on the surface of the float, covering one section at a time. The appearance of soap bubbles will indicate the spot where the hole is. Draw a circle around the hole using a marker or crayon once the float is dry again.

Step 2 - Temporarily Tape the Hole

Dry your float completely and blow it up as much as possible before putting a small piece of duct tape over the hole. This is a temporary fix until you can apply the permanent patch, and it allows the float to stay mostly inflated to give a better fit for the final patch.

Step 3 - Glue the Hole

Cut the patch or a piece of duct tape to cover the area of the leak completely, allowing ¼-inch overlay around the edges of the existing temporary patch. This will provide more surface area for it to hold. Cover your hands with gloves to protect your skin and apply superglue to one side of the patch or duct tape, completely covering it in an even layer. Do not glue just the edges as it will leak.

Place the patch or duct tape, glue-side down, over the hole already covered with a piece of tape, applying even pressure for a minute or so for the glue to set in evenly.

Step 4 - Allow to Dry

Allow the glue to dry completely before using the inflatable pool float in the water again or you risk undoing your hard work.

Using a few household items and some ingenuity, you can avoid trudging to the store to buy new pool toys every time one springs a leak.