Thrift Store Kiddie Pool

Thrift store + kiddie pool = of course something will be wrong with it.  I bought a kiddie pool at the thrift store last month.  I knew it was a gamble.  I mean, a re-taped box means the poor pool was rejected for a reason.  I pulled it out of the box and some plastic things fell on the floor.  2 plugs and 3 caps for the air valves.  This is one of those pools with 3 blow up rings which make the sides.  Yes, a picture of it would be really handy right now.

First I thought that the missing plug was the problem.  I went to work finding suitable material for a plug.  I found some foam and tried in out and that's when I saw the third plug on the floor.  Ok, so that wasn't the problem.  I got out my shop-vac and filled up all three rings.  It looked beautiful.  I was very happy.  The weather was a bit windy so I used some bungee cords to secure it to the porch posts.  Later on, I looked outside to check on it and the bottom ring had deflated.  Bummer.  There's a hole.  I checked for obvious signs of injury but nothing.  Tomorrow I will have to fill it up again and spray it with a bottle of soapy water to see if I can find and patch the hole.  It is still usable with only 2 rings filled.  In fact, it might be better that way since my youngest niece is only 3 years old.  We don't want the water to be very deep.  Even with the hole, it was still worth the $14 dollars that I paid for it if the kids get some fun out of it when they visit.