Cleaning a Pool Liner: How I Accidentally Fell in Love With My Beatbot

If you had told me a year ago that I’d be standing in my backyard watching a pool-cleaning robot  swirl gently across the bottom of my pool while grinning like a goofball… I would’ve laughed. Or asked how much wine I’d had. But here I am, a full-fledged believer, all because of a beat-up vinyl liner, a string of frustrating cleaning attempts, and a little device called Beatbot AquaSense 2 .

I’ve always wanted a pool. I grew up with summers that smelled like sunscreen and chlorine, and I swore that one day, I’d have my own. Fast forward to last spring—I got the pool alright. A lovely inground number with a vinyl liner that looked decent at first glance. But no one tells you how finicky those liners can be. One month in, I noticed the once-clear surface starting to look a little… off. Smudges, a film I couldn’t quite name, and little splotches that didn’t budge no matter how hard I scrubbed.

So, I did what any proud new pool owner does. I bought the brushes. The fancy chemicals. That awkward telescopic pole that whacked me in the shin more times than I care to admit. I spent hours bent over the side of the pool, trying to scrub algae out of seams while cursing whatever plant kept dropping pollen bombs in my water. It didn’t feel like pool ownership. It felt like punishment.

I wasn’t even shopping for a robot when I found Beatbot. I was scrolling one night, searching for “non-toxic ways to clean pool liners” because I’d already bleached a patch by accident (oops). A forum post led me to a review. That review led me to a video. And the video? That led me to ordering one at 1:15 a.m. because, frankly, I was exhausted and kind of desperate.

The day it arrived, I was skeptical. The box looked sleek. Too sleek, maybe. I didn’t want a gadget; I wanted a solution. But from the moment I dropped the Beatbot AquaSense 2 into the water, something shifted. It didn’t just float around randomly like I expected. It mapped the space. It seemed to know where the dirt was hiding—especially along the liner’s folds and edges where I usually had to squat and scrub.

And the best part? It was gentle. That was a big one for me. My liner’s older, and I was worried about anything with a motor being too aggressive. But the AquaSense 2 glided over the vinyl like it had been trained to respect it. No dragging. No scuffing. Just this smooth, slow dance across the walls and floor that felt oddly satisfying to watch.

Here’s where it gets kind of ridiculous—I actually enjoy cleaning days now.

Okay, not cleaning as in me doing the cleaning. Let’s not get carried away. But I genuinely enjoy the ritual. I wake up early, make coffee, toss the Beatbot in the pool, and let it do its thing while I just exist. Sometimes I read. Sometimes I water the plants or hum along to music. There’s something peaceful about watching the water ripple as it works.

And it’s not just surface-level clean. This thing gets the gunk that settles where the liner curves, in places you forget to check until it turns green. The corners? Impeccable. The waterline, which always drove me nuts before? Spotless.

I realized something strange the other day: I haven’t scrubbed my liner by hand in months. Not once. I still test the water and fish out the occasional leaf, sure, but the back-breaking stuff? Gone.

My neighbor, Greg, teased me when he saw the robot for the first time. “What is that thing? Your new pool butler?” he laughed, leaning on the fence like some suburban philosopher.

“Basically,” I said. “Except it never calls in sick.”

He chuckled but kept watching. A week later, I caught him out back with a robot of his own. Beatbot, naturally. Now we’re both members of this unspoken club—robot pool owners who pretend we still have to do work but secretly just enjoy watching our pools sparkle without lifting a finger.

Greg named his cleaner “Captain Splash.” Mine’s “Ringo.”

We had a big storm roll through last month. One of those nasty, windy ones that dumps a full forest into your yard overnight. I expected the worst. I figured I’d be outside all weekend, scooping sludge off the liner and muttering dark things under my breath.

But once the rain cleared, I dropped Ringo in, crossed my fingers, and walked away. Four hours later, the pool looked like nothing had happened. I stood there in flip-flops, mouth open. I might’ve even teared up a little. (Don’t judge me—it was beautiful.)

People rave about features and specs, but what I really got from Beatbot was time. Not just extra minutes in my day, but time to actually enjoy the pool I worked so hard to have. Time to sit still. Time to host friends without worrying what they’ll see at the bottom of the pool. Time to remember why I wanted this in the first place.

So yeah—cleaning a pool liner used to be a hassle. Now? It’s kind of the highlight of my week. And all it took was a little robot and the decision to stop doing everything the hard way.

Would I go back? Not a chance. I’ve got Ringo now. And Ringo’s got the liner covered.

Relative Blogs

About the author