The easy hacks to heat up your paddling pool using bin bags

With the days getting longer and the weather getting warmer - it's clear many of us are finally utilising our outside spaces once again.

Whether you throw a neighbourhood BBQ, soak up the rays or have a pool party, our gardens are one of the best places to be when the sun comes out.

However, anyone with a paddling pool will know the absolute mare of filling it up and keeping it warm so, luckily, one woman has come up with the ultimate hack to heat up the water in her paddling pool - and all you'll need is a black bin bag.

Keeping a paddling pool warm can be a right faff. (Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty Images)

Lainey Thomson, from north Yorkshire, told Tyla how she came up with the genius idea.

"I did this because I only have a cold outside tap and I was using buckets and the kettle to warm up the pool.

"By putting black bin bags on top it attracts the sun and it warms it up very quickly. Within about 45 minutes the water is warm and stays warm all day in the sun."

One person has come up with the ultimate hack for heating their paddling pool. (Lainey Thomson)

The idea was first discussed on Facebook's Mrs Hinch Made Me Do It group. One woman asked other members for advice after explaining her 8ft paddling pool was freezing cold.

"Fill with cold from outside tap then cover with black bin bags. Leave for an hour! The sun is drawn to the black bags and heats it up. Works a treat every time," one person commented.

While another said: "If it's in direct sunlight, put some black bin liners on the top of the water. The sun heats the bags up which heats the water. We did it the other day and it worked."

Simply cover the pool with a black bin bag - but make sure you reuse them. (Lainey Thomson)

Of course, if you are going to use black bin bags, then you should be reusing them each time instead of throwing them away.

They can be dried out on the washing line and used as regular bin bags, or why not keep the same one specifically for heating the pool?

We're definitely trying this - no more kettle runs!

Another woman shared her handy hack on how to keep your paddling pool clean - and it will only cost you a few quid!

Parent blogger, Deborah Hitchins, shared the nifty little trick on the Facebook page Family Days. Tried and Tested.

Gone are the days of forking out for an expensive pool cover as all you need is a fitted bed sheet to whack over the paddling pool when it's not in use.

Thrifty.