Keeping a clean pool has never been easier. No, we’re not talking about a sudden drop in pool boy services, but the wide range of automatic pool cleaners (side-pressure to sweepers and even robots) has never been more affordable.
If you’re in the market for a super-inexpensive pool cleaner and can stomach the thought of one of Cthulu’s tentacles crawling around the base of your pool, then the VINGLI Creepy Crawler Automatic Pool Vacuum might be for you. Read our full review to see whether your pool would benefit from the Creepy Crawly.
Smooth Cleaning
Despite its looks, the VINGLI cleans pool floors with a level of finesse. The VINGLI works by plugging into your pool’s existing pump (at least ¾-HP) and uses water intake to suction in almost anything littering the floor and walls. The disc was made of heavy-duty rubber that’s designed to clean any pool surface material, including concrete.
Super-Efficient
All automatic pool cleaners make quick work out of the cumbersome task of cleaning pools, but the VINGLI takes it to another level. This unit takes in a minimum of 1,700 gallons of water every minute (adjustable depending on your pump) and moves in a random pattern to suction away all litter from every corner.
Best of all, because it doesn’t rely on wheels or tracks to get around, there’s virtually no risk of it getting stuck in corners or stairs. Without getting stuck, there’s less time spent fishing it out and throwing it back into the center of the pool.
Virtually Noiseless
What’s truly amazing about the VINGLI is its powerful pool-cleaning mechanism that hardly produces any sound. Admittedly, the pool’s water will soundproof a lot of the noise coming from this cleaner, but even up close, there’s hardly any noise coming from the suction.
Quick Installation
The VINGLI is a work of art. Without the use of tools, you can get this pool cleaner hooked up and running in less than 30 minutes. The only thing you need to be aware of is whether the VINGLI has enough hoses so it reaches both ends of your pool.
Thankfully, it comes with ten 3.3-foot connectable hoses with a maximum reach of 33 feet, though it’s built for 32-foot pools with an extra foot of slack for mobility.
As long as you can connect it to your pool’s skimmer and adjust the pool jets to shoot downward toward a corner to support random movement across the entire length of your pool.
Durability
From looks alone, it appears that the Creepy Crawler isn’t the most durable pool cleaner out there, but thankfully, that’s not even close to the truth. Almost the entire unit is made of durable plastic that can withstand falls from reasonable heights.
The rubber disc won’t warp in shape when bashing lightly against your pool. When using this tool in concrete pools, the disc can wear down quicker than vinyl or quarts.
Decent Wall-Climbing Ability
The VINGLI does a great job scaling pool walls to reach water lines to remove floating leaves near edges. It does a better job at climbing sloped walls compared to rectangular pools, though there’s the odd chance that it somehow scales walls from time to time.
There have been reports of the VINGLI being unable to scale walls which, in most cases, requires a quick fix of adjusting the direction of your pool’s jets (remember: downward and toward a corner).
No Electricity!
Upon opening the box, you’ll find that the VINGLI does not have an adapter that plugs into a wall outlet. Don’t waste your time looking for one; the VINGLI hooks up directly to your pool’s skimmer keeping the water flowing through it to collect debris and touch all four corners of your pool.
The only continuous cost after purchase is replacing the rubber disc when it wears out.
Clogging Trouble
Even though you won’t need to fish the VINGLI out of your pool to keep it moving around, you’ll have to do it to keep the suction inlet unclogged, especially when your swimming pool is littered with large debris.
The inlet, though broad, can get clogged from time to time and will be a bit of a pain to clear out. The most annoying part is detaching the hoses from each other and putting them back together.
Verdict: Should I Get the VINGLI Creepy Crawler Automatic Pool Vacuum?
Despite being more than annoying to unclog, the VINGLI Creepy Crawler is actually a very decent pool cleaning tool. It’s nowhere near as thorough as certain robotic cleaners, but given enough time, it’ll eventually leave your pool spotless for your next pool party.
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