Hosting a Pool Party This Summer? Here's the Unexpected Tool You'll Be Glad You Have on Hand

The sun is shining, the temperature's rising, and we're almost ready to pull the pool cover off and welcome the new season. If you're a homeowner with a pool, I'm sure you've already started planning your summer get-togethers, from kids' birthday parties to brunch al fresco to barbeques.

We all want a clean pool for hosting, but that demands precious time and energy that we'd rather spend actually enjoying the pool. To find a solution for this common gripe, I reached out to Rachel Bull, Head of Gardens at Homes & Gardens, who let me in on a secret that will help you maintain a clean pool that will impress your guests without you having to lift a finger.

'As soon as the summer season arrives, the pool becomes the go-to zone in the backyard for hosting friends and family,' she explains. 'It is in use most days, and with so many children in the water, it's really important that I can keep the pool clean and safe with an eco-friendly product that will do the hard work for me.'

So, what does an expert like Rachel rely on for a pristine pool that doesn't require hours of labor? The iGarden Pool Cleaner M1-AI Series (Available from $999). 'This robot pool cleaner is the ideal product for people like me,' she says. 'I love hosting my friends in the summer months, but having a big family means I do not have time to spend hours making sure the pool is clean and ready for guests. When I came across this device and discovered all of its impressive features, I knew it was going to be a must-have for the summer season.'

The Details

The Pool Cleaner M1-AI Series has two HD cameras that easily maneuver around obstacles and debris, and a traction system designed to improve grip across common pool surfaces and help the cleaner navigate curves, contours, and different pool shapes.

The AI targeting system adjusts the robot's strategy and suction, so it can provide a precise clean where it's needed most, while helping reduce unnecessary repeated passes and wasted effort. It's designed for efficient cleaning, with a 20-minute AI-assisted cycle that can remove up to 99% of debris from the pool floor. This cycle uses just one-tenth of the energy pool cleaners without AI inverter technology use.

And you don't have to worry about charging it in between uses, either. One charge delivers up to 16 hours of runtime, supporting multiple shorter cleaning cycles between charges.

Rachel loves that this device can take some of the stress out of hosting so she can sit back and enjoy her pool parties. 'I love that you don't even have to think about the cleaning aspect,' she says. 'You can let it do the work of cleaning and use that time looking after guests and watching the children enjoy the water safely – and that peace of mind is priceless.'