Every Crocpad slide and ramp ships with a repair kit, and a small puncture repaired properly is genuinely permanent. A small puncture ignored becomes a long tear, because the hole concentrates stress at its edges every time the product flexes.
Find the leak
Inflate firm. Mix dish soap with water in a spray bottle and mist the suspect area — escaping air makes foam. Work systematically: seams first, then valves, then the flat panels. If nothing shows, submerge that section if you can and watch for a bubble trail.
Mark the hole with a pen while you can still see it. You will lose it the moment you deflate.
Prepare the surface
This is the step that decides whether the repair holds.
- Deflate completely and lay the area flat
- Clean it with fresh water and let it dry fully — no sunscreen, no pool chemicals, no damp
- Wipe with rubbing alcohol if you have it, and let that flash off
Any residue left on the PVC is a layer your adhesive is bonding to instead of the material.
Cut the patch
Round it. Corners peel; circles do not. Make it big enough to extend at least an inch past the hole in every direction.
Apply it
Thin, even coat of adhesive on both the patch and the surface. Wait until it goes tacky rather than wet — rushing this is the second most common reason a repair fails. Press the patch down from the center outward to push air out, then weight it flat.
Wait longer than you want to
Give it a full 24 hours before you inflate, and do not put it back in the water that day. A repair that feels solid after an hour will lift under pressure.
Seams need a different approach
A patch over a welded seam has to bridge a ridge, and it will lift at the ridge unless it is cut and placed carefully. If the leak is on a seam rather than a panel, contact us before you improvise — seam repairs are worth getting right the first time.
When not to patch
Long tears, damage at a valve, or a baffle failure inside a chamber are not DIY repairs. If the product no longer holds shape when inflated, stop and get in touch.
