Protective mat for under ladder and steps?

[Watermom]

I assume you are talking about a vinyl pool? Some people use them, some don't. I think CarlD does. I never have and have never had a problem. Certainly can't hurt.

[CarlD]

I went to Home Depot and got a 4'x4' chunk of Plumber's Vinyl that they use under shower stalls. It's about 40 mil, liners are usually 20-30 mil, very smooth, and keeps the wedding cake steps from abrading the liner. I've been using it for 8 years now. I trimmed it to be approximately the shape of the steps and slightly larger. If you have an old liner that you use for patches you could use a chunk of that. The Plumber's Vinyl is gray and has markings on one side--that side goes down.

[BigDave]

The plumber's vinyl is great stuff - I used it to cover (part of) the garage's cinder block walls to keep my car doors from getting scratched.