Cleaning Your Swimming Pool

Tips to Make Cleaning Your Swimming Pool Easier

Healthy HomesGardens

Many people have chosen to install swimming pools in their backyards to add enjoyment and fun to those long, hot summer days. Nearly every child enjoys a dip in the pool and some become water babies, spending every spare moment possible playing and swimming in their pool. It’s a great way to ensure your children get plenty of exercise and forget their electronic devices for a little while.

The downside is that it takes quite a lot of work to keep the pool clean and ensure the water is hygienic enough to swim in.  Here are some tips to make the job easier.

  • Since leaves and debris should be removed daily, this job can be delegated to the children, or an older child who is responsible enough to do it properly. It teaches them that work must be done by everyone if fun is to be had.  Encourage all children to remove a floating leaf while they are swimming or playing in the pool.  If some debris sinks, have diving competitions to see who can get the most debris from the bottom. A prize or two will make it more fun.
  • Save up for an automatic pool cleaner. There are many that are reasonably priced and some clean the sides as well as the bottom of the pool. Use it regularly and sure you take care of your pool cleaner.
  • If yours doesn’t clean the sides, keep a good lookout for algae and attack it immediately. Watch for shady areas where it is most likely to start. Scrubbing the sides every second week should prevent it.
Tagged Read More
Garden Design

Ways Pots can Enhance Your Garden Design

Healthy HomesGardens

Many people have pot plants they love, but often they don’t make as much of them as they could. For instance, you often see garden pots made of black plastic holding a beautiful shrub or flower and the effect is actually quite ruined by that awful looking pot.  Or even if the pot is nice, it is not placed in a way that gives it the best advantage visually.Garden Pots

Here are some of the many ways in which pots can enhance your garden design.

  • A large pot can be used as a feature in the middle of a small garden or garden section. It can have a very dramatic effect on the landscape by using a pot with a bright colour that forms a contrast to everything else surrounding it.
  • You can have a row of decorative pots –and plants – on a hard surface such as gravel or concrete. This can be seen in some low maintenance gardens as the pots form the major point of visual attractiveness.
  • Pots with small fruit trees also add appeal to the garden or a small courtyard area and they can also bear fruit to enjoy fresh or make jam from. The fruit adds colour in its season, while the pot looks attractive all year round.
  • In combination with another feature. Pots make a great addition to another feature such as a water feature or a gazebo in the garden.
  • They can be used along the swimming pool to add interest to an area that might otherwise look bare. Make sure they all match and are not too close to the edge. Most plants don’t like pool water.
  • Use a garden pot for something different, such as a fish pond. Half barrels or even a deep pot would be suitable for this.
Tagged Read More
Backyard Project

The Backyard Project

Healthy HomesGardens

A Gazebo

It was a DIY project in the back yard. He wanted to build a gazebo in an area of the yard that had been sectioned off and already contained a fishpond built on three levels to create a two – waterfall effect. There was no lawn in that area, but lovely green turf was something that was in his sights.

The Material

After putting together a plan, well, a concept really, he went out and purchased all the timber required and then the roofing material which would be green Colorbond sheeting. Tape measure, power saw, level, hammer, nails, fasteners, cordless driver and a whole host of other material and tools were on the list. To complete the job, flywire sliders on the openings to keep out pesky mosquitoes as the sun went down, and flies, while the sun was up.

Show Off

This was not the biggest DIY project attempted. He had built an additional room onto an old house up in the Hills area and it included a toilet and a shower. So, in comparison, this was a minor engineering job but somehow more important. Why? Well, this one was on show to all the neighbours and friends and visitors that would be coming to parties and there’s nothing more than compliments on a job well done by friends to make a bloke’s chest puff out that little bit more!

Tagged , , Read More