Archive for the ‘Patio Living Tips’ Category

Tips for swimming pools

Swimming pool toys
Getting sufficient exercise nowadays is hard enough for adults, but inspiring kids to give up their texting, tweeting, face-booking, and video games in order to get outside and exercise is a difficult challenge, however a solution for that is the old fashioned swimming pool. Swimming by itself is great fun, but if you want to add to your recreational activities there is a great variety of swimming pool toys and accessories from which to select. You don’t need to be a child to enjoy pool chairs, fins and goggles, all of which are terrific for folks of all ages. There are bigger accessories that bring a lot of fun to swimming pool activities, like pool slides for the kids, starting platforms for the serious swimmers, and diving boards for everyone. Water games are also highly enjoyable for adults and kids alike, and you can easily find gear for swimming pool versions of such games as polo, basketball, ping pong, tennis, badminton and volleyball. If you have tweens and teens who are interested in surfing or skateboards, the best swimming pool toy could be the underwater surfboard, a deck that kids ride underneath the surface of the pool. One pool-side fixture that is more practical than fun is the water ladder and railing, which are typically made out of polyresin or stainless steel and are installed at the deep end of the pool to allow for a quick exit from the water. Although swimming pools are areas for lots of exciting fun, they can also be unsafe if proper safety procedures are not obeyed.

Non-polluting, low cost, low maintenance pool heaters
When summer is over it does not mean the end of enjoying in the family swimming pool, just as long as you set up a solar pool heater you can enjoy your pool well into the fall. By using the natural energy of the sun, a solar pool heater pumps water out of the pool into a filter and then up to the solar collector on the roof where the water is heated and then sent back into the swimming pool. The solar panels on the roof need to be somewhere between 50% to 100% of the surface area of the pool, and the more sizable the solar collector the better you can bask in the pool in colder months. To attain the utmost results the solar collector requires placement where it gets the most sunlight, and you will want a pump timer set to operate during the day. As soon as you get your pool water warmed up it would be a beneficial idea to have a pool cover to hold in the heat, and to keep random debris and dirt from blowing into the water. Solar pool heater systems typically cost in the $3-4K range, similar to propane heaters or heat pumps, but those systems have on-going operating costs that solar systems do not feature. Solar pool heaters only have one moving part, the diverter valve which guides the water up into the solar accumulators on the roof, and so has fewer maintenance costs than traditional pool heaters. A solar pool heating installation commonly lasts anywhere from 10 to 20 years and does not hurt the environment, where propane gas heaters only last 5 – 8 years and will pollute the air.

Scuba diving flippers
One of the most excellent ways to enjoy a vacation to exotic locations around the world is to be proficient at the sport of scuba diving. Lots of people are discouraged by all the equipment that is required in order to take part in this sport. A couple of totally essential pieces of gear are flippers and a mask. The problem is that with so many different types of flippers that it can be difficult to figure out which set will best fit your requirements. Both full foot and open heel models are available to permit easier movement in the water. Those who like snorkeling will appreciate the smaller full foot fins. The bigger and stiffer open heel fins are best for scuba diving as they move you through the water with more efficiency. Beginners in the sport ought to consider purchasing basic paddle fins which are less expensive than lots of the other choices. You can get many kinds of split fins which are typically used by swimmers who want to travel longer distances with less effort.

Above ground pool covers
You can change your boring backyard into a summertime resort with the installation of an above ground pool. Adding a cover is an excellent way to maintain a pool in the best condition possible. You will see a major improvement in the overall quality of the water and the reduction in how long you have to spend cleaning the pool. They are also an excellent method of protecting your pool over the course of the long winter months when you aren’t using it. An uncovered pool is likely to become damaged and full of leaves and trash during the wintertime. Another advantage to using pool covers is that they can help reduce your pool heating expenses. A covered pool will also result in less evaporation and thus spare the costs of replacing water and pouring in chemicals. There are lots of different sizes and types so it is a good idea to learn about all your available choices before making your final decision.

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A couple of outdoor patio ideas

Wood picnic tables
Is there anything more appetizing than good food served in in the backyard on a wood picnic table in the fresh air? There are many types of wooden picnic tables of assorted sizes and shapes that can be treated with many types of sealers, paints and stains. The most popular wooden tables are made of cedar, pine and redwood. Avoid aged wood picnic tables which might have been treated with a pesticide that left arsenic in the wood, an obvious risk to your health. If you are a little cramped in the backyard you may find that round or hexagon tables fit better than the conventional rectangle. Because any wood table is subject to outside weather conditions, it is important to have the proper finish on it. One thing you don’t want is moisture to seep into the wood, so you may want to put a lacquer finish on it to be certain it remains dry. If you buy an unfinished table and put on all the finish yourself you will save money and get the exact look you want.

Outdoor wooden furniture
Wooden outdoor furniture is widely regarded as the most attractive variety of furnishings for the out-of-doors, but wood needs to be properly treated to protect it against the weather. There are lots of wood furniture pieces that you could add to your yard, such as benches, lounge chairs, porch swings, picnic tables, garden gliders, and tree benches. Because wood can be painted or stained according to your tastes and whims, it enjoys an advantage over furnishings made out of steel, aluminum, polyresin, and plastic. There are several different types of wood used to construct the more popular outdoor furnishings, including oak, birch, cedar, teak redwood, and eucalyptus, and all of them have a distinctive beauty all their own. Renown for its strength, oak is one of the most durable and beautiful varieties of wooden furniture, a best-seller both inside and outside a home. Another popular type of wooden furnishings is cedar, which works as a natural insect repellent. The most exquisite of all wood outdoor furnishings may well be redwood, especially the expensive old-growth redwood pieces manufactured in the 1950s. Seamless wood furniture is lovely, but this type must be kept in enclosed patios because it will readily warp if left out in the hard weather.

Home weather stations
Amateur hobbyists and professional weathermen alike have discovered the benefits of owning a wireless weather station in the home. Any top quality home weather station, whether wireless or standard, will accurately measure the temperature, wind changes, humidity and much more. Highly computerized wireless models are on the market along with far more simple devices, depending on what type of information you need. There are standard weather stations for the home which consist of sensors, receivers and other analog equipment you purchase individually and then use cables to connect them. Wireless home weather stations are very compact, with no awkward cables to link the receiver and the sensors. You can buy gear for both wireless and standard home weather stations but wireless is much easier to operate. Make a list of all the functions and features you could possibly need in order to pick the model that best suits your needs while sticking to the budget you’ve set. Be certain all the displays on the thermometers, barometers, and rain gauges are easily readable.

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