Make this the best summer ever with the following 10 tips, time-savers, water-care ideas, and maintenance and safety suggestions for backyard living.
1 – Safety
first. Follow a few commonsense
rules in the backyard and around the pool: keep each child within arm’s length
at all times; designate an adult as water watcher; ensure that the pool’s fence
is always locked, and install both gate and pool alarms to alert you to
unsupervised pool use.
2 – Use plants
to dress up the landscape. A bit of
backyard greenery can be both pretty and functional. Use shrubs for form, foliage-heavy plants for color, and sturdy perennials for reliability.
3 – Add years
to backyard furnishings. If mildew
spots appear on outside chairs and tables, wash the fabric according to
manufacturer directions and dry in the sun.
Then mix together equal parts lemon juice and salt; spread on the
stain. Dry in the sun again and rinse thoroughly.
4 – Organize
backyard toys and tools. Two simple
storage rules for keeping backyard clutter to a minimum: air out wet things by
storing them in big mesh bags or open-weave crates; toss all the little bits –
sunscreen, dive toys – into a clear plastic shoe organizer hung on the fence
where everyone can easily find them.
5 – Stay healthy
with a water workout. According to
the Centers for Disease Control, just 21 minutes a day of exercising in a pool
can decrease your risk of chronic disease.
If swimming laps doesn’t excite you, there are other great ways to get
moving. Try kickboxing using water as
the resistance and enjoy the benefits of strength, endurance and balance. Depending on intensity, a typical water
exercise session of 40 to 50 minutes can burn up to 600 calories.
6 – Maintain a
perfect pool. A pool filled with
cloudy water equals no fun. Fortunately,
there’s a pool-care strategy – Circulation, Filtration, Cleaning, Testing and
Chemistry – that equals a stellar pool season.
Maintaining a pool, its equipment, and beautiful water requires proper
water treatment. The pool care
professionals at your BioGuard dealer, Sabine Pools, can provide computerized
water testing and recommend the best regular care schedule for your pool.
7 – Convert an
ordinary salt pool into a backyard oasis.
Instead of using typical bulk salt, try a product such as Mineral
Springs from BioGuard. It contains a
special blend of minerals, pool equipment protectors, water enhancers, and pH
adjusters that all work to make silky, relaxing water.
8 – Soak in a
sensational spa. A backyard spa can
offer the same soothing effects as a professional spa with a few easy,
affordable ideas. Place flameless LED
candles around the edge of the spa. Take
tunes into the spa with a floating speaker that connects wirelessly to an MP3
player. Add a soothing scent to the
water with single-use aromatherapy packs.
9 – Make a
smaller footprint on the Earth. In
order to be more environmentally friendly, make sure to always keep pool
chemicals properly balanced. Overworked
filters and motors waste energy and hike utility bills.
10 – Help pets
swim safely. It may seem like fun to
let the dog paddle around, but before you let a pooch jump in, make sure he can
get out without damaging the pool or hurting himself. Also, check with the vet – swimming in a pool
should be appropriate for the breed.
Finally, take additional time to monitor the pool’s water. A typical dog can be the equivalent of about
50 swimmers in the pool, meaning extra vigilance is needed to maintain the
chemical balance.
For more information, visit your local Sabine Pools, Spas & Furniture store in Lake Charles, Lafayette, or Gonzales LA.
