Imagine you’re sitting in your new backyard oasis, gazing at the beautiful, custom pool of your dreams. The breeze is blowing, the sun is shining and you’re relaxing with a cold drink. However, you look over to your right and there it is, the pool equipment. One thing you may have not considered when building your new pool is all the pool equipment that has to have a home in your backyard as well. Filters, heaters, pumps, plumbing, and PVC pipes are all necessary equipment for a pool to function properly, but you’d probably rather not have to look at them. So, what are the options for hiding these necessary, but not exactly attractive, pieces of equipment? Ideas for Hiding Pool Equipment Landscaping Bushes: The denseness of bushes make them a great option for hiding pool equipment. They are also able to grow thick and tall enough to create a pseudo wall, which also helps with filtering out noise! When selecting bushes for concealing equipment, make sure you choose ones that don’t grow too fast or drop a lot of debris. Stay away from any that flower or drop fruit – the berries can stain your deck and also attract insects. Trees: Here in Central Florida, palm plants are ideal. There are so many varieties available that are short and full, perfect for hiding pool equipment. Palms are generally low maintenance and you won’t have a problem with fronds shedding into your pool. Same with bushes, stay away from any Read the full article…
Here in the Orlando and Central Florida area, we are accustomed to heavy rains, especially those late afternoon storms during the summer and fall months. Most of the time these storms are welcomed, as a good rain usually cools down the temperature and provides our lawns and landscaping a much needed watering. Hurricane season has also just begun, meaning we are more susceptible to perhaps seeing some big storms. When strong storms like tropical depressions or hurricanes do hit, they can dump too much rain on our property, including excessive water being “dumped” into our pools. But what do you do when your pool’s water level gets too high? Plus, exactly how high is too high? Here’s what you need to know about draining your pool, when to be concerned, and how you can lower your pool’s water level. Draining Your Pool to Lower the Water Level Accumulation of excess water is one of the largest problems caused by heavy rains and is the cause of multiple problems. When your pool overflows, it can lead to debris and extra runoff in your pool and can also flood your pool equipment like the filters and pumps (an essential and expensive component to your outdoor recreational space). Even if your pool doesn’t overflow, yet the water rises enough from a heavy rain, your surface skimmer will no longer effectively skim the surface debris into the skimmer basket and draining it back to the correct level is necessary. If you know a hurricane Read the full article…