Posts Tagged ‘avondale’

SWIM – Superb Water Includes Maintenance

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Cleaning and maintaining your swimming pool on a regular basis will allow you to enjoy a clean and healthy swimming pool for a long time. QwikBids has referred service providers for swimming pool maintenance and repair. If you live in “The Valley of the Sun” (Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Avondale, Tolleson, Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Glendale), get multiple quotes for your request at www.QwikBids.Com.  Qwikbids is a FREE local service throughout the valley.

To help ensure your swimming pool is clean and clear for your family and friends to enjoy, focus on two areas:

  • Maintaining or adjusting the chemical balance of the pool water.
  • Removing debris and foreign particles from the swimming pool.

The chemical balance of swimming pool water cannot be maintained by adding pool chemicals only when we remember to. Pool water needs to be tested on a regular basis and adjusted in accordance to the results. The most common chemical used is chlorine. If used in large quantities, or if not maintained properly, chlorine may irritate the eyes and skin of swimmers. A swimming pool owner should also be aware of the proper maintenance instructions for the chemicals and follow the manufacturers’ instructions when applying chemicals to the pool.

To remove unwanted substances from your swimming pool, many rely on a water circulation and filtration system. Regular brushing and vacuuming of our swimming pools helps ensure a minimum of foreign material in the pool water. In addition, you also need to clean the filter itself and replace the filtration medium when necessary. A swimming pool filtration system uses the same basic principle of passing water through tiny channels. Particles larger than these channels are trapped and separated from the main body of the water. This process continues until all of the channels are blocked. At his time, the filter must then be cleaned and the cycle repeated.

Debris and suspended matter usually find their way to the bottom of a pool and may need to be removed by vacuuming.  You may want to consider vacuuming as part of your regular maintenance. The swimming pool vacuum operates in a similar manner to the common household vacuum, except it draws water through the vacuum head instead of air. There are two ways this may be accomplished:

  • One method employs a jet of water supplied by a garden hose to power the suction which draws the dirt into the head to be trapped in a cloth bag.
  • The other method uses the suction power supplied by the filter which draws the debris and suspended matter from the pool floor for removal through the filter. When there is a considerable amount of debris to be removed, the filter valves should be adjusted so that the vacuumed water will bypass the filter and run to waste.

Don’t feel overwhelmed. Let QwikBids get you the service professionals who can take care of this or any other project you want done. QwikBids providers are already prescreened. In addition, you can remain anonymous until you choose a company with the best fit!

Seed Pods and Drooping Fronds – Palm Trees in Arizona Landscape

Friday, June 4th, 2010

In and around Phoenix, Scottsdale, Litchfield Park, Chandler, Mesa, Avondale, Gilbert, and Tolleson, many of the various types of palm trees are beginning to seed.  It is that time of year; time to trim and prune your palm trees. When trimming your palm trees, or having this done by a professional, you want to wait until the pods seed to be sure you get all the seed pods in one trimming.  Depending on the type of palm tree, this usually begins between the first and middle of June.

Only trim the brown drooping fronds on your palm.  Do not trim off the ones that are still green; the tree needs them to collect sunlight to create chlorophyll for growth and best health. To prune palm trees the key care factor is that only the palm knows when a frond needs to be pruned off, and that is when it is dying (yellow or brown). As each new leaf opens, it will take the place of a dying leaf. The palm knows the exact amount of fronds needed for a healthy Palm Tree. When Palms reach their ultimate height, the fronds will decrease in size and the palm trees will decline and die. As a new frond emerges, the oldest frond dies. The age that a frond may attain will be determined by many factors including size of mature palm trees and number of fronds produced.

  • Fertilizing established palms is an important way to keeping them vigorous.

 

  • In Arizona, nitrogen is the most commonly deficient nutrient; when it’s missing, the older fronds turn yellow or pale green.

 

  • Some palm trees show Magnesium deficiencies; causing a yellow band on older leaves, with central vein remaining green.

 

Remember, discolored leaves on your palm trees do not recover. Therefore, preventive fertilization is best.  Your palm trees will look more attractive when they have adequate nutrients.

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