Swimming Pool Chemicals; Outdoor Pool Chlorine by Jenny Pilley

Despite their crystal clean appearance, most swimming pools are hiding a dirty secret. When used by various individuals on a daily basis, bacteria can build up in the water and it can be hazardous to humans. Whether it is a public swimming baths or a home pool, chlorine/Bromine or other forms of sanitation should be added to the water in the right quantities to kill any bacteria that may be present. But where can pool owners buy these swimming pool chemicals? Well the answer is simple; there are internet based retailers that supply a wide selection of products that are necessary to maintain any pool, Spa or Hot-Tub.

One such online retailer specialises in pool maintenance and cleaning equipment. Amongst their range of products pool owners can purchase pool cleaners, chemicals, covers, pool games and other accessories.

They currently stock two brands of swimming pool chemicals, Fi-Clor and Swimfresh, both are highly regarded brands that are tested thoroughly for optimum safety. The chemicals are broken down into categories such as prevention and cure, chlorine, water balance and bromine. As well as chemical cleaners, this specialist also supplies other equipment that can be used to clean the pool manually. Items include leaf nets, brushes and vacuums.

Of course, some pool owners may feel uncomfortable adding chemicals to water that their family is going to swim in. This retailer has taken this into consideration and they have numerous branded guides available as downloadable PDF's on their website. The documents explain how to use and store the products safely and answer multiple questions relating to the chemicals.

Purchasing products online is incredibly simple, just add the items to the shopping basket and proceed to the checkout. Delivery is free for all orders over £60.00 within mainland UK and the retailer accepts a variety of universal payment methods such as, Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Solo, Switch and Paypal.

If in doubt about how to use any of the swimming pool chemicals sold by this online retailer, they encourage their customers to contact a member of their friendly team for further support. They can be contacted via their online contact form or by calling them between 9am and 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday.

The Benefits of Swimming by Ian Fin

Similar to others, I got taught to swim in my first school. Although I was scared at first and had a few 'close to drowning' moments, I have always maintained my passion for swimming. Other then school lessons, my mother also brought me to personal lessons, never for competing purposes however. Despite my love for swimming as a child though, I never kept it up as I got older. I can see now that swimming has many benefits, so why did I stop going?

I think it was to do with me and my friends getting older. As we grew up or likes and dislikes changed, and as new activities started taking up our time swimming became less important. The rise in swimming costs also played a part, as when you're 13 you're considered an adult in many swimming pools. As we were young we couldn't afford this rise in price too often and decided to do cheaper things.

But always looking for new fun forms of keeping fit, when a friend recommended we go for a swim I was up for trying it out again. And let me say, swimming is a full body work out! That coming from someone who plays soccer usually twice a week alongside running and other physical activities. At a young age you don't notice the amount of muscles you need when swimming, but when you're older you can feel everyone of them from top to bottom! And one of your main muscles, your heart, gets a good work out too. Swimming could contribute to your general fitness regardless of whether you're doing any other sport or not.

On top of the fitness benefits of swimming, swimming is also a skill that could save lives. Now I'm not saying that you're going to get in a situation where you'd need to rely on your swimming skills to save your life, but you really never know. No one ever plans to get in a situation where they could potentially drown, but many people every year do die from drowning. The ability to swim could mean then difference between life and death!

Swimming for me is an essential skill, and one everyone should be able to do.

Can a Swimming Pool be Tax Deductible? by EZ Pools

There are certain situations where both the purchase and continued maintenance of a swimming pool "may" be tax deductible as medical expenses. How do you determine if it will qualify as a medical expense? According to IRS publication 502, medical expenses are the costs of diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, and the costs for treatments affecting any part or function of the body. These include the costs of equipment, supplies, and diagnostic devices needed for these purposes. However, medical care expenses must be primarily to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental defect or illness.

They do not include expenses that are merely beneficial to general health and wellness. A simplifying factor to determine whether or not it may be tax deductible is to ask; "Is it Doctor Prescribed?" If you have a prescription from a doctor for water therapy, then yes, the purchase and continued maintenance may be tax deductible. Now does this mean you can go out and spend $50,000 on an in-ground swimming pool, well maybe in some tax brackets. But most of us are far from being in this tax bracket. However, a portable EZ Pool, from reallyezpools.com can qualify for a tax deduction for the following reasons; it is not considered a home improvement, and, if the whole purpose of the pool is for therapy only, then it meets the standards under IRS form number 502.

You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay for special equipment installed in a home, or for improvements, if their main purpose is medical care for you, your spouse, or your dependent. The cost of permanent improvements that increase the value of your property may be partly included as a medical expense. The cost of the improvement is reduced by the increase in the value of your property. Only the difference is a medical expense. If the value of your property is not increased by the improvement, the entire cost is included as a medical expense. Please note: actual increase in the value to your home is best determined by an appraisal.

So if swimming and other water-based exercises are prescribed as treatment or part of a doctor-recommended physical therapy, then the cost of purchasing a portable pool may be partly deductible as a medical expense. However, the IRS is likely to question the deductions because of the possibility that the pool may be used for recreation. If you can show that the pool is specially equipped to alleviate your condition and is not generally suited for recreation, then the IRS may likely allow the deduction.

Here are two examples of how an EZ Pool customer was allowed to deduct their portable pool purchase.

1.) The IRS allowed a deduction for a pool purchase by an osteoarthritis patient, whose physician had prescribed swimming several times a day as treatment. He purchased a portable lap pool from reallyezpools.com and had no children. He further presented video showing how he uses the pool daily as per the doctor-recommended therapy. The IRS can be leery about deductions, but a well-documented case is considered valid.

2.) Another taxpayer had a child with emphysema and purchased an EZ Pool after his doctor told him to develop an exercise regime for the child. He swam with the child in it twice a day and improved the child's breathing capacity. The tax court allowed him to deduct the cost of the pool (to the extent the cost exceeded its added value to the property) as a medical expense because its primary purpose was for medical care. He was also allowed to deduct the pool-heating costs, pool chemicals and part of insuring the pool area.

Purchasing an EZ Pool is both affordable and easy - and if it is for doctor-prescribed medical purposes, then the government has made allowances for the purchase and associated costs to be deducted from your annual tax bill.

Swimming Pool Maintenance Tips by Waker Glass

Don't you hate it when your swimming pool gets filled with all these alien matter such as leaves, branches, insects, flowers, and the dreaded algae? Don't you wish there was a cheaper way to keep your pool clean than hiring pool cleaners to do the work for you? The good news is that swimming pool maintenance need not be an expensive nor tedious task.

Following a routine of small tasks can help ensure your pool is clean each day. The most important thing you need to do in order to keep your pool clean is buying and using the right chemical test kit. Chlorine is very helpful in maintaining the cleanliness of your pool. The chemical kills germs and fungi at the same time.

The test kit will also help maintain the PH levels of your pool. Unbalanced PH levels will lead to the water becoming irritating to the eye and will quicken the deterioration of your pool, among other negative effects. Next, you should make cleaning the surface of your pool water a daily activity. You should clean these before they start falling apart and sinking to the bottom of your pool. By then you'll probably need to drain your pool completely and vacuum the bottom.

Also, you need to ensure that your pool filter in consistently running. Ideally, the filter should be in operation for a minimum of ten hours a day, especially if there are many people who use the pool. If your swimming pool water is being plagued by algae then you should kill these by using high quality algaecides.

If they get stuck on the sides of your pool, you should give them a good scrubbing and push them towards your pool filter for quick and easy disposal. Remember that performing routine cleaning tasks on your pool will prevent the need for more serious and expensive cleaning needs. So start keeping your swimming pool clean today.

Swimming Pools : What you must know by Swimming Pool Quotes Uk

Not to be mistaken to be the fancy of only swimming enthusiasts, swimming pools today are also a symbol of luxury, and exude style at a very decent cost. Those that have any sort of swimming pool (indoor, outdoor, infinity, etc.) are bound to feel the pride of owning a special possession that is seen at very few homes, be it any country. Hence, those of you who wish to be the center of attention in your friends' circle, besides investing in something worthwhile, must go for a swimming pool if you have the kind of space available. And even if you don't, you can always get different swimming pool quotations that will let you know the exact cost of swimming pools that you wish to install in your home and other factors that need to be taken care of.

The first thing that strikes the brain is that if at all one is interested in installing a swimming pool, what would be the approximate cost of it. Although this question is very vague, since that would depend on what kind of pool do you want, what would be the area, what are the kind of tiles you want to put in it, and so and so forth. However, the best person to answer this question would be your pool dealer, or a person who would be eventually installing a pool at your home. Ideally, it's always best to take quotes from a number of sources and then zero-in on the best one, but not always is the cheapest your best choice, since he could be compromising on the quality, and you certainly wouldn't want such a huge investment to go waste just for the sake of you wanting to save a few thousands.

The next point is regarding the usability of your pool. One must ensure that the swimming pool is always in a condition to be used, i.e., fir for all seasons. This could be done by installing internal cooling and heating systems for your pool that would lead to easy accessibility in using it in both summers as well as winters, otherwise you might as well only be using it only in summers, or winters, depending on whichever system you have installed. A balance is a must hence for these things.

The last point comes in terms of the appearance for the pools. Of late, there are plenty of fancy additions you can do to your personal pool in terms of installing glass tiles, fountains, infinity systems that make the pool seem like it's stretching on endlessly, but all these come at a price tag, and some might be almost upto half the value of the swimming pool itself, but once you have done the hard part by investing the amount, the effect would be more than surprising to you, since all that matters sometimes, is what meets the eye.

Hayward Pool Filters - Affordable Prices and Options by Genabel Torres

By now just about everyone who is familiar with pool filters and pumps knows that Hayward pool filters and accessories are high quality product. This in turn has many people to automatically assume that they are expensive as well. However; on close examination it turns out that this is in fact, anything but the case.

Super Affordable Hayward Pool Filters

Take the Easy Clear and Micro Clear above ground Hayward pool filters for instance. Believe it or not either one of these top quality pool filters can be purchased for the amazingly low price of just $89.00! They are both compact, efficient and come ready to install with the motor attached.

Hayward's Star Clear Plus Cartridge Pool Filters

Are you planning on having an inground pool installed and now you assume that you will have to shell out big money for a top quality cartridge filter? Then take a look at the Star Clear Plus cartridge Hayward pool filter for $289. It also features Hayward's latest innovations in new state of the art cartridges.

Affordable Cartridge Hayward Pool Filters

If that is still over your budget, there is the standard Star Clear Hayward pool filter for only $184.99. It's still the latest Hayward pool filter technology, only at a much lower price. Also, just like all of Hayward's cartridge pool filters it is a solid unit that is built to stand the test of time.

Sand Filled Hayward Pool Filters

With so much talk about Hayward cartridge filters and all of the very latest in high tech innovations that is contained in them, it can be easy to not take notice of sand filled Hayward pool filters. It's a shame too because the Pro Series Hayward pool filter can be yours for only $224.99.

Spring Time Brings More Awareness To The Pool. by Mindy York

In many instances of child drowning, or near-drowning, the supervising adult says they only looked away for a moment, ran inside to answer the phone or were attending another child.

Pediatric drownings occur mainly in pools, bathtubs, buckets, and toilets. Private pols are the highest location for drownings--95% occur in in-ground pools, half in the family pool almost all the rest at friends 's pool. Only 70% were supervised by parents, and only 30% were wearing swimsuits(meaning they were not supposed to be near the pool). Most entered the pool from the home (unfenced area)

Most are SILENT

500,000 DEATHS PER YEAR FROM DROWNINGS-Ranks higher then death through war

For every drowning death-3.5 are hospitalizations

The general misconception is that there will be splashing and shouting so parents can come to the rescue. Sadly, this isn't the case. Drowning is fast and silent, which is why many parents didn't even know it was happening.

Parents need to be made aware that unless all the layers of protection for example, pool fences, alarms on the door, swimming lessons and many more; are put into place these drownings will continue. Drowning is an Epidemic that this country has not yet embraced.

We offer a FREE DVD (plus S&H)on Layers Of Protection, that should be in the home of every parent and pool owner. These steps are crucial to understanding how to prevent these drownings. This is a serious problem that most think could never happen to them. Please tour our website at www.babyotterswimschool.com