Afraid You Can’t Fit a Pool In Your Yard? Consider Small Pools – or a “Spool”

Many people think that a swimming pool is not an option due to their limited space, lack of desire to have high-maintenance pool, or having to choose between a spa and a pool. If you find yourself in that group of people, perhaps small pools are for you! What exactly is a small pool, or “spool”? It’s a pool that is smaller than a typical pool and flexible enough for all seasons and activities. Though they’re typically found in smaller, restrained lots, small pools can be a perfect fit in any yard. Often times, the pool is built to be deep enough and cool for relaxation during the warmer months, but also, the small pool can be turned into a spa (or spool) in the cooler times of year.

View Some Examples of Small Pools (Spools)

Discover What you Want from your Pool

Your property renovation is important and your inground pool builders may have to deal with ground that isn’t level or clearing plants and trees from the area in order to build your pool. Think about the size and shape that you want your pool to be and where on your property that you want it to go.

A smaller pool may be good for a property that is limited, especially if you want to add other areas to entertain and enjoy your yard. Your pool doesn’t have to be Olympic sized for it to be inground or for you to be able to enjoy swimming it.

If the ground isn’t level on your property, you may not have to do anything to get your inground pool. Talk to the builders about where the pool could go and what size and shape would be best for your property.

If there is debris like plants and trees in the way of where you want your pool to go, find out if the builders will clear it or if you’ll have to find a way to get it cleared yourself before they can start building.

Don’t forget about spa options and pool equipment! The pumps, heater, and attached or detached hot tubs will also take up space. Our team can design a space where you won’t have to see them.

Keeping Salamanders Out of the Pool

Believe it or not, you may occasionally find a little creature or two in your pool. Sometimes, baby salamanders will find their way to your swimming pool and will hang out on the bottom of the pool.

The salamanders are brought out of their hiding places by the rains, which begin filling native ponds and creeks. The rains also signal the start of mating season, which extends through the winter and early spring.

In the summer, the salamanders find damp areas under rocks and logs, and many go into a type of summer hibernation. Then when it starts to rain, they leave their homes and head toward small bodies of water to mate. The males hang around in the water, waiting for willing females, who then lay their eggs in the water before heading back to land.

Unfortunately, as they head toward bodies of water, they can get sidetracked by swimming pools. As it’s unlikely they’re going to find any hookups there, plus the chlorine is not good for them, we need to scoop them up and put them back on track.

Your pool-party crasher, who appears young, can be released in your yard, under some bushes or some other protected area where it is wet, moist or damp. It can then continue its journey.

The salamander might wander back into the pool, so you might want to put up some sort of temporary barricades around your pool. If you find this happening a lot, there are products designed to help small critters find their way out of the pool by providing escape routes for salamanders, frogs, mice and other small critters that fall into pools.

Medical Myth – Swimming After Eating

The old saying that you should wait at least 30 minutes after eating before you swim is based on the idea that after a big meal, blood will be diverted away from your arms and legs, towards your stomach’s digestive tract. And if your limbs don’t get enough blood flow to function, you’re at risk of drowning.

But is it sound advice, or is it just parents wanting a 30-minute break to relax after a big lunch? For a fuelled-up child wanting to get back in the water, this can seem like eternity.

It’s true that digestion redirects some of the blood from the muscles to aid in the digestive process. With a reduced blood flow, there is potentially less oxygen available to the working muscle and stomach, which is a potential cause of cramping – though some researchers discount this theory.

Cramps are involuntary, spasmodic contractions of skeletal muscle during or after exercise, usually related to fatigue. But cramping during exercise is more likely due to a combination of factors, such as dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and neurological fatigue, which are unique to each person.

The truth is, we have enough blood to keep all our body parts functioning after a big meal.

Another suggested risk factor for swimming after eating is what’s commonly referred to as a stitch (or exercise-related transient abdominal pain or ETAP in sports literature). This is a sharp pain felt just below the rib cage. Stitches aren’t well understood but are thought to be caused by cramping of the diaphragm due to restricted blood flow from pressure from the lungs above and abdomen below.

With any vigorous exercise after eating, there could be some discomfort such as heartburn or vomiting, caused by unexpected reflux or involuntary regurgitation. This is more likely to occur when there’s an increase in external pressure, such as while diving.

So what does the data say about the myth? There is a great concern with the elevated risk of drowning due to drinking alcohol. Alcohol and drugs can severely impair judgment and physical ability, and increase the risk of spasm of the vocal cords if water enters the windpipe.

While swimming on a full stomach can be uncomfortable and, if excessive, can lead to vomiting, it’s unlikely to put you at greater risk of drowning. This will be great news for kids, but less so for their parents wanting to rest after lunch.

Common sense, however, suggests that swimming is not the best way to settle that full stomach. If you’re keen to get back to the water quickly, opt for foods high in simple carbohydrates. They’re not only good for you, they digest far more quickly than the fat and protein in a barbecued steak.

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Swimming 100 Years Ago

We’ve improved swimming a lot for our society within the last 100 years. Looking back and comparing it to today’s society and how we did things then and now – it’s important to note the historical importance at how things have progressed. Improving swimming for all – including who is allowed to swim or not. Believe it or not, there was a time when women weren’t allowed to swim in the Olympics. Let’s take a look at how far we’ve come and see how much things have changed.

If you traveled back 100 years into the past you’d see people were wearing wool swimsuits. Wool is like a sponge and soaks up all the water, therefore our old friends would swim up to 9 pounds more of weight around with them. They weren’t bikini or trunk wear either, they wore full body suits, similar to the race wear in the Olympics. Then swimwear changed their material to silk, but when wet would become transparent. Meaning people wore their undergarments underneath. Modesty prevailed and was the sentiment of the day for the better part of the next few decades things would change dramatically.

Until 1900 women were not allowed to compete in the Olympics at all. The Olympics in 1916 were the first to sponsor the women’s swimming but established that women’s swimming was strictly for sport and not “sensation”. Both the contestants and public took this seriously.

Swimmers didn’t wear goggles regularly for another 60 years. Although wearing caps made of silk and rubber with an additional chin strap. Thomas William Burgess constructed goggles out of an old pair of motorcycle goggles to fix a leaky solution. He successfully crossed the English channel in 1911.

August is Water Quality Month

August is the time of year when many people are enjoying the last bits of summer recreational activities involving water. But these bodies of water are threatened by increasing water pollution. The Clean Water Act was passed in 1972 but most people are unaware of the little ways they can pollute their water. Water sustains all life and entire ecosystems depend on it for their survival. Water Quality Month reminds us to take a long, hard look at what your household and community are doing to protect sources of fresh water.

The History of Water Quality Month
The United Nation has declared 2005-2015 an International Decade for Action “Water for Life” in order to emphasize the importance of water quality as it relates to sanitation, human rights, geography, urbanization and sustainability. Emphasizing how interlinked water systems are, the Audobon Society points to the dangers of runoff from agriculture, forestry, construction and people’s personal yards.

How to Celebrate Water Quality Month
We can all participate and help prevent water pollution. Try not to use antibacterial soaps or cleaning products. Regular soap and water will do the trick. Much of the antibacterial soaps contain a registered pesticide that is known to harm marine life. Do not flush unwanted or out-of-date medications down the toilet or drain, do not put anything but water down storm drains because they carry water to local waterways, and make sure to fix leaks that drip from cars and put liners in driveways to collect oil and other materials.

Another option could be gather a group of family, friends, and neighbors and volunteer to clean a local water source. You could bring a picnic and hold a contest to see who can clean up the most trash and debris, offering a prize to the winning team. It’s a great way to get everyone together and enjoy an outdoor day full of fun and good-doing!

Save Frogs from Getting in your Pool

If you have a swimming pool, chances are you’ve had to clear a few frogs (dead or alive) out of it. We humans aren’t the only ones who want to take a cool dip now and then, after all.

The chlorine-treated water that keeps swimming pools clean and disease-free will prove deadly for frogs who spend too much time in it, which is where the Frog Log Critter Escape Ramp comes in. This handy product gives frogs a safe, chlorine-free pad to land on as well as an escape ramp that, in theory, allows them to hop on out to safety.

Swimline, the company that makes the Frog Log, says that other critters—notably squirrels and turtles—can benefit from the escape ramp as well.

Some frogs do seem to find their way to the pad but sometimes can’t seem to figure out how to hop up the ramp. But that the ramp may not be strong enough to support the weight of full-grown turtles.

Whether you want to save some frog lives or are simply sick of scooping dead critters from your pool, the Frog Log could be for you. So what do you think? Is a Frog Log Critter Escape Ramp in your future?

Why the Olympic Swimming Pools Turned Green

The Rio Olympics is no stranger to controversy. Today’s issue had to do with the Olympic diving pool and water polo pool at Maria Lenk Aquatics Stadium. The water, which was a pretty blue just days before, is now a bright green.

Up until just recently, the water of the Maria Lenk Aquatics Stadium, the area devoted to the Rio Olympics diving and water polo competitions, had been a nice blue. That’s definitely a relief to swimmers since the natural bodies of water in Rio are notoriously toxic.

That is, until the water in the diving pool had mysteriously turned bright green. Unfortunately, the show must go on, and several competitions, including synchronized diving, had to compete in this murky green mess. Officials insisted the water wasn’t harmful.

At first, the green water was only in the diving pool. That meant that the water polo teams could worry a little bit less about their own health. Unfortunately, the water polo pool started to turn green as well. Now no one was safe. But what could be causing it?

At first, officials had no idea what was causing the water to turn green. There were many theories going around, tying it to rain, chemicals and air pollution. It turns out that water tanks ran out of some of the chemicals needed to keep the pool at optimum levels.

“As a result the pH level of the water was outside the usual range, causing the discoloration. The FINA Sport Medicine Committee conducted tests on the water quality and concluded that there was no risk to the health and safety of the athletes, and no reason for the competition to be affected,”said a FINA official. The water did, after the chemicals had time to settle return to it’s beautiful blue color soon.

Spool – Small Pool

Many people think that a swimming pool is not an option due to their limited space, lack of desire to have high-maintenance pool, or having to choose between a spa and a pool. If you find yourself in that group of people, perhaps small pools are for you! What exactly is a small pool, or “spool”? It’s a pool that is smaller than a typical pool and flexible enough for all seasons and activities. Though they’re typically found in smaller, restrained lots, small pools can be a perfect fit in any yard. Often times, the pool is built to be deep enough and cool for relaxation during the warmer months, but also, the small pool can be turned into a spa (or spool) in the cooler times of year.

Here are a few reasons to consider a small pool:

• You have limited space
• You want to enjoy the benefits of both a regular swimming pool as well as a spa
• You want to use your small pool year-round
• You want a pool that is easier to maintain
• Even though you have a large yard, you don’t want the focal point to be your pool, but rather have a small pool as an addition
• You want a beautiful water-feature in your yard when you’re not using it for swimming

Do you have limited space for a swimming pool? Not to worry! Have you ever thought about a “Spool”? What is a “Spool”, you may be asking. Well, a spool is a small pool that we fit almost anywhere. They’re also typically less expensive than a normal sized pool in most markets. Does it get cold during winter? Not when you get heating installed in your amazing spa at home!