Plano North | July 2023

GUIDE

Local businesses oer home improvement tips

2023 HOME EDITION

COMPILED BY MICHAEL CROUCHLEY AND KAITLYNN HUTCHINS HOME IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE

ASK A POOL EXPERT

Elizabeth Donald, who owns Superior Pools in Lewisville with her brother, Scott, has some tips for pool owners. The company services several areas across Dallas-Fort Worth.

WHAT ARE SOME TIPS FOR POOL OWNERS TO KEEP THEIR POOLS AND THEIR FILTERS CLEAN? For lters, if you have a cartridge, do lter service every six months or so. If you have a lot of dog swimming, we recommend a little bit sooner than that. For the water chemistry [you should be] keeping debris out, keeping all the chemicals balanced, chlorine in the water if you have a standard or a salt pool, keeping the salt levels up, just keeping everything within range, checking all the chemicals. A lot of people will run into issues with phosphates. They have nagging algae they can’t get rid of, they put all the chlorine in, and it won’t go away. So phosphates are a big thing that we have been seeing a lot more, denitely in the summertime and fall. Just coming out of the spring, foliage and a bunch of that debris is just like food for algae. So treat it for phosphates, and typically that takes care of it.

WHAT IS ONE THING POOL OWNERS SHOULD NEVER DO WHEN IT COMES TO POOL MAINTENANCE? Probably just willy-nilly throw chemicals in, not regularly do a full checkup on the chemistry because you can run into [issues] if you don’t have enough calcium in the water, so we add calcium on a monthly basis into our pools. If you don’t have any calcium in the water, it’s pulling it from your plaster and degrading that a lot quicker. Letting ducks stay in the pool is a big one. We have one customer that owns ducks and has them in a separate pool, but they started getting into their regular pool. And they think it’s so cute and fun, but they poop all over the place, and it’s really yucky. You’re not allowed to touch the ducks, so you have to set a oat out and let them crawl out on their own. There’s a bunch of regulations around ducks, so call a city ocial; try and get those out of the water as quick as possible.

ASK A GARDENER

Erin Hoer, Plano lead environmental education coordinator, has some tips for new gardeners and those looking to hone their green thumb even further. WHY SHOULD YOU START A GARDEN?

when needed are all sustainable practices that promote good plant health and create an appealing landscape. WHAT ARE THE MOST WIDESPREAD MISTAKES THAT NEW GARDENERS MAKE? Poor plant selection and inappropriate watering are common errors that beginning gardeners make. It’s essential to know how many hours of sunlight are available in an area. Native plants are usually a great choice because. Overwatering plants and depriving their roots of much-needed oxygen is another rookie mistake.

Spending time outdoors is a proven stress-reliever, improves mental health and provides exercise. It gives us the opportunity to restore a bit of the ecological habitat that our urban and suburban development has taken away. Gardening does not just make the community beautiful; it makes it better. WHAT CAN ANYONE DO TO MAKE THEIR GARDEN LOOK BETTER? Regular maintenance is key to a tidy and attractive garden. Pulling weeds, appropriate watering, mulching to protect the soil and conserve water, and pruning Erin Hoer Lead environmental education coordinator City of Plano www.plano.gov/537/Garden-Green -in-Plano

Elizabeth and Scott Donald Owners Superior Pool Service 301 Thomas St., Lewisville 972-221-2253 info@superiorpoolservice.com

MAIN ST.

5TH ST.

PLANO PKWY.

PURNELL ST. THOMAS ST.

PGBT TOLL

121

Meet Denise.

She joined CI in 2007 as a receptionist and

today serves as one of the company’s General Managers.

“The opportunities that are given here and the amount of faith that our owners —John and Jennifer—have in every employee, it’s unlike any company.”

WE ARE HIRING and we think you’d be Amazing

Scan to learn more about various career paths at CI and view our current openings.

PLANO NORTH EDITION • JULY 2023