The best way to cut your heating bill is often to make sure all the windows and doors of your home are properly caulked, sealed, and weatherstripped, instead of going shopping for a fancy new solar water heater. Blowing in a few extra inches of insulation in your attic can very easily save you more money over the next ten years than installing a solar installation that can cost from $5,000-$10,000, and the net effect on the environment is much the same (especially if you use cellulose or other “green” attic insulation).

Once you’ve got your basic home in tip-top shape, then it’s time to turn to appliances and solar installations, as far as being as energy efficient as possible. But make sure you’ve tackled all the small improvements first, as that’s often where you’ll get the biggest return on investment of your home improvement dollars.

As far as a place to turn to find the best mortgage rates and other loan products, we recommend Personal Home Loan Mortgages. The site is simple and clean and easy to navigate, and provides you with mortgage rates for a wide range of loan products, including 30 and 15 year mortgages, home equity loans, and debt consolidation products. Mortgage providers from around the US are included in their database, so it’s quick and easy to get rates from local lenders no matter where you live.

In addition to mortgage rates, the site also provides a wealth of other information including instructional articles about shopping for the best mortgage product for your particular needs, info about how the mortgage process works in generals, and other helpful tools like a mortgage calculator to see just what your monthly mortgage payment would be for various products.

Furniture coverings are available for pretty much anything and everything, including patio chair covers, barbeque grill covers, patio table covers, ottoman covers, wicker furniture covers, you name it, there’s a cover for it.

Outdoor patio furniture covers come in a wide range of styles and materials, and usually incorporate velcro or tie down fasteners to secure the cover to the furniture. Gray is a ocmmon color for covers, as it holds up well when subjected to lots of sunlight and weather conditions. Most covers also come with a warranty of two to three years.

Vinyl is a popular material choice for patio furniture covers, as it’s lightweight and very durable. Polypropylene is also used in some covers.

While they’re not the most inexpensive solution for shade and patio protection, that’s also a plus, as aluminum patio covers won’t deteriorate due to inclement weather over time, and can easily be repainted a variety of colors if you upgrade your patio furniture or otherwise would like to go with a different color scheme.

Like most patio furniture, there are cast aluminum patio covers at a variety of price points and in innumerable styles, so there should be plenty of options out there for budgets and tastes of all sizes.

Patio heaters are exactly that: devices that sit on your patio and produce heat. They can take a variety of forms, from chimineas and  copper firepits that burn wood to residential patio heaters that operate on propane of electricity and can put out 50,000 or more BTU of heat to keep you warm and toasty on chilly winter nights.

Patio heaters are available in a variety of decorative styles and colors, so it’s simply a matter of choosing one that suits your taste. Expect to pay anywhere from $100-$500 for a quality, well-made patio heater.

Whatever flavor pool cover you have, its purpose is simple: to protect your pool from debris, weather, people, and pets.

When shopping for a pool cover, don’t just focus on one of the above aspects. A cheap, flimsy cover might keep debris out of your pool, but it won’t protect a child or pet that runs onto the cover and falls through. A mesh safety pool cover might protect your children and pets, but it won’t keep debris from getting into your pool.

Once you settle on the pool cover you like, pick a size that is a bit larger than your pool, so that you have enough overlap to securely anchor the pool cover. Yes, you’ll pay a bit more for bigger covers, but trying to force a cover that’s too small to fit your pool is not only an unnecessary hassle, but it’s a hassle you’ll face each and every time you cover and uncover your swimming pool.

Pay attention to warranties, too, when buying a swimming pool cover. Most pool covers come with at least a two year warranty, so that’s a good baseline to shoot for. Make sure it’s an all-inclusive warranty that covers any and all defects, too.

1. In concrete pools, hairline cracks can simply be patched with chorlinated rubber or epoxy swimming pool paint. Most small hairline cracks can safely be ignored in fiberglass pools, as they’re just a normal sign of the pool aging.

2. For slightly larger cracks (less than 1/8 of an inch), patch cracks with special epoxy compound that is made just for concrete pools or with fiberglass patch kits for fiberglass pools. Always follow the instructions from the manufacturer of the product you’re using.

3. If cracks are larger than 1/8 of an inch or more than a foot long, it’s time to call the professionals.

Stepping back a bit, though, the best way to treat algae is to never let it become a problem. Proper pool maintenance will keep algae from growing, so be sure that you maintain the right pool sanitizer level to prevent algae from ever forming.

Once you’re faced with algae, check the pH and adjust it if necessary. If it’s green algae, superchlorinate the water (going as high as 30 ppM chlorine) and then wait until the chlorine drops to normal levels, which usually takes about 48 hours. Add an all-purpose algaecide and follow the directions on the packaging. After the algaecide treatment, vacuum the dead algae and backwash the filter. If the algae growth is really heavy, you may need to repeat the above treatment.

If you’ve got mustard algae or black algae, use a stiff brush to remove as much of the spots as you can. Turn off the pool pump and spot treat the algae with chlorine tablets then pour an all-purpose algaecide on the algae spots. Leave the pump off and let the algaecide work overnight. Restore water circulation the next day and brush off any dead algae and vacuum. Again, if it’s a heavy case of algae you may need to repeat the treatment again if there’s more algae remaining.

In a nutshell, a salt water pool is one with a chlorine generator, so the salty water is actually a secondary effect. You could just as easily call them chlorine generator pools but that sounds impersonal and far too technical.

I won’t go into all the chemistry involved, but the chlorine generator  basically works by electrolysis to produce chlorine, which then turns into hypochlorous acid. That’s the sanitizer that kills algae and other nasty stuff in the water. Keep in mind, though, that the hypochlorus acid only works as a sanitizer when the pool is balanced and at the proper pH, so you still have to maintain your pool chemistry in order for a chlorine generator to work.

As as pros and cons of salt water pools, many people prefer the swimming experience in a salt water pool, as the water is often clearer and free of algae or chloramines that can cause burning red eyes. Many people also feel that the water in a salt water pool feels softer and smoother on their skin.

On the maintenace side, you’ll never have to handle or buy chlorine again, as the generator produces all you’ll ever need. While you will have to periodically add salt to the water to enable the generator to function, that’s a lot easier and less expensive than adding chlorine.

As far as cost, expect to pay something in the range of $1,000-$2,000 for a quality chlorine generator unit and other equipment to enable you to switch over to a salt water pool.

1) Brine system generators: These utilize a tank or chamber filled with salt, so there’s no need to add salt to the pool. In brine systems one must be periodically refilled with water and salt, while the second chamber must be periodically drained of caustic soda and refilled with fresh water. Some systems use electronic indicators that alert the pool owner that maintenance is required, while others use simpler mechanical alarms. Brine systems are less common as many feel they are too much trouble to maintain.

2) Salt chlorinating generators: These typically have the chlorine-producing generator (basically the chlorine generating cell and related electronics) installed as part of the water recirculation system. Because there’s no chamber to add salt as in a brine system, you’ll need to periodically add salt directly to the pool water itself in order to maintain the correct salt content for the generator to work.