Garden Water Fountains Winter Care ... Top Concrete or Stone Fountain Maintenance Tips

If you live in countries where outdoor winter conditions are extreme like parts of the USA, UK, Northern Europe and Canada for example then you need to take special precautions to protect your outdoor fountain and pump and extend their life. If you live in milder winter areas like I do in South Africa where freezing conditions are rare and bottom temperatures are about 1 degree in Winter then you do not need to follow these suggestions quite so carefully.

Concrete & Stone Fountain Winter Concerns & Maintenance Tips

Quick and sudden changes in temperature (indoor and outdoor) and an increase in humidity under very low temperature conditions will possibly damage your beautiful concrete items. The reason is that concrete especially expands and contracts as temperature changes and because the concrete is thick you get temperature gradients in the fountains and this can lead to cracking ... some parts expand or contract more than others and this induces high stresses. This is the reason you see gaps in motorway road constructions and on bridges. Steel reinforcement is used in some larger concrete fountain items.

Top of the range water fountains made by companies like Henri Studio company include special chemicals to increase the ability of their concrete or cast stone fountains to withstand these stresses. This is one reason why price might be a bit higher from top end manufacturers. However extra care is still needed.

Do not allow water to accumulate and freeze in the bowl bottom. Empty the all the fountains' bowls, take inside or at least if you keep outdoors then turn the bowls upside down (see below). Ice expands (density is lower than water) and creates massive expansion forces.

You might want to think of setting up your fountain indoors for Winter. In general however the garden shed is probably a good place to store the empty fountain items.

If you cannot do either of the above here's my suggestion ... certainly store the pump indoors, then empty the fountain and stuff some absorbent material (eg carpet underlay, hessian, or even newspapers into the empty bowls. This will "trap" any moisture after 6you completely cover the fountain with a waterproof cover. You can buy or order specially designed water fountain covers for this purpose. If the cannot do this then take a very heavy duty plastic sheet and make a kind of protective surround or tent taped up securely against wind damage.

Other Water Fountains Tips

• Water fountains need to be carefully installed on a level smooth surface to reduce risk of falling over. By making sure the fountain is level in your garden environment the water flow will always look better.

• Make sure you have a view of your fountain. After all you bought it to admire so what's the point of putting it where you can hardly ever view it. For tabletop fountains put them in your office and living areas. They create soothing sounds.

• Water fountains should always come with  free accessories and fountain pump including pipes, wedges possibly, clamps where necessary to modify water flow and in some cases bungs and low voltage lights. The point of the fountain pump is to re-circulate the water and each fountain has a specific pump requirement to look its best. This is main reason for ordering water fountains for your garden with the pump included.

• Water fountains and electricity ... always connect the fountain pump up via an RCD or residual current device designed to immediately cut off electric power should short circuit to earth occur. The maximum setting should be 30 mAmp. For outdoor fountains this is an absolute must ... installed indoors then there is normally an automatic protection

• Check on the shipping costs for water fountains. Shipping charges will possibly be high and especially on large sizes. The shipping cost can be a high proportion of the selling price.

• And if you use an online order page for your fountain order always make sure there is a privacy page or at least a statement ... most good companies display the Privacy

• Water wall fountains for garden and patio use need special attention for 2 reasons ... (1) they are heavy and are off the ground and (2) they need very strong wall fixing attachments. Even small size wall fountains made from stone or concrete are heavy and need strong mounting bolts.

• Garden or water fountains that allow water to fall from a significant height or popular top selling  fountain designs using umbrellas will almost certainly splash and create slippery floors if used in pedestrian areas. They are not recommended for indoor use.

• Check water fountain guarantees and that all your rights are reserved. Always read the information that comes with your fountain carefully ... most difficulties arise from people not reading this information or instructions. read the guarantee page especially. The safety page will give you information on electrical requirements.

List Of Some Henri Studio Garden Water Fountains & Ornaments

Top Garden Water Fountains Maintenance & Information Tips

Water & Garden Fountains |Top Tips For Fountain Care