Bestway, Intex and similar above ground pools are easy to set up but maintaining and fixing a hole in vinyl requires a lot of patience and practice. For years, the only way to fix a hole in your vinyl has been to patch it or tape it. The other problem with these solutions is they require a set of different tools; scissors, squeegees and a tape measure, for example. But hold it, before you get going, you will need to get a cloth and some detergent to make sure the hole is free of any dirt and remove grease. If you do not go through all these steps, then you may find your patch or tape doesn't stick at all. What should be a quick and easy job usually ends up taking a couple of hours to get right. The worst part of it all is, unless you are lucky, you will find yourself repeating the job every few weeks.
Do you remember the old children's nursery rhyme, "There's a Hole in My Bucket?"
Henry asked Liza how to fix a hole in his bucket. Liza suggested he use straw and, rightly so, grew impatient with Henry because all he saw was the problem. First, the straw was too long. Second his axe was too dull to cut the straw, and lastly, he couldn't fetch water to sharpen his axe on a stone because his bucket had a hole. Poor Henry wasn't too bright.
The earliest known record of this song comes from the German collection of songs Bergliederbüchlein dating back to the 1700's. Since then it has been translated and sung in many different languages including Dutch, English and Hebrew. Almost every young child and adult today has heard it sung. Let's go back to the beginning quickly. Liza suggested Henry fix the hole with straw. It perhaps sounded absurd over 300 years ago, and still gets a laugh from the audience when the nursery rhyme plays today, but one thing, not too many people realise is that Liza's suggestion was smart. All the way back then Liza suggested he plug the hole.
Fast forward to today, should you Plug or Tape a hole?
The 2019 Retail and Sustainability Survey results showed that more than two-thirds of the respondents consider sustainability when making a purchase.
Although PLUGZIT is made from plastic, the good thing is you will never need to throw it away. It can be removed and used again as many times as you want. Should you throw away your pool and no longer need it, you can resell it or give it to a friend who also has a pool.
Tape, on the other hand, is made of several combined dissimilar materials. There's the backing, or what you put the adhesive on (plastic or crepe, plus maybe some scrim and strands) usually coated with an acrylic or rubber adhesive which is mixed with a harmful solvent. Throw in some release backing, and ultimately, what we have is utterly unrecyclable, and furthermore, it can only be used only once.
As for harm to the environment, do we measure by landfill contribution or the toxins into which it breaks down? Most of the components, except the solvent, are relatively harmless BUT we might as well face it - all tape for practical purposes is a one-way ticket to the landfill.
So, is it best to plug a hole or to tape it?
Liza knew 300 years ago that plugging a hole is much better than taping it. Imagine if PLUGZIT was available when Henry got a hole in his bucket…
"There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.
Go and Buy a PLUGZIT, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry.
Buy a PLUGZIT, Dear Henry, and fetch me some wine!"
