So you have a Brand New Hoop !!! You want it to last as long as possible, because it is your favourite hoop. How do you keep it looking nice, and prolong its life? Firstly do not let anyone pull on the hoop !!! It was not designed for tug-of-war, which unfotunately is what tends to happen when two children both want to play. OK, so the best advice is keep your hoop away from the children. If they want a hoop, buy them one each from a toy shop, but make sure it is big enough for them, You should be able to get 24 inch, 30 inch, or even 36 inch "toy" hoops. Next, when hooping, especially while learning, do not hoop on a rough surface, such as concrete, as this will damage the hoop decoration when it falls to the floor, which it could do a lot while you are learning. Always ensure there is enough room around you for the hoop to rotate without hitting something, especially your precious ornaments if hooping indoors. Also make sure you are far enough from brick walls etc before starting the hoop rotation. Keep the hoop away from heat sources. Even a hot radiator can loosen the decorative tapes, or make the adhesive "bleed out" making the hoop sticky, thus attracting dirt and grime to stick to the hoop. If the tapes do get damaged, they can be replaced, it takes time, but you can do it yourself, standard self-adhesive electrical tape will do the job just fine. If you use any holographic, or shiny metallic tape you are recommended to over-wrap the edges with a plastic tape, following the edges of the shiny tape to protect it. Certain holographic decorations can be rather brittle, and can crack and tear easily. One easy repair, is to use ordinary clear sellotape. Suppose you find a tape end starts to come undone, there is no point in just trying to smooth it back into place. Once the adhesive has started to "let-go" then it will not remain stuck no matter how many times you try. Of course you could try putting glue under the tape end, but by far the best method is to wrap around that section of hoop with sellotape. This will keep the tape in nicely place until you decide the time has come for a complete redecoration of the whole hoop. We would love to help you by retaping the hoop for you, unfortunately you would need to post the hoop to us, pay us to retape it, and then pay again for us to ship it back to you. With postage costs and labour this would I am afraid cost you in excess of £10. |