Swimming Pool Tips and Reviews

Pool service work has a sneaky way of pulling you into tasks that feel “close enough” to what you already do, until the risk and complexity spike. A smart pool service business is not built on doing everything yourself; it is built on knowing your limits, protecting the customer’s pool, and choosing the safest path to results. This episode focuses on the real-world learning curve in pool maintenance and pool repairs, including the Catch-22 problem: you gain skill by doing the work, but you cannot do the work well without skill. The practical answer is to partner, shadow, and selectively refer jobs out while you grow. Two repairs that often deserve immediate partnering are acid washing a pool and pulling a pool or spa light, especially combo pool and spa light systems. Acid washing requires finesse, safety awareness, and the ability to predict outcomes before you start, including what the plaster will look like when finished, how long it will take, and how to price the job. Pool light r...

Test strips are one of the most argued-about tools in pool water testing because they feel both convenient and unreliable at the same time. The core issue is not always the chemistry on the strip, but the human step where we interpret color. When you dip a strip and compare it to the chart, you are making a judgment call under whatever lighting you have, with whatever color sensitivity you were born with, and at whatever speed you are trying to finish the job. That is why test strips often deliver a “ballpark” pool chemical reading, even if the strip itself is manufactured consistently. For pool owners and pool service pros, the win is speed: fast pool testing for free chlorine, total chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, hardness, and cyanuric acid in one dip. The risk is false confidence when a number needs to be precise, or when the range blocks on the bottle are too wide for the decision you are trying to make.  Digital test strip readers and phone-linked pool water monitors try to s...

The pool industry in 2026 feels uneven: strong demand in the pool service business, but clear softness in pool construction and pool remodeling. Higher interest rates reshape everything because so many backyard projects rely on borrowed money. When financing jumps from the low-rate era to 8% territory, homeowners rethink big upgrades, builders see fewer signed contracts, and manufacturers feel the slowdown. This shift is showing up in equipment sales expectations, contractor backlogs, and the overall pace of new pool permits. For pool service pros, the key is reading these signals early so you can plan staffing, inventory, and pricing for a tighter consumer mindset. On the manufacturing side, a construction slowdown hits orders fast. When retailers and wholesale distributors are overstocked, they stop ordering, and that pressure rolls uphill to brands like Pentair, Hayward, and Fluidra. Overstock can create occasional promotional pricing, but it does not guarantee cheaper equipment acr...

Pool service is won or lost in the small moments: a stuck pump lid that eats ten minutes, a filter clamp that won’t seat evenly, a union that refuses to budge, or a surprise equipment pad sitting below the pool waterline. This podcast breaks down essential pool service tools that many pool technicians overlook because they don’t look “special” on a shopping list. The goal is simple: build a smarter pool route kit that reduces strain on your hands, prevents call-backs, and speeds up routine pool maintenance. When you choose tools for real field conditions, you stop improvising under pressure and start working with repeatable, reliable methods. A high-quality rubber mallet is a perfect example of a low-cost upgrade with outsized impact. During filter cleaning, tapping around the clamp after tightening helps the band settle so you can snug the spring barrel nut further, improving the seal and reducing leak risk. The same mallet also loosens tight pump lids like a Pentair WhisperFlo withou...

Cartridge pool filters get a lot of praise in pool maintenance, but the loudest criticism is simple: you cannot backwash a cartridge filter. Backwashing works by reversing flow, which makes sense for a sand filter that needs agitation and for a DE filter that can shed debris off coated grids. Cartridge pleats do not release dirt the same way, so “backwash” is not really an option. The practical question is how often cleaning becomes necessary. With a large quad cartridge filter in the 400 to 500 square foot range, the dirt holding capacity is so high that many pools go months between cleanings, and PSI often stays stable longer than with smaller systems. In heavy dust regions, cleaning intervals shrink, but the job is usually straightforward and fast compared to taking apart other filter types. Another argument people lean on is filtration efficiency: DE filter media can capture particles down around 3 microns, while cartridge pool filtration is typically higher. On paper that sounds d...

Black algae in a swimming pool is one of those problems that feels personal because it fights back. The spots look like tiny black pinheads on plaster, but the real issue is what’s underneath. As the podcast explains, “black algae” is often cyanobacteria, not true algae, and it can anchor itself deep into porous surfaces. That helps explain why it returns when chlorine drops, and why simple “shock it and forget it” pool maintenance fails. If you’re a pool owner or a pool service professional, the goal is twofold: kill what you see and prevent black algae from spreading to the next pool through cross contamination. A key takeaway is how black algae spores can enter water in the first place. The idea that it comes from nature, including oceans and lakes, is plausible because spores can cling to wet fabric and damp gear for surprisingly long periods. A wet bathing suit, towel, or T-shirt can carry spores from a beach day right into a backyard pool. The same is true for pool cleaning tools...