Swimming Pool Tips and Reviews

 Bob Lowry’s name still carries weight on pool routes for a simple reason: his chemistry lessons work the very next day. This conversation with Terry Arco traces how those lessons are being condensed, modernized, and delivered to pool pros across the country in 2026. The core idea is practical education for residential service techs who face tight schedules and shifting water conditions. Rather than asking pros to sit through a six-hour seminar, Terry explains how the essentials of water balance, cyanuric acid management, and free chlorine control can be taught in focused sessions that respect the realities of field work while preserving scientific rigor. At the center of this push is an abridged course derived from Bob’s 252-page Pool Chemistry for Residential Pools and its concise 26-page companion, Pool Chemistry for Service Pros. The shorter format keeps the vital principles intact: understanding Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) to prevent scale and corrosion, managing CYA to p...

 The new season is the perfect time to audit your truck and upgrade the tools that decide your pace, quality, and profit. We start with the backbone of daily service: the pole. Carbon fiber poles have matured into a clear win for pool service pros because they’re lighter, stiffer, and more durable than aluminum, which means fewer sore backs and faster control when netting, brushing, and vacuuming. Among SkimLite, Ultimate Pool Tools, and Primate, the Primate pole stands out for its feel, balance, and vertical lever locks that adjust fast with one hand. The 3-piece Primate 3X collapses to six feet for small truck beds yet extends to cover most pools from one side, reducing time and fence-dings. If your route demands a 2-piece, the 8x15 2X works well, but the key is investing in a lighter, stronger pole that you grip 90% of the day. Vacuum systems have diversified, and choosing right can change your week. Cart units like Riptide and Hammerhead still rule heavy debris and large proper...

 Commercial pool service looks glamorous from a distance: bigger checks, steady contracts, and name recognition with HOAs and property managers. Up close, the margins collapse if you bid like a residential route and ignore compliance, access, and payment risk. The fastest way to protect profit is to price for the real workload and add a defined headache factor. That premium covers health department inspections, chemistry logs, weekend surges, and gate or access problems that spike usage. It also buffers late payments from management companies. Treat commercial work as a different product with stricter standards, not a scaled-up backyard job. Start with demand: HOAs, apartments, hotels, and community centers often must collect multiple bids. This is your opening if your online presence makes you discoverable for “commercial pool service” and local city names. Use SEO and targeted ads that call out HOAs, property managers, and compliance. Then, build direct pipelines. Call management...

Reliability in pool service begins long before you lift a leaf rake. The core shift is moving from ad‑hoc tasks to an ingrained routine that repeats at every stop. Consistency keeps clients confident and keeps you safe. Doing pools on the same day and around the same time each week helps homeowners anticipate your visit, but the deeper value is mental rhythm: clean in a set order, check baskets at a defined point, and dose chemicals last so you never wonder two stops later if you treated the water. A reliable routine also cuts risk. Skimmer lids left off cause sprained ankles; placing your vacuum hose through the deck into the skimmer creates a physical reminder underfoot so you don’t step into an open hole. Little habits like a final glance back for the chlorine floater protect both your body and your reputation. Timing your arrival to match running equipment turns minutes of guesswork into seconds of clarity. When the pump is already on, minor leaks show themselves, cleaners that sho...

Clear agreements turn messy pool jobs into manageable work. Too many service pros rely on verbal promises, then face blame when stains, cloudy water, or old equipment fail at the worst moment. The core fix is simple: put expectations in writing. A one-page service agreement and targeted waivers for special work like green pool cleanups and acid washes clarify scope, timing, risks, and client duties. They are not ironclad legal contracts, but they defuse disputes, set a steady tone, and keep your cash flow on track. When a client can read what you do, when you do it, and what you don’t cover, small issues rarely grow into cancellations or chargebacks. Start with a basic service agreement that outlines what you service each visit, billing cycles, late fees, and cancellation terms. Spell out what’s included versus billable extras like filter cleans, parts, or emergency visits. Add weather exemptions, vacation pauses, and chemical policies so rain, heat waves, or supply swings don’t become...

Budget-conscious clients are a reality in pool service, and they can come from any income level. Some are wealthy homeowners who got that way by pinching every penny; others are families simply trying to make ends meet; some view frugality as a cultural value. The common thread is the pressure they put on your time, tools, and patience. When an owner refuses to replace a dying pump or a rusted filter because it still technically runs, you feel that friction in longer service times, unreliable outcomes, and the constant sense that you’re failing their pool despite doing your best. The key is knowing when to accommodate and when to draw a line, because not every cost-saving request is harmful, but many become a slow drain on your business. Consider old equipment that limps along. You can explain performance loss, vacuuming limits, and filtration inefficiency, yet a client might counter that they only care the water looks blue. That mindset undermines your service standards and steals min...

Pricing shapes every decision a pool service business makes, and the 2026 State of the Pool Service Report by Skimmer puts hard numbers behind those choices. The headline: average weekly service sits around 225 dollars monthly in Sunbelt markets, with filter cleaning at 111 dollars and salt cell cleaning at 67 dollars. That average is not a universal rule, though. California and parts of Florida often run lower, while Texas pushes higher. The smart move is to treat the report as a compass, not a contract—an anchor for negotiating your rates, checking your competitiveness, and finding margin in places customers rarely scrutinize, like one-off maintenance tasks and specialty services. Billing models can make or break cash flow. The data shows 76 percent of pros use monthly billing, 19 percent bill per stop, and a small fraction do something else. Monthly billing wins because it smooths revenue, keeps quotes simple, and quietly captures those five-week months. Per stop billing is cleaner ...

Many pool service pros forget the simplest truth of self-employment: control. Control of the clock, the client list, and the kind of work that deserves your time. Early on, you say yes to everything because you need the revenue and the referrals. Once established, though, the game must change. You can and should shape your route around your life, not the other way around. A four-day workweek is realistic when you group stops, move low-fit pools off your map, and price to create space. That extra day is not laziness; it’s recovery, repairs, training, or family time that keeps you sharp and reduces burnout, which ultimately protects your business. Pricing is the next lever. Too many techs undercharge to “stay competitive,” then wonder why they feel stuck. Your prices must reflect skill, parts, warranty risk, and travel time. If the local market averages $400 for a pump and motor install, charging $250 doesn’t make you a hero, it makes you a volunteer. The same logic applies to green pool...

Getting paid on time isn’t just about cash flow; it’s about protecting your sanity, your schedule, and your reputation. Service businesses like pool care live in the space between trust and risk, where one late payment can spiral into months of excuses, lost labor, and awkward follow‑ups. The simplest way to avoid that trap is to set firm boundaries before the first service visit. A clear, one‑page agreement that states due dates, late fees, and a hard pause date takes the emotion out of collections. When clients know service pauses on the 15th if last month isn’t paid, you stop digging into a deeper hole. That single policy shifts leverage back to your calendar and signals that you run a real business with real rules. Many pros assume the law will backstop unpaid work, but for most service providers, liens and court are weak tools. In states like California, only licensed contractors can record a lien, and even then it may sit for years without producing cash. Small claims can win a j...

Most pool owners assume the pump does the heavy lifting, but a right-sized filter is the real backbone of a clean, easy-to-maintain pool. The filter doesn’t just trap dirt; it drives circulation, which keeps water moving through skimmers, cleaners, and returns. That movement prevents dead spots where algae thrive and reduces the runtime needed to maintain clarity. When a filter is undersized, pressure rises faster, flow stalls, and you end up cleaning incessantly even if the pump is powerful. A larger filter lowers resistance, keeps PSI stable longer, and maintains consistent flow that makes every other piece of equipment work better, including modest pumps. Consider how filter surface area changes the job. A 100 square foot cartridge on a 15,000-gallon pool will clog quickly, pushing PSI up and starving circulation, which forces you to clean monthly. Jump to 400 square feet and you spread the load across four cartridges; cleaning often drops to every four to six months, and water stay...

Most pool owners and service pros juggle speed, cost, and accuracy when they test water. That trade-off sits at the center of test strip debates. The short truth: modern strips are more accurate than they used to be, but they still read in ranges and rely on your eyes. Major manufacturers like Taylor, LaMotte, and AquaChek now make strips alongside reagent kits and photometers, which signals trust in the chemistry and the market. The catch is interpretation. Your eyes judge slight shifts across reds, oranges, and greens, and that’s where error creeps in. pH is usually easier to read; alkalinity can be trickier. If you accept that strips reveal a range—not a pinpoint number—they become a fast, valid tool for routine checks. Accuracy needs context. For a typical backyard pool, knowing chlorine is roughly 4 to 6 ppm and pH is in the mid-7s is often enough to adjust and move on. On a new plaster startup, or any job where you’re calculating LSI or submitting health department logs, “close” ...

Choosing the right pool vacuum system can make or break your route. The difference between a 10-minute cleanup and a 30-minute slog often comes down to the tradeoff between raw power and true portability. On one end, heavy-duty cart systems like Riptide and Hammerhead deliver massive thrust and wide cleaning paths that devour leaf piles. On the other, compact tools like Bottom Feeder and Shrimp start fast, travel light, and now capture finer dirt with a cartridge attachment. The stakes are simple: match the tool to the pool, or risk wasting time, bags, and battery life. The good news is you don’t have to guess. With long-term use across brands, we map the strengths, flaws, and best use cases so you can buy with confidence. Cart vacuums still set the pace for heavy debris. Hammerhead is the nimble, balanced workhorse with a cart that’s simple and stable and a head that glides thanks to extra center wheels. Riptide is the brute: superior intake shape, huge pull, rugged build, and a head ...

Pools rarely fail because of one dramatic event; they decline from a chain of small, avoidable mistakes. This episode focuses on the most common errors that service pros and homeowners make together, from overdosing salt to starving circulation in the name of energy savings. We connect the technical details to real-world outcomes: corrosion, algae blooms, unsafe water, and warranty headaches. The core message is simple—test accurately, communicate clearly, and set equipment to protect water quality first. When you align those three pillars, you cut costs the smart way, not the risky way. Salt systems are a prime example. A “low salt” panel reading can be wrong when the cell is dirty, dying, or the water is cold. If multiple people add salt without telling each other, salinity can shoot past safe limits, shutting down the chlorinator and accelerating corrosion in heaters, filters, and even deck materials. The fix is twofold: communicate additions and verify salinity with a digital meter...

Pool pros feel the squeeze every time they restock chlorine, acid, or algaecide, and the numbers tell a clear story. Over the past decade, typical consumer inflation hovered around 35%, but core pool chemicals surged 100 to 160%, with most of that jump landing in the last five years. Prices spiked during the pandemic as supply chains fractured and a major U.S. trichlor producer suffered a catastrophic fire, sending tablets to record highs and pulling liquid chlorine and cal-hypo up with them. Today’s prices have softened from the peak but settled far above 2016 norms, and the structural drivers—transport costs, regulatory overhead, payroll, and regional disparities—keep a floor under costs that will not vanish. Waiting for a rollback only delays the hard choices every service business must make. The first decision is philosophical but urgent: stop absorbing chemical costs. For years, many routes bundled tabs, shock, and even specialty products into a flat monthly rate, and it worked wh...

Pool owners and service pros often face the same set of frustrating questions: how to clean cartridge filters without tearing them up, how to keep dark pebble finishes from turning cloudy with white scale, and how to protect equipment when the temperature plunges. This episode digs into practical, field-tested answers that protect surfaces, save labor, and stretch budgets. We start by clearing up a common mistake: using a pressure washer on cartridge filters. Though the material looks tough, most cartridges are a type of paper, and high pressure can rip pleats and shorten service life. Instead, a high-pressure hose nozzle like the Orbit Sunmate can add safe force, even in low-pressure areas, and speed cleaning without wrecking media. Calcium scale on dark pebble finishes is a different beast. New finishes can scale fast, especially where water is hard and start-up wasn’t ideal. The most effective prevention strategy is managing the Langelier Saturation Index. A slightly negative LSI re...

  New from Clear Pool Products: Professional Micro Bags for Kokido & BWT Leaf Vacuums Order today: https://clearpoolproducts.com/collections/clear-pool-bags Clear Pool Products is proud to introduce professional-grade micro vacuum bags designed specifically for Kokido and BWT leaf vacuums. These bags are built for pool professionals who want better filtration, longer life, and consistent performance in the field. Handmade in Mexico, Clear Pool micro bags are crafted with durability and precision in mind. They outperform standard OEM bags by capturing finer debris while maintaining excellent water flow. The result is faster cleanups, fewer repeat passes, and noticeably cleaner pools. Available Micron Options 45 micron pro bags are ideal for fine dirt, silt, pollen, and dust. 125 micron pro bags provide the perfect balance of filtration and flow for everyday service work. Compatible Cleaners Kokido models Xtrovac 410 Xtrovac 910 XV410 Vektro Orkka EV380 Vektro XL Tesla 9...

Many pool pros and owners assume every strange sound or cloudy turn signals a failure. The truth is more nuanced. Seasonal shifts, startup conditions, and filtration quirks can mimic breakdowns while still sitting firmly in the “normal” zone. A variable speed pump that squeals for a minute on a cold morning may quiet as grease warms and metal surfaces stabilize. The same equipment on a warm afternoon can run silent. The key is duration and repetition: a brief squeal that fades within five minutes in cold weather is usually harmless; a howl that persists in any temperature points to worn bearings and an impending motor replacement. Rain introduces its own layer of confusion. The first big storm of the season often blasts debris from decks, roofs, and tree canopies into the water, which is why that initial system-wide cleanup feels worse than anything that follows. Dilution lowers free chlorine just as organics surge, so haze and algae pressure rise together. The fix is straightforward: ...

Running a pool service is a craft, but it’s also a calendar game. The biggest mistake many new owners make is assuming time off is impossible or irresponsible. In reality, you can build predictable breaks into your year without losing clients or revenue. The key is to align your schedule with the seasons, use the 48-weeks service model, and communicate clearly. Your business is seasonal; the demand curve spikes in summer and relaxes in spring and fall. That means the best time for a week away is not July, when heat and bather load push chemistry to the edge, but October, March, and April, when pools are calmer and customers are busier with life than scrutinizing water clarity. A simple pillar is the 48-weeks model: you service accounts for 48 weeks and plan four weeks off across the calendar. If you bill monthly, some months deliver a fifth service day for a given weekday. When that happens, you effectively give an extra visit without charging for it. Bank those extras as future days o...

Heavy leaf debris can turn a smooth route into a grind, especially when the season shifts or a surprise windstorm hits. The real challenge isn’t just the mess, it’s time and energy loss that chips away at profit and morale. The first strategic move is selection. When you’re new, you may take every account. As you grow, you choose pools that align with your standards and schedule, and pass on the constant leaf traps. That mindset alone can protect margins. Still, reality strikes. If debris-heavy pools live on your list, the fix is a mix of smart add-ons, limits, and clear client expectations that turn chaos into control without burning you out. Two devices consistently shift the equation. The Pool Skim acts like a secondary skimmer powered by the return line. It requires 1.5-inch threaded returns, but when it fits, it pulls leaves off the surface into a bag with surprising efficiency. It’s affordable and effective, though not subtle in looks. Pair it with a solar surface skimmer like th...

Winning bids in the pool service business is not about saying yes to every job. It is about choosing the right work, pricing it with clarity, and protecting time so your margins hold. The first principle is commitment: only bid jobs you are ready to start. Backing out after acceptance looks unprofessional and costs goodwill, even if you can smooth it over with a careful apology. When your gut says no, listen early. One clean way to decline without drama is to price high enough that the client self-selects out. No one takes offense at a premium quote; they simply choose another provider. That single tactic saves your schedule and protects your brand. Effective bidding starts with a full assessment of the pool and the person. Walk the site like a home inspector: check the surface for roughness, study the equipment, scan the tree line and neighboring yards, and estimate debris load across seasons. The more established you are, the pickier you can be, but even new pros should note risk fac...

Leaf vac systems shine with big debris but fail the moment fine dust clouds the floor. That gap costs time and money as techs run a second pass with a manual vac or a tighter bag that still bleeds particles or chokes flow. The Bottom Feeder Cartridge Assembly Kit 2.0 answers that flaw by adding true cartridge filtration to a portable vacuum, capturing dirt down to roughly 20 microns and often less. If you’ve seen Dolphin robots outperform bag-based cleaners, you already know the principle: pleated media filters polish water where mesh simply can’t. By marrying that media to the Bottom Feeder and Shrimp platforms, the kit lets you collect leaves and silt in one shot without sacrificing thrust. Traditional micron bags face a hard limit. As fine dust coats the fabric, permeability drops and back pressure climbs until water bypasses to the path of least resistance. Anyone who has finished a pool watching water jet from the bottom of their vac knows the failure mode. Cartridges work differe...

Dog owners love seeing their pets splash, but for a pool service pro, canine swimmers change the entire maintenance playbook. The first shift is mindset: you won’t talk anyone out of letting their dog use the pool, so stop trying and manage what you can control. That means setting a clear baseline for appearance and water quality, then building a service plan that anticipates higher bather loads, oils, hair, and dirt. Dogs tolerate chlorine well, but pools don’t tolerate dogs nearly as well. Expect more debris on the floor, a stubborn scum line on the tile, and filters that load up quickly. Start the relationship by explaining, in simple terms, that a dog-heavy pool won’t match the crystal look of their neighbor’s human-only pool, and that your job is to keep it sanitary and usable within realistic limits. Dog activity falls into three patterns: occasional treads on the steps, moderate swim time from one or two dogs, and high load from several dogs using the pool daily. Levels one and ...

Letting a client go can feel like stepping on a rake: one wrong move and you get smacked with a bad review. Service pros, especially in pool care, face this more than most because environmental conditions, equipment age, and customer habits can turn a simple route into a daily grind. The core challenge is striking a balance between honesty and diplomacy. You want to exit cleanly without burning trust or triggering a one-star grenade. The strategy begins with clarity: recognize the main reasons for leaving—heavy debris pools, seasonal leaf drops, chronic chemical demand, or customer neglect—and match each reason with a graceful, professional script. When the pool itself is the issue, not the person, lead with workload and consolidation, not blame. Heavy debris pools often masquerade as easy wins during calm seasons, then explode with leaves when trees shed. Pros who understand species cycles—oaks, pines, jacarandas—can anticipate the mess, but surprises still happen. If you picked up an...

Building a profitable pool service often starts with a simple, unglamorous idea: stop driving so much. A tight service route compresses distance between stops so you spend more time working and less time commuting. That change alone can turn a long, draining day into a steady, predictable rhythm. The trick is that “tight” looks different across regions. In dense suburbs, two to four minutes between stops is realistic. In rural areas, five miles might be normal. The point is not perfection; it’s progress toward clusters where each extra minute saved compounds across your week and raises your effective hourly rate. Start by mapping your current accounts and identifying natural clusters. Look for places where three or four pools sit within a short drive, then assign those to the same day so your windshield time drops. Crossover matters too: design your week so you pass through the same corridors on multiple days. This lets you check a problem pool, handle quick add-ons, or swap stops when...

Many pool pros think growth means adding more full-service accounts, longer days, and heavier labor. The smarter path sits right in your current neighborhood: hot tubs, water features, chemical-only visits, and filter cleanings that fit between your anchor stops. These add-ons require targeted know-how, simple systems, and clear pricing, not extra crews. The key is to turn small bodies of water and light-touch services into reliable revenue. When you weave five-minute and seven-minute visits through your route, your day speeds up while your income rises, and you avoid the burnout that comes from stacking only full-service pools. Hot tubs are the most overlooked opportunity. With 6 to 7 million units across the U.S., plenty of homeowners struggle after the first couple of weeks when water turns cloudy and the novelty fades. Spa care isn’t hard when you standardize: ensure consistent circulation with a programmed runtime, learn the controls for the common brands in your area, and pick a ...