Swimming Pool Tips and Reviews

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 ...

Choosing the right vehicle for a pool service route is less about brand loyalty and more about fitting the actual demands of daily work. The vehicle carries harsh chemicals, heavy liquids, tools, and parts while navigating tight residential streets and frequent stops. That means cargo access, reliability, fuel cost, and parking ease should dominate your decision. Many pros assume a full-size truck is required, but a careful look at real cargo needs shows a mid-size pickup often does the job with less cost and hassle. Even a compact truck or a thoughtfully outfitted personal vehicle can work if you plan your loads and handle chemicals safely. The key is aligning bed height, payload, and MPG with your route density and how often you restock chemicals. For newcomers or those between trucks, operating from a personal vehicle can be viable with firm limits. Stick to dry chemicals whenever possible and add a hitch-mounted cargo carrier to create an “outdoor trunk” that keeps fumes outside th...

The pool service trade enters 2026 with a rare mix of stability and urgency. On one hand, fundamentals barely budge: safe chemistry targets still rule, routine care remains essential, and homeowners continue to rely on pros when time and know‑how are scarce. On the other, demand patterns and expectations are shifting fast. Clients want instant replies, proof of work, and seamless maintenance that doesn’t add friction to their week. Those who understand both truths—steady craft and rapid response—will capture more recurring revenue, reduce churn, and grow routes while competitors wait on hold. The result is a market where consistent execution meets modern communication, and the winners do both well. Resilience is the first advantage worth naming. Pools don’t pause during recessions; water still turns, chemistry still drifts, and algae still blooms. When households cut back, they drop tasks they can delay without damage. A pool isn’t one of them. Left alone, it goes green, invites vector...

We opened with a challenge to pool care dogma: stop chasing a tight 7.4 to 7.6 pH in outdoor pools when cyanuric acid is the stronger variable controlling chlorine’s active strength. The eye-pH claim doesn’t hold water, and we cite sources beyond casual references to show that eyes vary widely and cannot reliably “feel” pH. What matters more is how stabilizer binds chlorine, how that binding lowers the fraction of hypochlorous acid, and how ratio thinking outperforms rigid set points. When CYA is elevated, chlorine’s bite is dulled, regardless of whether the pH is 7.4 or 7.8, and that realization frees operators from the weekly acid yo-yo that harms LSI and surfaces while delivering little sanitation benefit. From there we quantify what “ratio thinking” looks like. Drawing on committee work and Richard Falk’s modeling, we explain why the CYA-to-free chlorine ratio should not exceed 20:1, and why many pools do better keeping stabilizer near 30 to 50 ppm to balance UV shielding with usab...

Pool pros often inherit rules that made sense before stabilizer became standard. The idea that a low pH always creates stronger chlorine is one of those rules. In non-stabilized water, pH does control the split between fast-killing hypochlorous acid and slower hypochlorite ion. But once cyanuric acid enters the picture, that lever loses most of its power. The majority of chlorine binds with CYA to form isocyanurates, and the effective speed of free chlorine remains nearly the same from pH 7.0 to 8.0 at typical outdoor CYA levels. That means chasing a low pH for kill power in a stabilized pool wastes time, acid, and attention without the payoff many expect. This shift forces us to separate two different goals: sanitization and balance. Sanitization is about clear, safe water with predictable chlorine performance and reliable oxidation; balance is about protecting surfaces and equipment from corrosion and scale, guided by the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI). pH matters a lot for balance...

Pool care often feels like a tug-of-war between rising chlorine demand and stubborn microalgae. This conversation breaks down a mineral-based approach with PoolRx that changes the balance. The core idea is simple: get the right mineral concentration into solution, keep it there, and let chlorine work at a lower, steadier level. Success begins with sizing the unit to pool volume so the chemistry reaches an effective tipping point. A clean filter at install matters because the minerals are granular and must dissolve into the water, not sit in the media. Factors like splash-out, backwashing, and heavy dilution shorten longevity because they physically remove minerals, while sunlight and heat do not. When the concentration falls, microalgae return, chlorine demand rises, and it’s time for a booster. Recognizing the right moment to boost is a practical skill. First you’ll notice chlorine doesn’t hold as long four to six months in. Next the water can look a bit dull or slightly cloudy even w...

Many pool owners chase chlorine levels and still end up with cloudy water, stains, or persistent algae. The real story often lives in two quiet variables: dissolved metals and cyanuric acid. This episode dives deep into how Pool RX reduces chlorine demand while preventing algae, and why testing for copper and iron before installation protects you from oxidation events and staining. We explain how chelated minerals in Pool RX are protected, but existing metals in the water are not, and how increased chlorine activity can push unchelated metals over their saturation point. The result can be brown iron stains or purple-black copper reactions that look like a product failure but actually trace back to hidden metal loads. Testing for metals does not need to be complicated or constant, but it does need to be smart. If your region uses well water, has aging copper heat exchangers, or a history of copper-based algaecides, annual testing for copper and iron is an inexpensive insurance policy. T...

Pool service pros know the quiet enemy isn’t always the green bloom you can see; it’s the microalgae you can’t. That’s where PoolRX Plus steps in with a mineral system built around chelated copper, silver, and zinc that keeps pools algae-free while reducing chlorine demand for up to six months. The chelation is the differentiator, protecting minerals at a molecular level so they stay effective despite pH swings, oxidation, and typical chemical interactions. With algae out of the picture, chlorine becomes more active, clarifiers and extra shocks drop from the routine, and phosphate levels fade as a concern because the food source no longer feeds living algae. The result is clearer, safer water, often at just 0.5 to 1 ppm free chlorine, which changes how you stock trucks and plan routes. Understanding chelation is key to trusting lower-chlorine operation. Many products claim to chelate metals, but their bonds break down under oxidation or over time, raising risks of staining and inaccura...

Choosing and caring for a pool surface is more than a design decision; it’s a chemistry and equipment strategy. Vinyl liners, fiberglass shells, plaster, and pebble finishes each respond differently to pH, alkalinity, chlorine, and circulation. We explore why vinyl and fiberglass often hold pH more steadily than plaster, why colored plaster can show mottling that chemistry alone won’t solve, and why pebble finishes invite calcium scale and algae into their crevices. By aligning water balance with the surface—rather than using one-size-fits-all targets—you reduce staining, etching, bleaching, and biofilm growth while extending the life of the finish. Vinyl pools are budget-friendly and fast to install, but success starts beneath the liner. Proper ground prep prevents nutgrass from piercing vinyl, and a solid support structure keeps the membrane stable at the coping. Chemically, vinyl doesn’t feed alkalinity into water the way plaster does, so pH and total alkalinity need deliberate mana...

Safe, clear water sounds simple until you compare a quiet backyard pool with a busy hotel deck. We explore why the purpose of chlorine shifts, how bather load changes everything, and why recordkeeping and automation become essential once you leave residential routes. In a backyard, chemistry targets algae and bacteria with steady, weekly care. In commercial settings, bather waste creates rapid chlorine demand, turning disinfection and oxidation into a race against time. When chlorine gets consumed faster than it’s added, safety falls and liability rises, so testing frequency and response speed must climb to match reality. The certification landscape adds another layer. A CPO course equips operators to run facilities, manage code requirements, and handle the non-water tasks of public pools, but it offers limited depth in chemistry. A dedicated residential chemistry course goes deeper into water balance, sanitizer behavior, and problem-solving that service pros use every day on routes. T...

A pool surface only gets one first impression, and that impression happens during startup. The choices you make in the first days decide whether the finish cures clean or inherits permanent flaws. We walk through the core methods—barrel, traditional, and hot acid—and, more importantly, the decision tree behind them. Source water chemistry sets the tone, especially calcium hardness and alkalinity, while metals like copper and iron lurk as silent stain makers. The fastest way to lose a finish is guessing. The fastest way to protect it is to test, document, and treat the water before it touches the plaster. That mindset shapes every recommendation below. Startup method matters because surfaces differ. Barrel startups were designed for low calcium and low alkalinity water, using either sodium bicarbonate (OnBalance) to lift alkalinity or calcium chloride (Orenda) to raise hardness as the pool fills. The aim is simple: load the water with enough calcium and buffering to reduce or prevent pl...

Low pH in pools doesn’t just mean “a little acidic.” It means water that actively looks for things to dissolve. Over time that turns smooth plaster rough with etching, chews through heater headers and pump impellers, and releases metals into the water that later stain surfaces. Many pros are trained to fight high pH, but the hidden damage from low pH is often worse and more expensive. Vinyl and fiberglass pools are especially vulnerable because their surfaces don’t release buffering minerals the way plaster does. When alkalinity dips and pH slides, aggressive water pulls from metals first, and those dissolved metals remain invisible until they hit saturation and precipitate into brown or green stains. The cure starts with better data. A cheap test kit can wreck a service route: wrong readings cause wrong doses, which trigger more corrosion, cloudiness, and callbacks. Digital photometers that test copper and iron give you early warning before stains form, and they repay themselves when ...

  The Next Level of Clean 20-Micron Cartridge Filter Assembly for Bottom Feeder & Shrimp Order Now Bottom Feeder: https://thebottomfeeder.com/products/filter-assembly-kit-2-0-for-the-bottom-feeder Shrimp: https://thebottomfeeder.com/products/filter-assembly-kit-2-0-for-the-shrimp 💡 Save $100 when you order a Bottom Feeder or Shrimp with code DVB100 Finished Pools Start with Better Filtration Pool professionals know there’s a difference between simply picking up debris and delivering a pool that looks truly finished. The Bottom Feeder and Shrimp vacuum systems have earned their reputation by handling heavy debris efficiently—leaves, acorns, and large debris are no problem. But fine silt, dust, pollen, and dead algae are a different story. These tiny particles often pass through standard mesh bags, leaving behind a lingering cloud even after a thorough vacuum. That feedback was clear—so we built a solution. Introducing the 20-Micron Cartridge Filter Assembly We’re introducing...

Many pool owners hear about borates and picture a miracle cure that eliminates algae, slashes chlorine use, and makes every maintenance chore vanish. The truth is more useful and more practical: borates, when used correctly, create a more stable water environment that makes chlorine more effective and pH less jumpy. We focus on boric acid at 50 ppm as the sweet spot for most pools, with compelling reasons to adjust for salt water generators. The nuance matters because wrong product choices or poor pre-balance can cloud water, spike alkalinity, or push the LSI too high. When you treat borates as a tool instead of a cure-all, your pool rewards you with clearer water and fewer surprises. A core concept is chlorine paired with cyanuric acid. Think of CYA as the sunscreen for your sanitizer; too little and sunlight erases your chlorine before it works, too much and chlorine slows to a crawl. A practical rule: maintain free chlorine at about 5 percent of CYA with a hard floor of 2 ppm. That ...