Michelle Cramer

Joined April 23, 2020

Articles 89

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Expanding into Tile Cleaning

By Michelle Cramer
Branching out into pool tile cleaning can be lucrative for your pool business — after all, calcium and scum buildup on tile is inevitable over time — but not every pool company is equipped with the skills and tools to clean it well and prevent damage. It’s important to first learn from well-versed experts. Superior…

The Elusive Unicorn Platform

By Michelle Cramer
For 60 years, Heritage Recreation in Sutton, Massachusetts, used pen and paper to manage the business. In 2015, the company was still scheduling 800 pool openings and closings a year this way. But the method was both time consuming and unworkable, says second-generation owner Paul Domey. “We had one notebook to use among six office…

Jandy TruGuard: Plumb It In

By Michelle Cramer
As the industry faces a chlorine shortage in 2021, pool pros are looking for ways to reduce chlorine usage in the pools they serve. The Jandy TruGuard Mineral Sanitizer, is one such product. Released in February, TruGuard utilizes an EPA-registered mineral solution designed to destroy bacteria and algae growth, curtailing excessive chlorine use. “The EPA…
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Virtual Expos

By Michelle Cramer
It’s been a year of in-person intentions and shifting realities. While the nation continues to work toward flattening the curve, the expos pool pros enjoy have become virtual events, namely The Pool & Spa Show hosted by NESPA and the National Plasterers Council’s annual conference. The Pool & Spa Show Hosted by the Northeast Pool…

Ban Built-in Blemishes

By Michelle Cramer
Pool stains are often associated with lackluster pool maintenance. But pool stains can surface immediately following construction if proper preventive measures aren’t taken during the build. Stain prevention begins with protecting the pool throughout construction. Jeffery Anderson, managing member of Mayan Pools & Sports Construction in Atlanta, says one of the most common errors he…

Blemish Imperfections

By Michelle Cramer
An assiduous pool pro does everything to keep the client’s pool looking pristine. After all, pools are as much an aesthetic feature as they are a functional one. Unavoidably, however, pool stains can occur. Understanding how and why, as well as what to do to prevent and remove them, are all part of the pool…

Continued Improvements

By Michelle Cramer
In 2019, New Jersey-based Hayward released the TriStar VS 950 variable-speed pool pump. Over the last two years, it was launched as a Super and MaxFlo pump as well. The latest iteration of this VSP family — the TriStar VS 900, informally referred to as generation-3 or gen-3 — was made available this October for…

Monitor Daily

By Michelle Cramer
When Ravi Kurani’s father owned a pool company in Riverside, California, he’d tell his son about the frustrations pool owners had when their pool water was out of whack — and the tedium and frustration of water chemistry, logbooks, chemical calculations and follow-ups with pool treatments. Ravi Kurani sought a solution and, in 2015, founded…

Pool Care Kracken

By Michelle Cramer
Picture it: The camera pans across the vast expanse of a resort swimming pool. Bikini-clad goddesses sunbathe in lawn chairs, while ripped Adonises hit perfect 10’s off the diving board. There you are, skimming debris from the corner of the pool that is otherwise pristine. You think, ‘I’ve got it easy with this commercial pool…

Study Shows Ionization is Effective

By Michelle Cramer
Dr. Susan Richardson has always had an interest in reducing the risk of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in swimming pools. Richardson, who works in the department of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of South Carolina, has been a private pool owner for more than 25 years and, as a mom, is concerned about her children’s…