Matthew Barclay, owner of Blue Moose Pools in Phoenix, Arizona, is the $6,000 first prize winner of NC Brands’ (now BioLab) 2019 Pool Cleanup Challenge, in which pool professionals entered their most compelling and creative ‘swamp to clear’ experiences.
Barclay won for the treatment of a green swimming pool with Yellow Out before shock treatment with an EPA-registered chlorine that kills green or yellow algae. Barclay also added Natural Chemistry’s Pool First Aid to break down the dead algae, completely clearing the pool water within hours.
“I picked up the contest flyer at the SCP branch before heading to the green pool so I could document everything,” Barclay says. “My client texted me shortly after I left the backyard to tell me the product had already cleared the pool — it’s crazy how well and fast it worked.”
In addition to the $6,000 check presented to Barclay, the SCP Phoenix branch received a $1,000 credit for supplying the product used in the winning submission.
“We received incredible transformation pictures and videos for a second year in a row,” says Jamie Novak, brand manager at NC Brands. “It was a true testament to the power of the recommended cleanup process. Matt used the products as directed. He documented his results beautifully, including an adorable shot of the homeowner’s dog, who didn’t want to put a paw into the pool until it was cleared.”
