I was a lifeguard in college. During one annual August shutdown, I was restringing lane ropes while contractors in a lift serviced the event lighting above the 50-meter competition pool. It was hot, they were in a rush to make up time — one technician was new and inexperienced — and they did not stop…
“Liability, insurance and licensing. That’s why my price is my price.” Joe Wilmot repeated this statement many times during the 11 years he operated H2Joe Pool Service & Repair in Fountain Hills, Arizona, northeast of Phoenix. He said it when giving bids on service to board members of HOAs; to owners and managers of small…
Countless Commercial pools have been left reeling from the pandemic. Many public and hotel facilities have been shut down for months. Some have reopened at limited capacity and with heightened restrictions, but a number of them remain shuttered. With the effects of these closures trickling down through the industry, pool pros have been forced to…
Zero-depth aquatic play areas — known as splash pads — have become enormously popular in recent years for their entertainment value, risk reduction, water savings and staff savings. That said, service technicians know well the hurdles involved in servicing splash pads. “A lot of splash pads require daily, if not more frequent visits,” says Daniel…
While some pool companies steer clear of commercial jobs, others learn to navigate pricing as they go.
While many pool companies find it challenging to deal with HOAs for building and servicing, Krystle Stiles, owner of Tennessee Custom Pools in Brentwood, Tennessee, says understanding the role an HOA plays in any pool-building process is a must. “HOAs are a good thing,” Stiles says. “They oversee the common areas of a development, manage…
Numerous hazards lurk within the walls of the swimming pool pump room, toxic chemical fumes and carbon monoxide chief among them. In some commercial properties — apartment complexes, condominiums, hotels, country clubs and the like — the pump rooms are properly ventilated, but in far too many, this is not the case. The result is…
Alan Smith Pools in Southern California began focusing on commercial growth during the 2008 recession. During an economic crisis, not as many residential customers can afford pool installation and upkeep, but that’s not typically the case with commercial pools. For many in the industry, a mix of both residential and commercial clients can aid financial…
When it comes to commercial swimming pools, the service tech is one of many layers of protection in and around the pool, says Katie Crysdale, principal of Lakeview Aquatic Consultants, Ltd., in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. While some larger commercial pools have lifeguards during swim times, most are not trained to thoroughly examine potential dangers, and…
If you go into your search engine and type “pool accident chlorine gas” in the news tab, you will see nearly 3,000 results within seconds — headlines such as “At least 35 people at San Jose swimming pool exposed to dangerous chemical mix.” Chlorine gas is just that: A gas cloud of chlorine that can…
Aquatic activity in healthy water is increasingly on the public’s radar. Today, most health departments require commercial pool technicians to have the Certified Pool Operator Certification from the National Swimming Pool Foundation. Michelle Kavanaugh, mission development director for the NSPF, says the CPO Certification is the most widely recognized certification in the pool and spa…
Human error is largely to blame when a commercial pool experiences problems, which is why automated systems are gaining popularity year after year. An automated system eases the burden of having to be on-site several times a day to take a reading. And with growing public concern around water condition in commercial pools, these systems…