Operator

  • I listed my pool on Swimply. Here’s what I found.

    Swimply: A potential pool service nightmare Pool service pros who maintain vacation homes in destination cities know these accounts require two to three visits a week. Abuse of these pools leaves them looking rough, even on a good day. Treat these like a typical once-a-week residential, and now you’re hating life. This is not something…

  • Off-Season Recruiting

    October through January is prime time for recruiting when you run a business that has its Christmas in July. Everybody starts to ramp up as your season winds down, and if you look at the opportunity correctly, that’s a good thing. It could also be your key to filling your employment needs for the upcoming…

  • Inspector Gadget

    The minute you charge for a swimming pool inspection, you are putting yourself into the position of expert, and I trust that you are an expert. If you are not, you have no right to offer or charge for such a service — especially since once you charge for pool inspection services, a court will…

  • Operator Hacks

    National Pool Opening Day was April 24, and because we are in active pool season, I thought it would be cool to share more pool service hacks. If you have any you’d like to share, send them to editorial@kedrickcontent.com with Hacks for Rudy in the subject. Tee Up I always used a brass jet sweeper…

  • Learning Virtually

    I was vehemently opposed to online training for pool technicians when the pandemic first hit. It didn’t make any sense to me. Over the years, I’d molded the classes I taught in person into something that was my own. Some enjoy that whole “death by PowerPoint” lecture environment, but it’s not my thing — and…

  • The Chemistry of Copper

    We know that iron stains are easily removed by vitamin C because ascorbic acid is a natural electron donor. It replaces electrons stripped from iron in oxidation, taking us from ferric oxide to ferrous oxide, which is soluble, lifting the stain. However, despite its success with iron, ascorbic acid doesn’t work very well for the…

  • Skip the Commercials?

    Teaching health department–required certification classes for commercial pools is part of what I do. These are necessary certifications for anyone who has anything to do with cleanliness, maintenance and chemical treatment of a public pool. However, over the last six or seven years, I have been offering these courses to pool pros who do not…

  • Tuning In to Test Kits

    The subject of test kit interferences and whackadoo results has been discussed ad nauseam. The frequency of this topic is beneficial, because knowing your chemistry results are accurate is pretty darn important. We don’t, however, see a lot of the ancillary information these oddball findings bring to light. What is initially observed as erroneous may…

  • Cyanuric Acid Debate

    There was a standing-room-only panel discussion at the International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo this past November on cyanuric acid in pool water care. Panelists consisted of three members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Ad-Hoc Committee of the Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code (Ellen Meyer, product safety and government…