Due to unprecedented pool use, supply-chain issues and a major chlorine manufacturer’s fire, chlorine tablet availability remains limited this year. Stephen Boswell, marketing communication supervisor at CMP in Newnan, Georgia, says that from distributors, pool pros and in online forums, he is seeing increased interest in alternatives to traditional chlorine methods. Some are looking to…
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…
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…
Several in the pool industry believe that EPA-registered borates deserve more attention from dealers, technicians and owners. “This is the most underutilized and overlooked product in our entire product line,” says Alicia Stephens, manager of training and education at BioLab Incorporated in Lawrenceville, Georgia. “And I hate that because it’s a wonderful product that can…
With water conservation at the forefront of so many people’s minds these days, it’s no surprise the idea has trickled down into the pool industry. But Ted Kampe, Western division sales manager for Waterco USA in Augusta, Georgia, has been thinking about it for much longer. A dozen years ago in Australia, he developed the…
Swimming pools are not one-size-fits-all when it comes to design, and most certainly not when it comes to their care. The structure, mechanisms and sanitizing systems all contribute to determining the best water care method, and many industry veterans agree the care of a pool hinges on one crucial stage: The startup. “Proper pool startups…
Edwards Pool Construction in Andover, Kansas, started using the Orenda Mobile App in spring of 2018 after owner, Steve Edwards, read several posts about it on Facebook. “The Orenda app has greatly enhanced our water chemistry comprehension and simplified teaching ourselves and our service techs water chemistry,” Edwards says. “Our ability to explain to the…
When Tony Lawrence, owner of TLC Pools in La Mesa, California, gets a call from potential customers, he says it’s typically because they have a pool algae problem and have tried everything with no results. “They normally call me at their wits’ end,” Lawrence says. “They can hardly believe it when I say, ‘Trust me,…
Matt Trissel was a designer for Georgetown, Texas-based Cody Pools for eight years, and saw firsthand the issues calcium causes on pools and spas. In 2013, he left Cody, and along with friend Dusty Renfro, started an oilfield service company called Four Six Services. While there, he discovered a technology being used in the oilfield…
By Zach Morris of Clear Comfort As a pool professional, you know the importance of clean, sanitized water. However, few people understand the pool chemical process, known as oxidation, that actually disinfects the water. What is pool oxidation? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Model Aquatic Health Code, oxidation is “the process…
Deborah Martin, owner of The Pool Medic in central California, tried PoolRx as a last resort. She had struggled to keep a pool algae-free in summer 2015. It was a brand new, 45,000-gallon, full sun, black bottom Pebble Tec pool. “I get it stabilized, running the thing for like 18 hours a day and it’s…
When Forrest Walterson, general manager at Mr. Pool Inc., in Boulder, Colo., sat in an office to learn about a new chlorine-free sanitation system, his reaction was exactly what you’d expect. “That all sounds great, but can you show me?” Walterson remembers saying. Walterson was meeting with Clear Comfort, which sells a two-stage sanitation system…