Send us a text There are many ways to heat your swimming pool during the season and I have found that the best way is the tried and true method of using your pool heater. You can also try variations of solar heating and solar pool covers. I go over some of these methods in this podcast for you. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make pool care easy and solutions and expertise to do ...
May 06, 2020•14 min•Season 4Ep. 357
Send us a text Maybe you are thinking about installing a Natural Gas Heater or a Heat pump or just upgrading your existing heater. Here are some things to know about the process and choosing the right BTU heater for your pool or having a heater or heat pump installed. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make pool care easy and solutions and expertise to do it right Support the Pool G...
May 05, 2020•13 min•Season 4Ep. 356
Send us a text In this entertaining podcast, I go over the features of the Bottom Feeder Professional Grade Battery Powered Swimming Pool Vacuum System with the creator/owner Glen Heffernan. We talk about the genesis of the idea and the current version and features of the Bottom Feeder. If you have been thinking about investing in a vacuum system you will find the information in this podcast extremely helpful. You can learn more and order at https://thebottomfeeder.com/ Leslie’s Pool Supplies ha...
May 04, 2020•34 min•Season 4Ep. 355
Send us a text There are a few things that can give your saltwater pool a false low salt reading. Before you add more salt to your pool you may want to check a few things first to verify the low salt reading. You can’t rely solely on the Saltwater System when it alerts you that the salt level is low. Find out the steps to take to make sure the salt level is low or just reading a falsely low. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963...
May 01, 2020•13 min•Season 4Ep. 354
Send us a text In this podcast, I go over using a Vacuum System vs using a Manual Vacuum when you clean a pool. If you are on the fence about purchasing a Vacuum System or think you are fine just Manually Vacuuming listen as I compare cleaning a pool with both a Vacuum System and a Manual Vacuum connected to a pool skimmer. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make pool care easy and ...
Apr 30, 2020•14 min•Season 4Ep. 353
Send us a text When you are starting out and building your route you are running around and doing anything you can to make money and make ends meet. When you start to build up your pool route there comes a point where you can get out of balance. You may struggle to balance repairs, weekly service, and other services in a typical week. Learn how to bring balance back to your pool route and not get burned out. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted p...
Apr 29, 2020•14 min•Season 4Ep. 352
Send us a text I am a big YouTube DIY guy and have put in and repaired many things based on watching a YouTube video. But there comes a time when you are thinking about doing something around your pool & spa by yourself, but you may feel less than fully confident in your ability to actually do the job. At this point, you should seriously consider calling out a pool pro to help you. Learn more about when you should call a pro out. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool tra...
Apr 28, 2020•14 min•Season 4Ep. 351
Send us a text In this podcast, I interview Terry Arko of HASA who an expert in the field and is someone who knows a thing or two about liquid chlorine. We go over every aspect of using liquid chlorine as your primary sanitizer in your swimming pool. Terry Arko is currently working as Technical Content and Product Training Manager for HASA Pool, makers of HASA Sani-Clor. He can be reached at terryarko@hasapool.com Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals tru...
Apr 27, 2020•37 min•Season 4Ep. 350
Send us a text Purchasing a pool route is one way to get into the industry in a quick fashion. But there are some pitfalls to be aware of and one of those is that the company that sold you the route may not have been doing things 100% correctly. As with any business, you may have different ideas and standards and making these adjustments after purchasing the route can be challenging. I cover a few common issues that you may inherit along with some ways to approach your new customers about them. ...
Apr 24, 2020•15 min•Season 4Ep. 349
Send us a text In this podcast, I go over the currently available models of Solar Powered Surface Skimmers. There are three currently in production with a fourth in limited runs each season. They are the Solar-Breeze NX2, The Remington Solar Solaskimmer, the Skimbot, and the Skim Devil. I go over each unit in some detail in the podcast, and I really like these solar-powered surface skimmers. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963...
Apr 23, 2020•13 min•Season 4Ep. 348
Send us a text In this podcast, I interview Aaron Trapp from Certol the makers of the Acid Magic product. We go over some of the pool and spa uses for Acid Magic and touch on some of the great features of the product. If you are looking for a safe alternative to Muriatic Acid, Acid Magic would be perfect for you. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make pool care easy and solutions a...
Apr 22, 2020•17 min•Season 4Ep. 347
Send us a text One of the trending ways to get solid insight and information on pool care and on your pool business is through Industry Facebook Groups. There are a number of them now including my group Swimming Pool Learning Group. I go over the Facebook Groups I am a part of and run down the list of the Industry Groups on Facebook. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make pool care...
Apr 21, 2020•13 min•Season 4Ep. 346
Send us a text If you have a suction side or pressure side pool cleaner, you can technically keep rebuilding them until the body just completely falls apart. I cover some of the more common cleaners and how long they will last with rebuilds. You may be surprised on how long one of these cleaners can actually last. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make pool care easy and solutions ...
Apr 20, 2020•27 min•Season 4Ep. 345
Send us a text Offering Chemical Only Service on your pool route can be very lucrative if it is done correctly. There are some things you need to be aware of if you are planning to offer this service and I go over some of the pros and cons of Chem Only service in this podcast. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make pool care easy and solutions and expertise to do it right. Support ...
Apr 17, 2020•14 min•Season 4Ep. 344
Send us a text While there is nothing inherently wrong with using test strips to get the chemistry reading in your pool or spa, using test strips only could prove to be problematic over time. Test strips give you more or less a ball park of a pools chemistry levels and will not give you exact levels. While this may be fine in the short term you will at some point need more exact reading to keep your pool well balanced. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professional...
Apr 16, 2020•15 min•Season 4Ep. 343
Send us a text Getting educated is the key to a well balanced and safe pool. Whether you are a homeowner or a pool service tech caring for their own pool, you will find the free Orenda Four Pillars online course very educational and eye-opening. This course will help you learn more than just the basic chemistry of a pool and you will be able to apply these principles easily to your pool or pool route. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner ...
Apr 15, 2020•17 min•Season 4Ep. 342
Send us a text In this episode, I continue my discussion with Eric Knight on the ideal pH level and how it may not be cost-effective or productive to keep chasing the low pH that we have all been taught. The CYA level has a direct effect on your chlorine kill factor and pH may not be as much of a factor as we think with a pool with CYA in it. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make ...
Apr 14, 2020•16 min•Season 4Ep. 341
Send us a text It is well known that the lower the pH the more effective the chlorine is in a pool. Keeping your pool pH at 7.4-7.6 has always been the ideal range. New research is showing that the Cyanuric Acid in your pool (CYA level) is an even bigger factor of the chlorines kill factor, even larger than the pH level. I unpack this concept with Eric Knight of Orenda Technologies in this podcast for you. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted par...
Apr 13, 2020•25 min•Season 4Ep. 340
Send us a text One thing that is often overlooked when you are starting out or if you have been doing this for awhile is letting your customers know when you have serviced their pool. You can use many methods including sign in sheets, pool routing apps and so forth. I also touch on letting the customer know when you have installed a part or replaced an item at their pool. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality ...
Apr 10, 2020•15 min•Season 4Ep. 339
Send us a text In this podcast I go over the different types of suction side cleaners for your pool and touch on the differences between a geared cleaner and a bouncing type cleaner. I also go over my preferred cleaners and give you some tips on installing them in your pool. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make pool care easy and solutions and expertise to do it right. Support th...
Apr 09, 2020•17 min•Season 4Ep. 338
Send us a text The manufacturers make some specific suction side and robotic cleaners for the above ground pool market. These are usually very similar to their in-ground cleaners and if you have a small in-ground pool you can use some of these above-ground models in your pool. I go over some of these above ground cleaners and also point out the models that I use in my in-ground pools. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, provi...
Apr 08, 2020•12 min•Season 4Ep. 337
Send us a text It has been a boom time for the last 12 years and if you are new to the pool service business you probably have never gone through a losing year. I am not talking losing in the sense of going out of business but a drop in year over year accounts, installs and so forth meaning you will make less money this year than the last year. It is bound to happen and I go over some tips on getting through a losing year. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professi...
Apr 07, 2020•16 min•Season 4Ep. 336
Send us a text In this podcast I interview Megan Kendrick the Publisher/Editor-In-Chief of Pool Pro Magazine and we discuss some of the fundamentals of the industry. We also touch on the COVID-19 crisis and some of the things to look out for in your pool service business. Pool Pro Magazine’s main focus is on the business end of your pool service and we discuss some of those key aspects in this podcast. To learn more about Pool Pro Magazine you can go to their website https://poolpromag.com/ Lesl...
Apr 06, 2020•23 min•Season 4Ep. 335
Send us a text This is something that should never happen but it does happen more than you think, running out of chlorine. When you are new to the business and maybe haven’t experienced a full Summer Season you may not know how much chlorine to stock or carry on your truck. I give you a basic rule of thumb in this podcast so that you never run out of chlorine on your pool route. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing q...
Apr 03, 2020•13 min•Season 4Ep. 334
Send us a text It can be hard to determine of your D.E. filter grids are worn out and in this podcast I go over some of the signs to look for. These of course include obvious tears and rips but there are some more subtle signs that your D.E. Filter grids may be going bad. Listen to learn about how to tell when to replace your D.E. Filter grids. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to mak...
Apr 02, 2020•15 min•Season 4Ep. 333
Send us a text I get this question all the time. When should I replace the cartridge inside my pool filter? There is no set rule but there are many signs of when your pool filter cartridge is wearing out. I go over some common guidelines and also point out some of the things that indicate your cartridge needs to be thrown out and replaced. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make poo...
Apr 01, 2020•12 min•Season 4Ep. 332
Send us a text A Recession can be a tough time for any business and a Pool Service is not immune to the effects of an economic slowdown. When money is tight it gets harder to get new clients and to retain current customers. The key is not to panic and to make sure you are operating your business in the best possible way to reduce costs and debt. Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to ma...
Mar 31, 2020•17 min•Season 4Ep. 331
Send us a text The scale on your pool surface is a big issue in the pool industry. In this podcast, I conclude the water quality issues series with Harold Evans of Orenda Technologies and we discuss the reasons why your pool surface feels rough to the touch. We also discuss the Orenda Start-Up procedure in detail and explain the difference between scaling and etching of the plaster. Orenda Technologies Water Quality Issues Series Part 1 of 6: Virtual Classroom and App (Episode 325): https://www....
Mar 30, 2020•31 min•Season 4Ep. 330
Send us a text The LSI Index (Langelier Saturation Index) is a method that was developed to identify if your swimming pool water in scale forming or corrosive. I continue the series on water quality issues with Harold Evans from Orenda Technologies and in this podcast we touch on using the LSI to balance your pool water. Throughout this series of podcast the LSI Index has been a main feature of the Orenda teachings. In this episode Harold discusses how not balancing a pool with the LSI can be da...
Mar 27, 2020•17 min•Season 4Ep. 329
Send us a text Cyanuric Acid has been a big issue that has recently been debated in the swimming pool industry and I continue my series on water quality issues with Harold Evans of Orenda Technologies with a discussion on high Cyanuric Acid (CYA) and how it affects your pool water. Learn why high CYA in your pool can make balancing and maintain safe water more difficult. Orenda Technologies Water Quality Issues Series Part 1 of 6: Virtual Classroom and App (Episode 325): https://www.buzzsprout.c...
Mar 26, 2020•19 min•Season 4Ep. 328
