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…
The home improvement sector is slaying it. The pandemic has resulted in many people having more disposable income, and more time at home means the Honey Do list grows. Travel budgets have been reallocated to home renovations. I reached out to a few in the industry for an hour-long video chat in September: Jerry Wallace…
There are only so many ways to catch foot and motor traffic. Outside of full-size billboards, advertisement on service vehicles and signage at a company’s physical location, many companies use lawn signs. Lawn signs are a simple and direct strategy for advertising in the most visible area of a jobsite. Information as simple as the…
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…
This was supposed to be our first commercial-focused issue of PoolPro, and while much of the content focuses on the commercial pool sector, it’s much more of a mishmash than I originally intended. In this strange year, the residential market is booming but the commercial side remains mixed. Many public pools have stayed closed this…
*These responses have been condensed and edited for clarity. Dick AbareCPC, owner Algae Busters Pool Service, inc.Tampa Bay, Florida ResidentialInstallation, Warranty and RepairEmployees: 2 I’m going to sound like a broken record, but LaMotte’s Spin Touch is amazing! The ability to run 10 tests within minutes makes us much more efficient. We use it…
As CMP, once strictly a pool and spa plastics company, began to focus on technology-based products, it found itself in the commercial pool equipment business. Its purchase of DEL Ozone in 2017 brought with it a portfolio of commercial products. As CMP pivoted, Rob Thill, who joined CMP as a quality manager, was tasked with…
Creating a pool environment that is safe for patrons is not limited to balancing water chemistry and equipment repair. Because of ongoing wet conditions, pool decks and surrounds in commercial pool environments must provide adequate traction to prevent a slip or fall. Products for pool professionals to create slip-resistant surfaces range from clear-coat applications to…
Many municipalities across the country fail to enforce code compliance for water shape projects, but that doesn’t mean pool builders can ignore code requirements. “Just because you didn’t get caught doesn’t mean you didn’t break the law,” says Rick Chafey, co-owner of Red Rock Contractors and Red Rock Pools and Spas in Chandler, Arizona. “Liability…
Commercial and residential pools have multiple, clear differences. Among those differences is the bidding process, which on the commercial side involves several noteworthy factors. Rick Woemmel, president of Bi-State Pool & Spa in O’Fallon, Missouri, bids his projects by estimating time they’ll be there and putting that into software, which takes into consideration overhead, profit,…
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…
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…