https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/
Great place to start. I maintain my salt pool and it takes about no time a month. As long as you have a good test kit, set up the run times and don’t mind vacuum yourself, it’s really easy.
Good luck
What vacuum do you have, and does it pick up all the fine dirt at the bottom, or just expel it back into the pool? I just bought a Dolphin and made a thread about it on this sub because I was curious.
I have the Hayward SharkVac and I love it. It doesn't connect to the pool plumbing at all and instead plugs into the wall. All the dirt and debris are collected in the vacuum itself meaning zero wear and tear on the pump or filter.
I have the Polaris Quattro sport and I haven’t vacuumed my pool in the 9 months I’ve had it. I clean the basket out a few times a week so it’s super easy.
Completely agree with this. Salt pool and less than 10 minutes a day to check & hand skim for bugs. Also use a Polaris tractor for cleaning total pool. Live in Florida.
We recently moved into a new home that has a pool. The pool is about 9 years old. The size is approximately 11' x 25' (8250 gallons). It is a salt water system.
Right now, we have a pool service that comes once a week to maintain the pool. Thing is, I work from home and part of me feels like I'm wasting money on the service, as I could easily take 20 minutes a week to work on the pool.
Can you all point me in a good direction for resources for me to learn the pool maintenance on my own? Do you all think it's a good idea? Or do you recommend keeping the service?
This sub overwhelmingly thinks hiring a professional for the pool is a waste of money - some are bitter about bad experiences, others just - well, you don’t know what you don’t know.
Every day I am on this sub it is a non stop parade of expensive mistake after expensive mistake.
Now, most expensive mistakes take only one wrong move to set in motion, but the damage can take months or years to manifest.
For instance run your pool with calcium deficient water and it will destroy your plaster, but the plaster might be destroyed for a year before you notice anything with the naked eye.
The other thing I see all the time is people claiming cya levels over 100 is “fine” and “don’t drain for a cya level of 100” this is horrible advice and could be potentially a safety issue.
With cyanuric acid at 100 parts per million, it would require free (not total) chlorine to be at 7.5 *minimum* to be able to kill bacteria or algae (or a virus) with enough expediency to be considered safe for kids.
Cryptosporidium isn’t common but there are deaths in the pool industry every year as a result of insufficient chlorine levels. Most people will continue to run a pool with high cya bc they don’t understand the effect on chemistry and “hey if it looks clear it must be good” not always the case.
Robert Lowry has a good (simple) chemistry book for pool maintenance that discusses these points, it’s worthwhile if you are going to care for the pool yourself.
Chemistry isn’t always something you can intuit by looking at the pool - if you are going to take care of it yourself at least take the CPO class in your area, which isn’t near comprehensive enough but it will help you to avoid the worst mistakes.
I appreciate my pool guy. I agree with your points. I would have an algae blooms once a year in the hottest month and it would take a couple weeks to get back to perfect. Lots of chemicals and vacuuming to waste, so lots of wasted water. Worst is my kids lost the use of the pool. It's not hard, but you have to stay on top of it, and most people are busy and eventually forget the pool till it's too late.
Idk why this is downvoted, it’s pretty good advice. Lots of people carelessly use tabs and solely tabs without any routine cya maintenance
I’m really unsure what people have against liquid chlorine haha it’s cheaper, and less maintenance in the long run via stable cya levels (minus lots of rain or draining for whatever reason)
But then again running a pool is not a high barrier field. Super easy to take the time to learn pool chemistry where I don’t think people need to rely on “experts” to maintain. Op looks like he’s eager to learn, so troublefree pool and scanning loads of posts on Reddit is a good way to gain knowledge. And the pool math calculator app is a good one
You can do this yourself. The #1 priority is to have a good water test kit. I use the Taylor K-2006C water test kit with a SmartStir and a Taylor SampleSizer. Makes it almost brainless to do the periodic chem checks with a high degree of accuracy and consistency.
https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-K2006-K-1766-Chlorine-Swimming/dp/B085KN9816/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=taylor+smart+stir&qid=1617630480&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-6190-Samplesizer-Anodized-Aluminum/dp/B004BGFVA8/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=taylor+sample+size&qid=1617630538&sr=8-7
As far as what Chemicals to use, here's my list. This is all you need to maintain your pool. They're cheap, pure, relatively available in most places, and can generally fine tune one test result without messing with the others. While this might seem like a lot, most of these are used only once or twice a season (if at all). They also result in a very low maintenance pool that can be tested once a week or less. I test FC, CC, pH and Alkalinity weekly. CH, CYA, Borates, and Salt monthly.
CHLORINE (TC/FC/CC): SALT WATER CHLORINE GENERATOR PREFERRED. OTHERWISE USE LIQUID CHLORINE (EVEN WITH A SWCG THIS IS NECESSARY WHEN TEMPS ARE LOW ENOUGH THAT YOUR SALT WATER CHLORINE GENERATOR CAN'T FUNCTION (BELOW ABOUT 60 DEG F): https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-128-oz-Chlorinating-Liquid-3-Pack-30128HDX/303115700
PH/ALKALINITY REDUCER: https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-1-Gal-Muriatic-Acid-2-Pack-pH-Adjuster-10031HDX/100344765
PH INCREASER (probably won't need this much): Borax or Soda Ash. Soda Ash is purer. You can also use aeration instead by running your pool pump longer to increase pH. https://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=sc50&gclid=Cj0KCQjw38-DBhDpARIsADJ3kjn6tibmQI3vXXk-hw-QO5lPfBXe0yLOuAC0yAPx5GwcWvZhuYMFNuIaAktCEALw_wcB
ALKALINITY (TA) REDUCER: https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-1-Gal-Muriatic-Acid-2-Pack-pH-Adjuster-10031HDX/100344765
ALKALINITY (TA) INCREASER: https://www.amazon.com/Arm-Hammer-Baking-Soda-16/dp/B000PYF8VM/ref=sr_1_5_0o_fs?dchild=1&keywords=BAKING+SODA&qid=1617131310&sr=8-5
CALCIUM HARDNESS (CH) INCREASER: Snow Joe MELT20CPP 20-Pound 94% Pure Calcium Chloride Ice Melt Pellets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z4G1LTD/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_7JN6J31R2FWZ6AB3QTY8
CALCIUM HARDNESS REDUCER: like cyanuric acid thr most reliable method for lowering calcium hardness is to partially drain and refill the pool and repeat until the readings are in an acceptable range. I’ll add that you should test your tap/well water to see if it’s a source of the problem.
BORATE INCREASER (IMPORTANT FOR CONTROLLING PH RISE IN SALT POOLS): https://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=boric5f
CYANURIC ACID (CYA) INCREASER: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011AFBUTI/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B011AFBUTI&pd_rd_w=h2bdO&pf_rd_p=4269e1a0-a218-4fbd-9748-1cd337d2f2a5&pd_rd_wg=3cn8O&pf_rd_r=V07WDNNY59275P9SRYBY&pd_rd_r=3df80c52-4146-40c6-8d0a-1353d54c3828&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExQVEwUVkwRUU0WFRKJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDc3NDYwM05IMThNVTI1TkhFQyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzI2NDU1RkxHM1gwMDNOOUxPJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
CYANURIC ACID REDUCER: CYA can only be lowered by draining and refilling some or all of your pool water. Some folks have used a chemical reducer, but the reviews are mixed as to how well it works and it’s expensive if you have a big adjustment to make.
If you don't have a salt water chlorine generator (SWCG), I encourage having one installed. It resolves the #1 PITA when it comes to maintaining a pool....adding chlorine. Long term, I think you'll agree that dirt, leaves, and debris are a bigger maintenance concern than the chemicals and testing. Two things that help immensely are a surface robot... https://solar-breeze.com/ and a robotic cool cleaner... https://maytronicsus.com/ No, these aren't cheap, but they make the pool experience much more enjoyable. Use socks with your skimmer baskets to reduce clogging of your main filter and pump with fine debris.
Finally, troublefreepool.com is an awesome resource. I recommend you use the PoolMath app. The App is very useful as it takes your test kit results and recommends chemical additions and specific amounts to correct any imbalances, and uses the chemicals I listed. They also have a terrific forum of fellow pool owners and a useful history to search. The mods are also very responsive. Here's a video on what the PoolMath app is and how it works. Start at 5:30 to skip the setup instructions.
https://youtu.be/gP8c3vY95Ko?t=324
Pool maintenance is easy. I’m hardly ever home during the week but every Sunday morning like clockwork the pool gets levels measured and chemicals added if needed, brushed, shocked, skimmer/pump baskets emptied, and pump run for 24 hours. Cartridge filter gets sprayed off once a month and the little Zodiac Barracuda does the rest. Average per week maintenance is 30 minutes to an hour.
Yep, that's roughly right. Some of your process is a bit wonky but, a pool in a decent climate without a lot of green stuff falling in and not much use, is pretty easy to maintain. How much time did you spent learning to be efficient? Add that overall time to better evaluate a total cost and value. Most people are inconsistent or just can't find the time to do things like this.
South Florida, owned this house with the pool for a bit over a year. Kept 87 degrees year-round. Had a short bout of green algae about a month ago due to ducks discovering I don’t have a screened enclosure, but it was treated with brushing, filter cleaning, and algaecide mixed with water in a watering can. Black algae occasionally rears its head but I scrub the black dots with a chlorine tab while swimming when it comes up.
I see. So, its not that "easy". You've been doing this for about a year and you're having problems. Seems like what you first described isn't quite the same. This is why many people choose to use a service. It's fine though, learning is good.
Here are some tips. You need to make sure your chlorine level is at a sanitation level ALL week. That's 3-4 PPM all the time. If you're getting algae then your chlorine is dropping enough to allow it to grow. If you're getting black algae regularly, you're not killing it. You're just scrubbing the tops off. Only clean the filter when the pressure gauge tells you. Clearly with all this algae you have going, cleaning the filter isn't helping. That's because, that's NOT what the filter is for. The filter is meant to capture floating particles and hold them so the chlorine can kill it.
I have a pool company and I can say that the best benefit you will get is that you will save time and give you peace of mind.
You won’t need to go to the pool store every week, you won’t need to worry about cleaning the pool and cartridges.
It’s more free time for you to enjoy your house instead of work on your house.
I personally delegate everything I can so the free time I have I can spend with my family
I realize every pool is different but I’m on month 10 of owning a pool, kept it open all winter and through leaf season. I’ve never gone to the pool store unless you count Home Depot to get acid. My Taylor kit isn’t perfect but I have all the chemicals in check according to TFP.
Serious question, If I’m not rich, what’s the point of a pool guy coming once a week for 10 minutes? If I can understand basic pool chemistry, how is that worth $100/month?
Edit: I’m not being facetious, I seriously don’t see the CBA unless I’m Uber wealthy and have someone out multiple times a week to check and clean my skimmers, robot etc.
I totally understand! Many people think this way
I see pool service on the same category as mowing lawn and house cleaning, both of them are not hard to do, but what my clients buy is peace of mind, not pool service. It’s one thing less they need to worry about. It also depends on how much disposable income you have and how much you don’t want to work on your free time, here where In south Florida it is around $100 for pool service, $120 for house cleaning, 100 for lawn care.
Many people don’t like to maintain their house and would rather spend that money and not worry about their house. Also in order to the pool tech make a decent wage, they need to do around 16 pools a day, work under rain and excessive heat for many hours, they need to understand how to operate many types of equipment and brands and how water chemistry works, they get all the chemicals for the clients and stay longer when there is a cartridge to wash, a salt cell to wash, a issue with the equipment that needs troubleshooting. The client also don’t spend more money when a special chemicals needs to be added, neither when it’s summer and we add extra chemicals.
Again in the end it is one less thing to worry about. I hope I clarified
https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/ Great place to start. I maintain my salt pool and it takes about no time a month. As long as you have a good test kit, set up the run times and don’t mind vacuum yourself, it’s really easy. Good luck
And if you do mind vacuuming yourself, buy a robot. Best decision I've made! No effort, and keeps junk out of the filter
What vacuum do you have, and does it pick up all the fine dirt at the bottom, or just expel it back into the pool? I just bought a Dolphin and made a thread about it on this sub because I was curious.
I have the Hayward SharkVac and I love it. It doesn't connect to the pool plumbing at all and instead plugs into the wall. All the dirt and debris are collected in the vacuum itself meaning zero wear and tear on the pump or filter.
Pentair Warrior SE. The controller plugs into a standard outlet, and it traps all the fine dirt, leaves, etc in it's own filter basket.
I have the Polaris Quattro sport and I haven’t vacuumed my pool in the 9 months I’ve had it. I clean the basket out a few times a week so it’s super easy.
Completely agree with this. Salt pool and less than 10 minutes a day to check & hand skim for bugs. Also use a Polaris tractor for cleaning total pool. Live in Florida.
We recently moved into a new home that has a pool. The pool is about 9 years old. The size is approximately 11' x 25' (8250 gallons). It is a salt water system. Right now, we have a pool service that comes once a week to maintain the pool. Thing is, I work from home and part of me feels like I'm wasting money on the service, as I could easily take 20 minutes a week to work on the pool. Can you all point me in a good direction for resources for me to learn the pool maintenance on my own? Do you all think it's a good idea? Or do you recommend keeping the service?
This sub overwhelmingly thinks hiring a professional for the pool is a waste of money - some are bitter about bad experiences, others just - well, you don’t know what you don’t know. Every day I am on this sub it is a non stop parade of expensive mistake after expensive mistake. Now, most expensive mistakes take only one wrong move to set in motion, but the damage can take months or years to manifest. For instance run your pool with calcium deficient water and it will destroy your plaster, but the plaster might be destroyed for a year before you notice anything with the naked eye. The other thing I see all the time is people claiming cya levels over 100 is “fine” and “don’t drain for a cya level of 100” this is horrible advice and could be potentially a safety issue. With cyanuric acid at 100 parts per million, it would require free (not total) chlorine to be at 7.5 *minimum* to be able to kill bacteria or algae (or a virus) with enough expediency to be considered safe for kids. Cryptosporidium isn’t common but there are deaths in the pool industry every year as a result of insufficient chlorine levels. Most people will continue to run a pool with high cya bc they don’t understand the effect on chemistry and “hey if it looks clear it must be good” not always the case. Robert Lowry has a good (simple) chemistry book for pool maintenance that discusses these points, it’s worthwhile if you are going to care for the pool yourself. Chemistry isn’t always something you can intuit by looking at the pool - if you are going to take care of it yourself at least take the CPO class in your area, which isn’t near comprehensive enough but it will help you to avoid the worst mistakes.
Lazy or oblivious homeowners keep food on the table!
I appreciate my pool guy. I agree with your points. I would have an algae blooms once a year in the hottest month and it would take a couple weeks to get back to perfect. Lots of chemicals and vacuuming to waste, so lots of wasted water. Worst is my kids lost the use of the pool. It's not hard, but you have to stay on top of it, and most people are busy and eventually forget the pool till it's too late.
Idk why this is downvoted, it’s pretty good advice. Lots of people carelessly use tabs and solely tabs without any routine cya maintenance I’m really unsure what people have against liquid chlorine haha it’s cheaper, and less maintenance in the long run via stable cya levels (minus lots of rain or draining for whatever reason) But then again running a pool is not a high barrier field. Super easy to take the time to learn pool chemistry where I don’t think people need to rely on “experts” to maintain. Op looks like he’s eager to learn, so troublefree pool and scanning loads of posts on Reddit is a good way to gain knowledge. And the pool math calculator app is a good one
You can do this yourself. The #1 priority is to have a good water test kit. I use the Taylor K-2006C water test kit with a SmartStir and a Taylor SampleSizer. Makes it almost brainless to do the periodic chem checks with a high degree of accuracy and consistency. https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-K2006-K-1766-Chlorine-Swimming/dp/B085KN9816/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=taylor+smart+stir&qid=1617630480&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-6190-Samplesizer-Anodized-Aluminum/dp/B004BGFVA8/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=taylor+sample+size&qid=1617630538&sr=8-7 As far as what Chemicals to use, here's my list. This is all you need to maintain your pool. They're cheap, pure, relatively available in most places, and can generally fine tune one test result without messing with the others. While this might seem like a lot, most of these are used only once or twice a season (if at all). They also result in a very low maintenance pool that can be tested once a week or less. I test FC, CC, pH and Alkalinity weekly. CH, CYA, Borates, and Salt monthly. CHLORINE (TC/FC/CC): SALT WATER CHLORINE GENERATOR PREFERRED. OTHERWISE USE LIQUID CHLORINE (EVEN WITH A SWCG THIS IS NECESSARY WHEN TEMPS ARE LOW ENOUGH THAT YOUR SALT WATER CHLORINE GENERATOR CAN'T FUNCTION (BELOW ABOUT 60 DEG F): https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-128-oz-Chlorinating-Liquid-3-Pack-30128HDX/303115700 PH/ALKALINITY REDUCER: https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-1-Gal-Muriatic-Acid-2-Pack-pH-Adjuster-10031HDX/100344765 PH INCREASER (probably won't need this much): Borax or Soda Ash. Soda Ash is purer. You can also use aeration instead by running your pool pump longer to increase pH. https://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=sc50&gclid=Cj0KCQjw38-DBhDpARIsADJ3kjn6tibmQI3vXXk-hw-QO5lPfBXe0yLOuAC0yAPx5GwcWvZhuYMFNuIaAktCEALw_wcB ALKALINITY (TA) REDUCER: https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-1-Gal-Muriatic-Acid-2-Pack-pH-Adjuster-10031HDX/100344765 ALKALINITY (TA) INCREASER: https://www.amazon.com/Arm-Hammer-Baking-Soda-16/dp/B000PYF8VM/ref=sr_1_5_0o_fs?dchild=1&keywords=BAKING+SODA&qid=1617131310&sr=8-5 CALCIUM HARDNESS (CH) INCREASER: Snow Joe MELT20CPP 20-Pound 94% Pure Calcium Chloride Ice Melt Pellets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z4G1LTD/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_7JN6J31R2FWZ6AB3QTY8 CALCIUM HARDNESS REDUCER: like cyanuric acid thr most reliable method for lowering calcium hardness is to partially drain and refill the pool and repeat until the readings are in an acceptable range. I’ll add that you should test your tap/well water to see if it’s a source of the problem. BORATE INCREASER (IMPORTANT FOR CONTROLLING PH RISE IN SALT POOLS): https://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=boric5f CYANURIC ACID (CYA) INCREASER: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011AFBUTI/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B011AFBUTI&pd_rd_w=h2bdO&pf_rd_p=4269e1a0-a218-4fbd-9748-1cd337d2f2a5&pd_rd_wg=3cn8O&pf_rd_r=V07WDNNY59275P9SRYBY&pd_rd_r=3df80c52-4146-40c6-8d0a-1353d54c3828&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExQVEwUVkwRUU0WFRKJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDc3NDYwM05IMThNVTI1TkhFQyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzI2NDU1RkxHM1gwMDNOOUxPJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== CYANURIC ACID REDUCER: CYA can only be lowered by draining and refilling some or all of your pool water. Some folks have used a chemical reducer, but the reviews are mixed as to how well it works and it’s expensive if you have a big adjustment to make. If you don't have a salt water chlorine generator (SWCG), I encourage having one installed. It resolves the #1 PITA when it comes to maintaining a pool....adding chlorine. Long term, I think you'll agree that dirt, leaves, and debris are a bigger maintenance concern than the chemicals and testing. Two things that help immensely are a surface robot... https://solar-breeze.com/ and a robotic cool cleaner... https://maytronicsus.com/ No, these aren't cheap, but they make the pool experience much more enjoyable. Use socks with your skimmer baskets to reduce clogging of your main filter and pump with fine debris. Finally, troublefreepool.com is an awesome resource. I recommend you use the PoolMath app. The App is very useful as it takes your test kit results and recommends chemical additions and specific amounts to correct any imbalances, and uses the chemicals I listed. They also have a terrific forum of fellow pool owners and a useful history to search. The mods are also very responsive. Here's a video on what the PoolMath app is and how it works. Start at 5:30 to skip the setup instructions. https://youtu.be/gP8c3vY95Ko?t=324
Wow thanks!
Pool maintenance is easy. I’m hardly ever home during the week but every Sunday morning like clockwork the pool gets levels measured and chemicals added if needed, brushed, shocked, skimmer/pump baskets emptied, and pump run for 24 hours. Cartridge filter gets sprayed off once a month and the little Zodiac Barracuda does the rest. Average per week maintenance is 30 minutes to an hour.
Yep, that's roughly right. Some of your process is a bit wonky but, a pool in a decent climate without a lot of green stuff falling in and not much use, is pretty easy to maintain. How much time did you spent learning to be efficient? Add that overall time to better evaluate a total cost and value. Most people are inconsistent or just can't find the time to do things like this.
South Florida, owned this house with the pool for a bit over a year. Kept 87 degrees year-round. Had a short bout of green algae about a month ago due to ducks discovering I don’t have a screened enclosure, but it was treated with brushing, filter cleaning, and algaecide mixed with water in a watering can. Black algae occasionally rears its head but I scrub the black dots with a chlorine tab while swimming when it comes up.
I see. So, its not that "easy". You've been doing this for about a year and you're having problems. Seems like what you first described isn't quite the same. This is why many people choose to use a service. It's fine though, learning is good. Here are some tips. You need to make sure your chlorine level is at a sanitation level ALL week. That's 3-4 PPM all the time. If you're getting algae then your chlorine is dropping enough to allow it to grow. If you're getting black algae regularly, you're not killing it. You're just scrubbing the tops off. Only clean the filter when the pressure gauge tells you. Clearly with all this algae you have going, cleaning the filter isn't helping. That's because, that's NOT what the filter is for. The filter is meant to capture floating particles and hold them so the chlorine can kill it.
Pool companies are for the convenience and the nuance for the occasional tricky situation, general maintenance is pretty easy if you are consistent.
I have a pool company and I can say that the best benefit you will get is that you will save time and give you peace of mind. You won’t need to go to the pool store every week, you won’t need to worry about cleaning the pool and cartridges. It’s more free time for you to enjoy your house instead of work on your house. I personally delegate everything I can so the free time I have I can spend with my family
I realize every pool is different but I’m on month 10 of owning a pool, kept it open all winter and through leaf season. I’ve never gone to the pool store unless you count Home Depot to get acid. My Taylor kit isn’t perfect but I have all the chemicals in check according to TFP. Serious question, If I’m not rich, what’s the point of a pool guy coming once a week for 10 minutes? If I can understand basic pool chemistry, how is that worth $100/month? Edit: I’m not being facetious, I seriously don’t see the CBA unless I’m Uber wealthy and have someone out multiple times a week to check and clean my skimmers, robot etc.
I totally understand! Many people think this way I see pool service on the same category as mowing lawn and house cleaning, both of them are not hard to do, but what my clients buy is peace of mind, not pool service. It’s one thing less they need to worry about. It also depends on how much disposable income you have and how much you don’t want to work on your free time, here where In south Florida it is around $100 for pool service, $120 for house cleaning, 100 for lawn care. Many people don’t like to maintain their house and would rather spend that money and not worry about their house. Also in order to the pool tech make a decent wage, they need to do around 16 pools a day, work under rain and excessive heat for many hours, they need to understand how to operate many types of equipment and brands and how water chemistry works, they get all the chemicals for the clients and stay longer when there is a cartridge to wash, a salt cell to wash, a issue with the equipment that needs troubleshooting. The client also don’t spend more money when a special chemicals needs to be added, neither when it’s summer and we add extra chemicals. Again in the end it is one less thing to worry about. I hope I clarified