Many of you may know that when pool season starts we loose about 300 kids to deaths and over 3000 injuries from submersion issues.  When entrapment is a concerned especially with single main drain pools and spas the solution is very simple.  Turn the pool off when the kids are swimming.  Even better set your timer to run at night and not during swimming times.  The most important safety tip is proper supervision.  When you are watching your kids swimming, put the phone down, turn the TV off and watch the kids.  I guarantee you that at least one life will be saved if you follow these simple rules.  Remember.  The excuse that it will not happen to me is a joke.  Don't take the chance.

Many people say that I talk too much about safety and the dangers surrounding pools and water.  Evidentally I do not listen to myself.  I recently slipped in my pool and fractured my pelvis.  I discovered that at 55 years old I do not bounce like I used to.  Make sure that you and your family practice safe pool procedures to avoid unneccesary accidents. 


It is pool time again.  Time to enjoy that monster that you take care of.  Follow my simple advice and you will spend more time in your pool than you will working on it.  This will be a good year for "fun in the sun".  I was introduced to a new game.  Get you an inflatable ball.  Paint a face on it and play the new game, Drown your favorite politician.  Guaranteed to provide endless entertainment.  One that the whole family can enjoy.  Oh, please us a ball.  Do not use the real politician. 

It appears that our profit margin is in danger.  Yes fuel has risen sharply and so have our chemicals.  But we are not as important as some of the other service companies. I have noticed recently that some of my higher end customers that project the image of wealth is in more trouble than my regular custormers.  You can tell by when they pay their bill.  The economical future of our country is in a bad state but it will pass and change.  You have to reorganize to make your business, if you are a pool professional, more workable and create less overhead.  The pool cleaner will be the first to go when one cannot pay their bills.  I have fired a couple of homeowners for non-payment in the last month.  If you are an average homeowner then you also have to change your habits to keep the high cost of everything in a workable budget for your family. 

The 2008 pool season is among us.  Phosphates have arrived with a vengeance due to the dry weather.  Next time you write your Congressman make sure you "thank them" for taking money from the lobbyist and deregulating the smoke stack emissions and allowing the country to be subjected to additional phosphates.  Remember filtration is the key to good clean water.  Half of my service calls are nothing more than unserviced filters.  Uninformed owners and lazy pool techs. 

A friend of mine that is a good professional in this business named Eric, has a couple of sayings that may help people with their decisions on their pool maintenance.  First we all know that filtration is the key to many problems.  He tells his customers that the money that it cost to run your filter pump 24 hours a day will outweigh the cost of chemicals if run too little.  Very true.  The other fits when someone wants to take care of their own pool or spa or lets someone with limited knowledge do the job for them.  Your eyeballs are in the same water as your butt.  Very important to make sure it is properly sanitized and done right.  Think about that for a while.  Fecal matter can lead to E-Coli.