Pool Chemistry and Maintenance From a CPO
Every morning for about three summers straight, I’d walk out to whatever pool I was managing that week and do the same mental math: how much heat did we lose overnight, and how long is it going to take me to skim all this garbage off the surface? At one HOA property in Scottsdale, I … Read more
It was a Tuesday morning in October at a 48-unit HOA community I managed in Scottsdale — three mature sycamores hanging directly over the pool deck, dropping leaves like they had a personal vendetta against my pump basket. I had cleaned the skimmer basket at 7 a.m. By 9:30, the pump was cavitating. By noon, … Read more
I’ve been managing pools for resort chains and HOA communities across the Southwest for over a decade, and I can tell you with absolute certainty: the moment a pool owner pulls out a test strip and squints at the color chart is the moment they’re already losing the chemistry game. Here’s what happens. You dip … Read more
It’s July in Scottsdale. You went to bed last night with a crystal-clear pool, and you woke up to what looks like a swamp. I’ve been there—actually, I’ve managed enough resort and HOA pools across the Southwest to tell you that this scenario plays out almost weekly during monsoon season. The worst part? That panic … Read more
I’m sitting in the equipment room of a 15,000-gallon resort pool on a Tuesday morning, and I’m looking at the same problem I’ve seen a hundred times: an “Inspect Cell” light blinking on the salt chlorinator control panel, a pool that’s starting to cloud up despite solid salt readings, and a pool operator who’s convinced … Read more
I’ve managed pools for some of Arizona’s biggest resorts and HOAs, and I can tell you with absolute certainty: the #1 question every new hot tub owner asks me is “bromine vs chlorine hot tub—which one should I use?” And honestly? The conflicting advice out there is ridiculous. The spa store pushes bromine. Your neighbor … Read more
I’ve been managing pools professionally for over a decade — resort pools in Arizona, community pools in Nevada, HOA pools in New Mexico — and I can tell you with complete confidence that nothing sends a pool owner into a quiet spiral of despair quite like finding black algae. You’re out there doing your weekly … Read more
Let me paint you a picture. You’ve just unboxed a pool vacuum kit, and now there’s a vacuum head, a coiled hose, and a telescoping pole sitting on your deck like a disassembled robot. You watched one YouTube video where a guy connected everything in about 11 seconds and made it look like breathing. You’ve … Read more
Let me paint you a picture. It’s a Tuesday afternoon, the pool looks great, and then you spot it — a small pile of leaves and dirt sitting right in the middle of the deep end. Maybe two handfuls of debris, total. And now you’re faced with a choice: ignore it and let it start … Read more
Last summer, a homeowner in my HOA service area called me in a panic. She’d just spent $180 on a suction-side automatic pool cleaner, installed it herself, and three weeks later her pump basket was clogged with debris, her filter pressure had spiked 8 PSI above normal, and she had a repair bill forming. The … Read more