Trichlor availability in 2022 looks bleak

These are the exact reasons I will never be on Shark Tank. I just don’t think that way. I mean, think about it. One day you decide to heat Urea as this Wöhler guy did just to see what happens. Okay, then 127-years later, another dude decides to mix this byproduct of the heat degradation of such with chlorine. Then… they toss it in a swimming pool. Sadly, we have been battling the overuse of cyanuric acid in swimming pools ever since.

similar article Lower Cyanuric Acid in Swimming Pools Chemically

Everything is a crazy idea until it is not. Don’t get all disgusted by it. It’s not like they were sitting around boiling urine. Wöhler had found (many believe to be accidental) the year before his CyA discovery that he could create artificially by treating silver cyanate with ammonium chloride.

CyA cannot be manufactured without Urea

Cyanuric acid is still manufactured using this method of thermal decomposition of Urea and uric acid. Mass-producing Urea in the industrial quantities needed by the world today requires massive amounts of energy. Cyanuric acid factories are small potatoes for urea plants. Over 90% produced globally goes directly to the fertilizer industry. But, the fuel consumption necessary to meet that demand is what’s about to kick us all in the ass.

The natural gas prices across Europe are going through the roof. This has forced a continent-wide shut down in Urea plants. This has driven the cost of the chemical to the highest price from European manufacturers that it has been in over a decade. To make matters worse, the energy crisis has made its way to China.

Trichlor Chlorine tabs can’t happen without CyA!

FYI: A metric ton weighs slightly more than a U.S. ton, but a hair less than a sh*t-ton. According to NationMaster, the U.S. imports 2,957,765 .72 metric tons of Urea each year. China is currently the world’s largest exporter of Urea, and they are considering restricting urea exports to ensure domestic supply. Indonesia is likely to follow suit because of its domestic needs as well.

Similar article Cyanuric Acid, Chlorine Lock, and the CDC

The United States is one of the top five importers of Urea in the world. How much of that imported is for pool stabilizer use is unknown. Although the U.S. is one of four nations that account for 10% of the world’s cyanuric acid production, China is still the foremost manufacturer of this product yielding 75% of the world’s supply. However, before the fire caused by Hurricane Laura that birthed the great chlorine shortage, Biolab imported 62,142,000 pounds (on average) of Cyanuric acid into the United States monthly from Asia.

INSIGHT: Fertilizer prices on the rise as energy crisis, tight availability, bite | ICIS

Bio Lab Inc U.S. Import Records

Global Cyanuric Acid Market 2020 by Manufacturers, Regions, Type, and Application, Forecast to 2026 – Marketsandresearch.biz

Top countries for Urea Fertilizer Imports (nationmaster.com)

Friedrich Wöhler | German chemist | Britannica

I earn a little commish on the product pics that link to Amazon

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Where are all the high end pools at?

Identifying this clientele should not be too difficult. Every county has a place or two where their rich seem to congregate. You probably already know where this is. Easy peasy. A good start to making your way into this neighborhood will be looking like you belong in that neighborhood. The Sanford and Son truck is gonna have to go! And, for goodness sakes, put some nice lettering on that thing, so the neighbors know who you are. Trust me, everyone knows each other’s business, and they will all know about the truck parked in a driveway. Let’s try not to look like you are there to rob the place.

Speaking of Rob

Question: You currently charge a fee for pool service that is much higher than the average rate in your area. And… You are doing this in Florida, which is notorious for double-digit monthly fees. How are you able to do this?

In any service industry, you get paid not by what you do, or how much you know. You get paid based on the relationships you foster. How well do you know your customers? Birthdays, children’s names, dog’s and cat’s names, etc… Stand out. This is a SUPER easy one. Wear decent clothes, walk straight, have a clean truck, be well-spoken and professional. Talk to your customers about anything they want to talk about and for as long as they want to talk.

Rob Mathews, Pristine Water, Dunellen Fla.

The local expert

You need to be up to speed on the latest and greatest. That means education as well as keeping abreast of new technologies as they hit the market. If you are going to be catering to swimming pools that have all the bells and whistles, you will need to know how to maintain and repair bells and whistles. These neighborhoods will not be very forgiving, so ‘learning as you go’ is a piss poor plan. You can attend all of the seminars, webinars, and trade shows you like (and you should), but the absolute best way to learn is to work for someone.

Part-time pool tech

I’m not suggesting that you sell your company and then go looking for work. Utilize your network or social media to see if maybe someone in a neighboring county will take you on for a day a week. View it as a mentor/mentee relationship versus a part-time side gig. Why wouldn’t you look in the county you are already in? No one wants to help someone who may try to take customers with them when they go. Be honest, be ethical, and be appreciative of the opportunity. Above all, don’t be a chooch.

Similar article Don’t Undercut the Market

KAREN!

You’ve heard the expression ‘the devil is in the details? Well, how about ‘the bitch is in the kitchen? You will be increasing the odds that you will be working for a ‘Karen’ exponentially. I know it sounds like a horror story, but it’s not. This is the direction we wanted to go, and with good reason. Besides, if there is nothing to complain about, then there is nothing to complain about; the difference between a concierge pool service and your standard everyday run-of-the-mill pool service is about the same as the contrast between a carwash and auto detailing service. Go into this with the right mindset, and it can be extremely lucrative. Try to splash ‘n dash, and you’ll ruin your reputation and fall flat on your face.

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Watershape University and the Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code (CMAHC) are excited to announce their partnership with the Association of Aquatic Professionals (AOAP) during the Annual AOAP Conference & Exposition, scheduled for Feb. 5-12, 2022, in St. Pete Beach, Fla.

A show for pool pros, aquatic professionals, health officials, waterpark staff, and more

In its 11^th year, the Conference has earned a reputation as the premier educational gathering for aquatic professionals, drawing over 800 attendees, including health inspectors, building-code officials, and aquatic facility managers. This dynamic event provides attendees with the latest technical, practical, and hands-on education designed to improve drowning prevention, facility programming, team leadership, risk management, technical operations, and overall facility management.  

Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code

This year, the Conference welcomes a new, two-day educational tract on the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) presented by CMAHC. This member-driven nonprofit organization exists exclusively to advocate, evolve, innovate, promote implementation, and make recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on needed updates to the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC). Owned by the CDC, the MAHC is the only all-inclusive national pool code that addresses current aquatic issues and provides voluntary guidelines to prevent injury and illness at public aquatic venues.

Sessions in advanced swimming pool education

Watershape University (WU) – an IACET Accredited Provider of education – fully endorses the MAHC and incorporates its best-practice recommendations and technical principles into WU programming. WU will present two sessions within the MAHC tract: CONSTRUCTION 1324: Building Safe Chemical Storage and Treatment Systems and DESIGN 1811: The Visual Guide to Commercial Pool Geometry; both sessions were created to harmonize facility design with sound engineering practice.

In addition to participating in the MAHC tract, WU will present two courses that are also new to the Conference. The first is a full-day program on Fluid Engineering & Drawing Comprehension for Plan Checkers. This course fills the educational gap in typical public-health curricula with in-depth knowledge of fluid engineering, gravity flow, water-in-transit, pumps, filters, and treatment systems.

WU will also offer a two-day course on Ozone/UV System Design. This extensive program offers expertise on sizing, sales, installation, troubleshooting, and routine maintenance of ozone and UV systems – a tandem of water-treatment technologies which has become widely used in commercial aquatic facilities.

“The Association of Aquatic Professionals is excited to be back in-person for our 2022 conference and exposition. With our numerous new collaborations, partnerships, networking, and educational offerings, we will be able to enhance the knowledge and careers of all aquatic professionals. We look forward to seeing you there!”

Juliene Hefter, Executive Director and CEO for AOAP.

“Watershape University is excited to be part of the AOAP Conference and Exposition,” said David J. Peterson, P.E., IWI, and co-founder of Watershape University. “We fully support the AOAP’s mission and believe this will be the first of many years bringing our top-notch and novel education to Conference attendees. We couldn’t be more pleased to see CMAHC putting the Model Aquatic Health Code front and center with this influential audience!”

Similar Article CMAHC’s Dewey Case Discusses Importance of Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act

“Partnering with the Association of Aquatic Professionals and Watershape University for AOAP’s must-attend annual conference is a vital step in further uniting the aquatics industry as a whole, regardless of sector,” said Kristie Riester, Executive Director, CMAHC. “Our collective goal through the MAHC tracts is to expand our reach by bringing in members of the public health, academia, builders, and designer audiences – all of which have a common need for MAHC use and adoption.”

Additional MAHC tract topics and speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. For updates, visit AOAP’s conference webpage or www.CMAHC.org.

For more information on the Association of Aquatic Professionals and registering to attend the Conference, go to https://aquaticpros.org/conference-exposition/, or email info@aquaticpros.org. 

For more information on the Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code, visit http://www.cmahc.org, or email cmahc@cmahc.org.

For more information about Watershape University and to register for courses, visit www.watershape.org or email info@watershape.org. 

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Note: All photos shown have been ‘grifted with love’ from the Association of Aquatic Professionals Facebook page in hopes of being granted permission after the fact.

The post THE AOAP CONFERENCE MAY BE THE GREATEST ᵉᵈᵘᶜᵃᵗᶦᵒⁿᵃˡ ᵉᵛᵉⁿᵗ POOL PEOPLE ᵈᵒⁿ’ᵗ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ! appeared first on SWIMMING POOL CERTIFICATION, EDUCATION, & NEWS🗞.

Copper chemistry licensing deal

This new relationship leverages the marketing, services, and distribution depth of Sigura Water to bring the high-quality, proprietary chemistry solutions of ESL to more pool owners.

“PristineBlue is a unique copper-based chemistry, unlike others in the market, that gives trouble-free maintenance and crystal-clear results to pool and spa owners. We are proud to be able to license and sell PristineBlue and to provide our best-in-class value added services to ESL’s pool dealers and Sigura Water’s ProDealer network for both pool and spa.”

Robert P. Baird Jr., CEO at Sigura Water.

Lysis, Inhibition of photosynthesis, and the oligodynamic effect

The proprietary copper-based algaecide/bactericide disperses quickly, eliminates dead zones, and treats algae without risk of staining swimming pools.

“We are excited to increase the reach of our water treatment chemistries to more pool users through Sigura Water’s dealer network. Licensing the PristineBlue and AlgaeShield products to pool care industry leader Sigura Water gives ESL the ability to focus on the development of new technologies and expansion into new markets.”

Doug McKenzie, GM at Rec Water Solutions

Available to the Sigura Water ProDealer network

Earth Science Laboratories will continue to service existing ESL pool dealers and customers during the transition period through September 30, 2021. At that point, Sigura Water takes the wheel, fulfilling orders and service with existing PristineBlue and AlgaeShield dealers. The products will also become available for sale to the Sigura Water ProDealer network at that time.

Similar Article: Algae Prevention & Eradication Specialist Certification program

About Sigura Water

Sigura Water is a leading supplier of water treatment solutions for residential pools and spas and has a strong position in industrial and municipal applications. Sigura Water serves the industry with high-performance and trusted brands such as HTH®, Poolife®, GLB®, Leisure Time®, Baquacil®, Applied Biochemists®, Pulsar®, Constant Chlor®, Hypocal® and more.

Sigura Water has signed a definitive agreement to merge with Solenis, a global leader in supplying innovative specialty chemicals and services for consumer and food packaging, graphic paper, tissue, and towel markets, as well as industrial water treatment and wastewater markets.

Combining with Solenis brings significant scale, additional resources, and new market opportunities for Sigura Water to better serve consumers in the pool space and the industrial segment with a mission to deliver superior water quality, improve the environment and enhance security health, and safety of communities we serve. The Sigura Water and Solenis merger is scheduled to close later in 2021. More information is available at sigurawater.com.

About Earth Science Laboratories

Earth Science Laboratories, Inc. develops advanced chemistry for commercial, municipal, industrial, and agricultural applications. ESL’s Rec Water Solutions manufactures the popular PristineBlue® system for residential pools, spas, and hot tubs and Performance Chemistry line products AlgaeShield® and MetalShield designed for commercial and residential use. AlgaeShield, MetalShield, and PristineBlue are EPA registered, and NSF Certified to ANSI Standard 60. More information is available at earthsciencelabs.com.

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The time to hesitate is through

Robert Alan Krieger

Certain species of freshwater Diatoms (mustard algae) quickly produce ‘resting’ spores when faced with inhospitable conditions. The thickness of the cell’s walls and nutrients within allow these little suckers to deep sleep for a long ass time (100+ years) and in some adverse environments—evolution’s method of survival of the species.

We know algae spores can become airborne, and this is primarily how they travel to your pool from a pond (lake, river, stream, swamp, etc.). But how are they getting into the air?

Similar article Algae Specialist Certification

California pool algae in the southeast

Waves crashing to the shore are the means of jettison on larger freshwater bodies such as the Great Lakes, Electrostatic attraction to water droplets contained within fog or mist has been known to tote some spores along. Then there is dispersal due to the splashing of rain or precipitation that launches the light sources of tsoris into the air for the wind to carry them away.

A century old spore

What about long-distance atmospheric transport by wildfire smoke? It could even be ‘resting’ diatom spores from an area currently threatened by fire where a pond had once been.

Online Pool Classes

A fungus among us

Scientific publications do exist evidencing fungus doing just that, traveling coast-to-coast in a cloud of smoke. Using state-of-the-art numerical simulations of atmospheric transport and meteorological data, researchers can follow the trajectory of fungal spores across North America. Although patterns emerge, unpredictable trajectories do occur due to differences in the strength of turbulence of day versus night. 

On the Rio Grande

Tauber pollen traps have been used in New Mexico in the southern Rocky Mountains to measure the travel of algal spores. Here the freshwater green algae Pediastrum boryanum boryanum was collected and monitored over eight years. The thing that makes this noteworthy is the closest body of water with a living population of Pediastrum in Cochiti Lake, over 26 miles away. Strong southwesterly winds are believed to entrain and transport Pediastrum from the surface water of the lake.

I can feel it coming in the air tonight

Phil Collins

Scientists have also found upon analysis with electron microscopy of aerosols collected at a site on the northeast coast of South America that freshwater diatoms from paleolakes in Africa were contained within. The travel by fire method of colonizing pool after pool in California makes perfect sense, but could diatoms in flight on wildfire smoke to Atlanta explain the sudden blooms in Decatur and other east coast destinations? There is enough published scientific research to warrant air quality analysis. IMO

How to Get Rid of Swimming Pool Algae, Rudy Stankowitz, 2021

Stephen A. Hall (1998) Atmospheric transport of freshwater algae Pediastrum in the American Southwest, 37:6, 374-375, DOI: 10.1080/00173139809362693

Atmospheric Transport of North African Dust-Bearing Supermicron Freshwater Diatoms to South America: Implications for Iron Transport to the Equatorial North Atlantic Ocean,Anne E. Barkley,Nicole E. Olson,Joseph M. Prospero,Alexandre Gatineau,Kathy Panechou,Nancy G. Maynard,Patricia Blackwelder,Swarup China,Andrew P. Ault,Cassandra J. Gaston, 01 February 2021

Timing of fungal spore release dictates survival during atmospheric transport, Daniele Lagomarsino,Oneto, Jacob Golan, Andrea Mazzino, Anne Pringle, Agnese Seminara, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Mar 2020, 117 (10) 5134-5143; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1913752117

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I have heard a lot of theorization but have seen little to no evidence that these pond mimicking bodies of water are actually as safe for people as a traditional swimming pool. This is not intended to bash natural swimming pools. However, I do some concerns.

I want to preface this by saying I am 110% in favor of integrating natural pools into our industry if proponents of natural pools can provide proof from a reputable third-party researcher indicating that these bodies of water are equally as safe as traditionally maintained swimming pools. This means from water clarity to pathogen control and every aspect in-between.

NATURAL Swimming POOLS

What sparked this topic? It’s simple enough. Pool industry marketing guru, mastermind behind the insanely popular poolmagazine.com, and friend Joe Trusty asked if I would be a part of a podcast interview.

He had scheduled an episode with Bio Nova VP of Dealer Development, Allen Schnack. I’ve conducted a lot of field and lab research. Much of it focuses on black algae (cyanobacteria biofilms) and mustard algae (diatoms). So, Joe thought my experience would add value to the conversation.

Sharing research with pool pros

An outline of some of my research HERE

I am attempting to be open-minded, so I will ask you to try to do the same. However, there are some things the proponents and designers of these chemical-free alternatives can do to make the whole concept easier to swallow. We were hoping you could share the scientific research that supports your claims.

The head-to-head podcast

My goal is not to steal Trusty’s thunder in releasing his info, so please make sure that you download his podcast. It’s a good idea to give it a listen because I’m not going to talk about the same things here that we discussed on his show:

To bring those that maintain traditional pools up to speed, the sanitation of a natural pool is dependent upon the formation of mustard algae (diatoms) and ‘good’ biofilm. In theory, dosing the water with phosphates and silicates will encourage mustard algae to ‘outgrow’ everything else. In doing so, it will use up all of the nutrients, leaving nothing for anything else.

Love me some silicates

Mustard algae will probably grow faster in these conditions as the plant food concoction supports this (Diatoms being the only thing on the planet known to consume silicates). However, using up all of the nitrates and phosphates only sounds good in theory because just as there are carbon-fixing diatoms, there are also nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria (black algae). As far as ‘good’ biofilms go, I don’t believe there are any.

A bonus tip for the pool pond people would be to add a healthy dose of calcium chloride to their initial treatment. This will enhance the rate of diatom colinization even further. Those tiny little single celled Bacillariophyceae just cant get enough of hard water.

Stankowitz, How to Get Rid of Swimming Pool Algae, 2021

Diseases of animals that people can get

Unfortunately, I can see nothing in designing a natural pool that will prevent bathers from contracting a waterborne zoonotic disease. The wrongly named ‘good’ biofilm will not lessen the odds of illness; in fact, it will increase the odds. You’ll not gain an RWI (recreational water illness) free environment from lily pads, hair grass, cattails, pond sedge, or swamp hibiscus.

I’m not going to speak much because diatoms are known to produce BMAA (β-N-methylamino- l-alanine). This is a neurotoxin. But I imagine you would have to swallow copious amounts of water containing mustard algae (also known as brown or yellow algae) for this to harm a human. But double-check with your doc on that one because I’m a pool guy, dammit! Not a forensic neurotoxicologist.

Chlorine sanitizes and disenfects

There are many pathogens that chlorine will eradicate that will be permitted to live in a body of water with no form of sanitation. Topping the list would be Giardia, Leptospirosis, Naegleria fowleri (brain-eating amoeba), Legionella bacteria, E. coli, and more. I did not include Cryptosporidium on the list because it takes a long time at an extremely high chlorine level to eradicate even in chlorinated water.

If it’s poo, it’s two. If it’s runny, it’s twenty

Associated with a human diarrheal incident, it would take a consistent level of twenty ppm (parts per million) of chlorine for 12.75 hours straight. Cryptosporidium is a protozoan encased in an extremely thick shell that allows it to live outside of a host’s body for long periods of time. What does the owner of a natural pool do when the problem is poo?

Warning: This is gross

A single person who has contracted cryptosporidium will shed 140,845 Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in 0.14 grams of feces into a swimming pool. Research has shown the average person adds exactly this amount to a swimming pool every time they get in for a period of ten minutes (Gerba 2000). These oocysts can survive for 10 1/2 days at a chlorine level of 1 ppm (longer if cyanuric acid is used). You only need to swallow one to become severely ill. An immunocompromised person only needs to swallow one for it to kill them. I think if calling it butt water reminds people not to allow the water in their mouth while swimming it is absolutely warranted.

Me. I said that.

I know, I know – Don’t drink the butt water! After all, people do dip their hineys in there. We tell folks this time and time again. But, does anyone listen? Even if they did, some nasties do not need to be swallowed to make a person ill. Both Leptospirosis and Naegleria fowleri can enter a person’s body by passing directly through the eye or the membrane in one’s nose.

Don’t drink the butt water

There is an overwhelming amount of scientific research that supports my concerns. I am told there is scientific research available proving just the opposite. We would like to see the research proving waterborne zoonoses cannot survive in a natural pool.

Similar article How to Get Rid of Swimming Pool Algae

Show me the research!

I asked if a health department in the United States permitted a Natural Swimming pool as a public pool. The Webber Park Pool in Minnesota was immediately given as an example. This was a surprise as I was certain there were none. So, curious, I decided to research it a little further.

Unregulated

Sadly, this natural pool is permitted to operate because the county health department does not consider it a swimming pool. In fact, the DOH does not consider it to be a lake (which they also regulate) either. The Health Department in Minnesota has designated this ‘PLAKE’ (pool/lake) to be something in between, and therefore it is something they DO NOT REGULATE at all.

The Webber Natural Swimming Pool mimics the natural cleaning mechanisms of a pond or lake and is not chlorinated.  Potentially sensitive populations such as the very young, elderly, pregnant women and the immunocompromised may have a greater health risk when using the Webber Natural Swimming Pool.

Webber Natural Swimming Pool Website

As much as 10% of all drownings have lack of water clarity as a contributing factor

Obviously, the disease is not my only concern in a greenish pool. Pool owners are told water tests are not required, and that scares me a little. The increased potential for drowning due to a diminished level of clarity. Jeopardizing the composition of the vessel. These are also things that top the list.

Check the Talking Pools Podcast this Friday, September 10, 2021 where we continue our discussion on Natural Swimming Pools:

The post NATURAL SWIMMING POOLS appeared first on SWIMMING POOL CERTIFICATION, EDUCATION, & NEWS🗞.

The answer is, you’re both right. It’s not which is right or wrong; it’s what type of person you are? Let’s wade into the deep end. What kind of details weren’t mentioned in this hypothetical story? Let’s imagine both Rudy and Joe had the same bills each month. Mortgage, auto, insurance, food, etc. Rudy was able to pay all of his expenses from day one. Even though he took on a substantial financial obligation, he was already making enough money to provide personal and business expenses.

POOL ROUTES FOR SALE

On the other hand, Joe had to pull out of savings each month until he reached his goal of 40 accounts. Do you think that could be stressful? Or maybe in a slightly different scenario, Joe went and got a part-time job to make sure he could pay all his bills while he built his pool route? I did this. I worked three jobs at one point while I built my route.

What else wasn’t mentioned in the story? How about the time spent each day for each person. Rudy spent, on average, 5 hours a day and only worked four days a week. He had time for grandkids, cooking classes, even teaching others about the pool industry. Shoot, maybe he even wrote a children’s book . Joe, on the other hand, was on-call all the time. Every time the phone rang, it was a potential new customer. Rudy had all his customers saved in his contacts. He would only answer a number if he recognized it.

Joe’s throwing Rudy under the bus

Everyone else went to voicemail. Joe didn’t feel like he could take that risk. He wanted to be ready to answer right away. Joe spent about 6 hours each day and even worked on the weekends until he hit his goal. What about the time involved going to do bids and estimates? Rudy made five bids in 6 months. He only wanted 40 accounts, so there was no pressure on him. Joe made 150 bids in 6 months. We didn’t talk about how Joe didn’t get the account and the time spent going from one place to another. Joe doesn’t believe in over-the-phone estimates, smart man.

At this point in the story, you are probably thinking I’m pro buying a route? You’re mistaken. I’ve heard horror stories about route purchases over and over again. I’ve heard of brokers lying, sellers lying, customer information is incorrect, equipment not working when they said it did (see sellers lying above), terrible bookkeeping, incorrect addresses, wrong phone numbers, accounts that haven’t paid their bill in 3 months, escrow releasing all money to the seller ahead of schedule, non compete clauses being broken, and the list goes on and on and on. And my personal favorite I wanted to save for its sentence – the broker writing in the fine print of the contract that if the buyer sells any of the accounts purchased through this transaction…the broker is entitled to make their commission of the future sale.

similar article Buying a Pool Route – Pros & Cons

No, this is not a joke! Do you still think I’m pro route purchase? Hopefully, you don’t know what to believe, haha. I’ve heard of some that went the advertising route, and they were full in a matter of weeks! And they only spent a couple hundred in ads, while most was all word of mouth. How can you argue with that person that they should consider a route purchase? You can’t. (results not typical)

50 Shades of Blue!

The fact is, both of these methods work, and both ways have horror stories. People are successful in buying routes and are also successful in not buying them. The main deciding factor should be your risk tolerance. No one else is going to pay your mortgage, buy your food, and make your family feel secure. Don’t be so quick to listen to all the mouths telling you what you should or shouldn’t do. Whether you decide to buy a route or not, YOU are the one that will determine the success of your pool company with POOL ROUTES FOR SALE

Our mission is to have every pool company work together to maximize profit, minimize travel time between stops and be kind to the planet. We do this by enabling the swapping of accounts to build efficient routes

Joe Wilmot, President/CEO of Pool Trader

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With every crisis, there will be sorry SOBs that will rip you off

Hey, If it were up to me, we would round all of these internet scam low-life dirtbags up and torch their asses in a flaming dumpster. Unfortunately, all I can say is be careful. What seems too good to be true is almost always going to hurt worse than pooping out flaming porcupines!

This one is almost too cute to be mad about. The price on this bucket of PEZ size chlorine tablets was nearly forty bucks a month ago, but it looks like chemicals for the Barbie dream house have dropped in value with the end of season demand.

You Gotsta read the ᶠ ͥ ⁿᵉ ᵖʳ ͥ ⁿᵗ, or you may fall victim to a play on size. These chuckle butts are offering a bucket of 0.3″ (NOT 3″) tablets.

Honestly, I may purchase a bucket anyway (now that the price has come down) as both a souvenir and a reminder of how f** ked-up tricksters with a slide of hand can be in desperate times.

Don’t blow your ass up!

Seriously, this is no joke! Just because your normal chlorine tablets are hard to find doesn’t mean you can mix and match products to get yourself through a season. No, not even once!

Similar Story Chlorine Gas Cloud Injuries at Public Pools Caused by Liquid Chlorine Injection Malfunction

The important thing to remember is that different chlorine tablets are available, each with its own chemical makeup. The normal tabs you use (trichlor) can react violently with a tablet made of calcium hypochlorite (Cal hypo) or sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione (Dichlor).

Even if you do not put the tablets together at the same time, an explosion may occur. It only takes a small amount of residual remaining from trichlor to make a cal hypo tablet. Go BOOM!

In 2021 several individuals were hospitalized after unknowingly adding a couple of 3″ cal hypo tablets to an existing feeder that had once held 3″ trichlor tablets. Thank God they are Okay! I reached out to a few for comment, but they have yet to respond.

How the product is added can start a ticking time bomb

Chlorinating chemicals like cal hypo and dichlor are both available in granular form, and many people have chosen to go this route in the great trichlor drought. Heck, I use granule cal hypo myself on the reg.

But the method you add the product to the pool can put you in a precarious situation. The label instructions may say the product can be safely added directly into the pool skimmer; however, if you have a trichlor feeder plumb down the line in the system and even one granule finds its way inside, an explosion may occur. I’ve seen where these things have blown a hole through a cinderblock wall.

Guess what?! Dichlor and Cal hypo feeders do exist, as do feeders for liquid chlorine. If you are in a situation, as many of us have been this year, where you are forced to buy a product different from what you normally use, you need to replace your feeder with one designed for that new chemical you are using.

NST Cal Hypo tablet feeder

Don’t go putting these in a floater either!

Even the mechanics within the chlorinator itself will be different and designed for that specific chemical. Trichlor tablets use an erosion feeder. This style of chlorinator fills with water, and all the tablets inside dissolve at the same time.

A cal hypo feeder is a ‘bird bath’ style operation where one stacks the tablets in the unit, but the only 3″ puck that gets wet is the one at the bottom of the stack. When that one completely dissolves, the stack drops the width of that one tablet, and the next is the one that erodes.

More Automation

A dichlor feed system typically feeds the granule product only. The powder is stored in a tank at the top of the unit and disperses an amount set by the operator necessary to maintain the desired ppm of chlorine. A liquid system operates similarly where a peristaltic pump injects the liquid at a user-controlled rate or is completely automated using ORP.

I know quite a few people are reading this that want to call BS because they have been doing exactly what I have said not to do. The truth is a violent reaction might not occur every single time. However, you are playing with borrowed time. I don’t want to see anyone injured because they were misinformed, uninformed, or because they think they are hot sh*t, and the rules of chemistry do not apply to them. It is a season of hard times, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make smart decisions and adhere to safe operating practices.

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The water being in balance is extremely important, and the LSI is a tool we rely upon. After all, we know water needs to have a certain amount of calcium and carbonate in solution, and the level we need varies upon both temperature and pH. If the water is found to be corrosive, it will pull calcium and carbonate from the pool walls and floor, etching the surface. When the water is scale forming, everything from a cloudy water condition to calcium carbonate deposits forming about the pool.

Many think calcium carbonate saturation is only important in plaster pools, and that’s not the case. Nowadays, liner companies utilize calcium carbonate in the production of vinyl. The amount used varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but it has been found that corrosive water can pull calcium carbonate from vinyl when the content is greater than 7%. It is also a fact that cobalt staining is more prevalent in fiberglass pools where a corrosive saturation index persists.

Dr. Wilfred Langelier, professor emeritus of civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley published this concept in a paper titled The analytical control of anti-corrosion water treatment in 1936 in the detailing the model was first published in 1936 in the Journal of the American Water Works Association. Most are aware of this; however, a common misconception is that we actually use Dr. Langelier’s model, which was designed to determine the Potential for calcium carbonate precipitation. In actuality, we do not.

A Mother of a Math Problem

Langelier’s formula, despite its accuracy, is extremely complex. It also was not designed to determine whether water was corrosive or scale forming. Instead, as I mentioned above, the calculation only determined the calcium carbonate precipitation potential (CCPP). Not a guarantee that a problem with calcium would occur, only a predictive measure of an increased possibility. Regardless, Langelier (already widely known for his advances in water treatment due to studies documented in his 1921 paper Coagulation of Water with Alum by Prolonged Agitation) came up with a highly complex formula. That was beyond practical for longhand calculation – the math was insane!

View the entire Journal of the American Water Works Association 1936-10, Vol 28 HERE

Due to its complexity and advances in science, the formula was simplified in 1965 by Carrier (heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration solutions). This new version is often referred to as the ‘improved’ version and was the first to call the formula the Langelier Saturation Index. Oh yeah, I almost forgot – pH_s is the name Langelier gave to his formula for predicting calcium carbonate precipitation potential.

Is Carrier’s LSI improved? Answering that question is beyond my skill set, but I can say it definitely dumbed it down. With that, of course, some suggest this revised 1965 method is too simplistic to be as accurate. However, this new calculation is more similar to the formula that we use now in the swimming pool industry. That’s right; we’re not up to what we use for swimming pools just yet. That doesn’t happen until 1974.

Change is good, right?

This was when John A. Wojtowicz of Chemcon got his hands on it. Wojtowicz pointed out that the LSI in its current version did not consider other alkaline substances that would contribute to the Total Alkalinity in a swimming pool (i.e., cyanuric acid, boric acid, etc.). So, the formula was retooled once again. See The Effect of Cyanuric Acid and
Other Interferences on Carbonate Alkalinity Measurement in the Journal of the Swimming Pool and Spa Industry

This is where we are at now – the Wojtowicz Saturation Index? Not sure if this name will stick, but it is certainly more accurate than calling is LSI. Misnomer or not, this is the saturation index calculation that we use in the pool industry today. This is where the formula for the LSI apps we use originated. Accuracy in attribution or not, is it more accurate in predicting the potential for calcium carbonate to precipitate in an open body of water?

I thought it would be interesting to see the difference in calculation between the three using values we would likely see in a swimming pool, specifically omitting the presence of cyanuric acid, borate, or any other substances that might affect our Total Alkalinity.

Our example water test:

Saturation Results:

A Formula never intended to be used in an open body of water exposed to atmospheric pressure

Another factor to consider – The saturation index is said to only be accurate within certain parameters. Luckily, the chemistry we keep in swimming pools typically falls within that range. That is except for Saltwater pools.

• pH: 6.5 to 9.5

• Temperature: 32 to 212°F

• Bicarbonate alkalinity: 10 to 800 ppm

• Calcium hardness: 50 to 700 ppm (up to 900 ppm)

• Total dissolved solids: 50 to 1000

Accuracy of the pool industry LSI

If Dr. Langelier’s pH_s is the more accurate measure of determining the water’s potential of calcium carbonate precipitation and was truly only changed for ease of calculation, with the capabilities of cell phones, wouldn’t it make more sense to develop an app that could quickly perform the complex equation? Of course, Wojtowicz’s Carbonate Alkalinity would be a necessary modification in a swimming pool application.

If not, and today’s LSI method continues to be the route we take, do we really need an app or studies on mathematical calculations at all? I mean, the reality of it is shooting for the dead center of the ideal range on the three values for which an ideal range exists; the water will always be in LSI balance down to a temperature of 48°F and as high as 104°F anyway. The exception being a saltwater pool in which none of the calculations are apparently accurate anyway.

Specific Parameters

Even if the inaccuracy of the LSI at a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) level above 1,000 ppm did not exist, maintaining a pH of 7.5, Carbonate Alkalinity of 90 ppm, and a Calcium Hardness of 300 ppm would keep the water balanced on today’s pool industry LSI balanced in water temp range of 63°F to well over 104 degrees (TDS of 3,000 ppm).

Have an LSI app on your phone? Try it! Set the pH at 7.5, Carbonate Alkalinity at 90 ppm, and the Calcium Hardness at 300 ppm. Now play around with different numbers for temperature and TDS. Do we really need an app? Or, would a simple dosing calculator suffice?

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Let’s tell a hypothetical story and timeline of 2 pool pros. Their names will be Rudy and Joe. Rudy has decided to purchase a route of 40 customers while Joe has decided to build from the ground up by advertising only, but his goal is also 40 customers. In this story, I’ll use others’ real-life details in the pool industry while some made-up but realistic information. Like Rudy and Joe – excellent fake names

Rudy goes online and searches for a pool route for sale. He gets “routed” to a pool broker. He finds the 40 pool route in the general area he wants to operate, and the price is $50,000. The broker provides the details, paperwork, notary, escrow, warranty (90-day pro-rated money-back guarantee if the customer is lost at no fault of Rudy), etc., and the broker makes a 10% fee for this service. (this usually comes out of the seller’s side) Rudy doesn’t need any training, and he’s fully knowledgeable in the pool industry. He starts working right away and has a monthly income of $4,000 for service. Repairs and additional services are extra per our industry standard. So let’s leave Rudy for the moment and meet Joe.

Pool Route Purchase

Joe is going to advertise and build from the ground up.  He thinks he can do this for 1/10^th the cost and get just as many customers. Joe set’s aside $5,000 and begins to create his ad campaign. He spends two days getting everything in order, logo, wording on the ads, FB marketplace account, Google account, etc. He even creates a profile on a couple of other social media platforms to advertise for free! The ads launch, and the posts are made. One week passes, Joe has zero accounts. The second week goes by, and the traffic has started to come in.

The phone is ringing, and Joe is going out on bids and estimates. End of week 2, Joe has two clients on the books. Week 3 comes, and the traffic has dipped just a little bit, but Joe ended up getting two more customers for a total of 4. Week 4 is here. Joe continues to have the ads run every week. He is making posts almost every day on the free sites. The best week yet, Joe gets 3 for a new total of 7 at the end of one month. The monthly income on the books is $700 going into month 2.

Buying a Pool Route lll

At the end of the month, Rudy lost two customers. One was his fault, he left the gate open, and the dog got out. The other wasn’t his fault; the owner sold the house, and Rudy couldn’t keep the account. Rudy decides he will give a couple of customers an incentive; if they advertise word of mouth for him, he’ll compensate with a month of free service if he gets new accounts. So his monthly income is down to $3800, but he did get a credit back for the one customer. Joe did the same thing as Rudy, and he gave them an incentive to all his customers to help him grow and compensate with a month of free service.

Let’s move to month two now. Rudy ends up getting one new customer and ends the month with 39 total. Nothing else to report on Rudy; let’s visit Joe. That’s far more exciting!

Joe is hitting his stride! He tripled his business and now has 21 accounts. He decided to double down the amount on the ad spend each week, and he also doubled the amount of time he spends on social media. But, he has not increased his original amount of the $5,000 ad spend, just increased the weekly spend to speed things up. And a few customers referred him to new clients to have some free service coming once the new customers have stayed on for at least a couple of months. Joe is no fool. In a previous venture, he would promise free service before verifying an excellent new client. Not this time. End of month 2, Joe has $2100 incoming on the books. Half his ad spend is gone at this point.

Month 3 – Rudy is unchanged. He has 39 accounts and $3900 on the books. Back to Joe

Joe decided to keep the higher ad spend in place. He is confident he will get to 40 accounts this month but doesn’t hit the goal. He got a few new customers, but he also lost one because he left the gate open. These darn gates are hard to remember to close when you’re so busy. And that customer had also referred Joe to one of the new clients, so Joe lost that one too because they want to use the same pool service. Lame. But Joe stays positive, and he ends the month with 28 accounts and $2800 now on the books.

Our mission is to have every pool company work together to maximize profit, minimize travel time between stops and be kind to the planet. We do this by enabling the swapping of accounts to build efficient routes

Joe Wilmot, President/CEO of Pool Trader

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