Through the years I've made a few really good contacts in the pool industry here in Hawaii. This includes a partnership with a man named Aaron.  Aaron has been amazing me with some of the quotes he has been giving my customers.


If you are thinking of plastering or re-plastering your pool, consider tiling it. Aaron has been giving some of my customers quotes for tiling that rival quotes for re-plastering.  We all know tiling is superior to plaster.  One company here starts their re-plastering off around 10k.  Imagine getting some awesome tile for that or less!  Yeah, that just happened.


If you're also considering dropping in stone work on your deck or getting rid of that nasty futurastone, this guy's got your back.  His bid will surprise you.


Contact us now to get a bid on your tile or stone work in your pool or on your deck.  It could be cheaper then you think.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act is a law that became active on December 19th, 2008 and requires public pools to comply with certain anti-entrapment and anti-evisceration standards laid out in the ANSI/ASME A112.19.8 (2007) standard or any successor standard (currently ANSI/APSP 16-2011) for any suction outlet in a pool. The act says all “Public” Pools and Spas, but, I believe these safety procedures should be taken in all Pools and Spas, especially if you have child bathers.  So, don’t just turn a blind eye if your home owner with a pool. Read on.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB or P&SS Act) was named after a 7 year old girl who lost her life to drowning from entrapment in a spa drain.  Her mother, Mrs. Nancy Baker was unable to free her from the main drain.  It took 2 men to pull so hard as to break the main drain cover to free the young girl. By then, it was already too late.  Mrs. Nancy Baker and her family took to action to create a law to prevent this from happening to other young children by requiring safety measures to be taken in pools that required it.  In the past 6 years, who knows how many lives this has saved.

This law requires all public or commercial pools to adhere to the safety laws as well as all main drain covers that will be made or sold in the United States to comply with certain safety standards.  The law states that public pool and spa owners or operators need to be VGB compliant.  This means that all suction outlets and main drain covers need to be VGB compliant.  If the pool only has a single main drain that isn’t an unblockable suction outlet then the pool needs a secondary anti-entrapment system or device.

VGB compliant main drain covers have been in production since 2008. Now, every main drain cover that is to be manufactured or sold in the United States needs to meet the safety standards.  While each main drain cover adheres to the VGB standard, each one can be different.  The main drain covers only last a finite amount of time.  For example, the 10” Aquastars I like to put in have a 5 year life span.  That means to remain VGB compliant the main drain must be replaced every 5 years.  This is due to erosion and wear and tear from being in the sun and a chlorinated pool. It is a small cost to install a VGB compliant main drain cover and it can save lives and reduce your liability in both public and residential pools.

Public Pools or Spas with a single main drain that isn’t an unblockable main drain are required to have a secondary device or system to prevent entrapment and evisceration.  This secondary device or system can be any of the following.

1. eliminating the drain or reversing the flow
   
   
2. adding a second, properly spaced outlet
   
   
3. installing an SVRS (safety vacuum release system)
   
   
4. installing an automatic pump shut-off system
   
   
5. installing a suction limiting vent system
   
   
6. adding a gravity drainage system
   
   

One of the cheapest ways of adding a secondary system is replace your pool pump with a variable speed pool pump with SVRS. I say this is the cheapest because replacing your regular pump with a variable speed pump with SVRS can not only give you a reverse of water flow when a suction block occurs, but it can save you a ton of money in operating costs without major construction and a relatively low upfront investment.   All major pump manufactures offer a SVRS option on their variable speed pumps.  Better safe than sorry.

In short, all public or commercial pools need to have a VGB compliant main drain cover and (sometimes) a secondary safety device or system.  But that shouldn’t stop any residential customers from upgrading their system to one that can isn’t so dangerous. Follow the link below to find out more information about pool safety and the Virginia Graeme Baker Act.

http://www.poolsafely.gov/

I finally did it.  I “bit the bullet” and got myself a Hammerhead Vacuum.  I spent over 2k and it sucks!  It sucks really, really hard.  So hard in fact, that you can see it sucking leaves and debris from outside the vac head unit.  So hard in fact, that when you turn it on, it sticks to the bottom of the pool.  So hard in fact, that my arms are getting ripped from using it (OK, maybe not).  You get the gist of it.  I feel that it is safe to say that this vacuum has changed my company and the way I service pools.  Now I’m spoiled.  Here we go again…

                I picked up this Hammerhead Vac from SCP on Oahu by the airport.  In total, I think I spent about $2400.00 for the unit, marine battery, battery charger, hitch lock, and hitch receiver for my truck.  It was a pretty big investment for me, especially for something I could do without.  In fact, I have been NOT using it for years.  I spent the extra coin and got the unit with the kart.  My thoughts were that I didn’t want to carry around my bucket, pole, net, Hammerhead unit, cable, and heavy battery in and out of all my pools.  That could be 60 lbs plus.  Although that’s doable, it’s not my first choice. That decision will haunt me later as that Kart is big and can be a pain in the butt to get in and out of some pools… and sometimes impossible.

                I have a pool where the access is just to the left of house where there is about 1.5 feet between a rock wall and the house and severely downhill.  The Hammerhead kart will not make it.  There is also no way of taking off the kart without screwing something up.  This pool sure could use it but I can’t get it there.  That’s one problem of the kart. 

I have another pool where its 3 stories down from the garage where I park to the pool.  On this particular pool, I “man up.”  I drag this thing up and down 3 stories just so I don’t have to use my conventional 21” vac head hooked up the skimmer.  This particular pool gets a lot of debris.  Large leaves and palm frowns littler the rough stained plaster floor.  This pool is what the Hammerhead Vac was made for, a lot of large debris.  Using this vacuum has cut my cleaning time down about 30%.  I no longer have to net up the large debris before I vacuum.  I just brush, so all the debris comes together, and then I vacuum.  Although it’s tough, I “man up” and use the Hammerhead.  The two examples above make NOT getting the kart a good idea.  But, not all my pools are like this.

Because this vacuum is so efficient and picks up large debris, I find myself using it on almost all the pools I need to vacuum.  The majority of them are easy to wheel the kart to so that’s not an issue.  I use it because of the debris that gets in all my pools.  There are 2 particular kinds of debris that’s tough to vacuum up.  If you are a pool guy in Hawaii then you’re familiar with palm flowers and buganvillia.  When the palms drop their flowers and the tradewinds blow the buganvillia flowers into the pool, they can be very tough the pickup with the conventional vacuum head.  So tough, in fact, that I found it’s faster to scoop them up with a net then to vacuum them. The Hammerhead Vac sucks it up no problem.  I no longer have to spend the extra 10 – 15 minutes scooping up debris; the Hammerhead does it for me.

The Hammerhead Vac really helps me to clean my pools faster.  This means I can get in more pools in a day.  It’s kind of like working smarter not harder.  Although it can be tough to get the kart in and out of some pools and it’s not cheap, it’s worth the effort and every penny.   Check out some of the before and after.  That happens on a weekly basis.  Nuff said.

If your a Pool Service Professional and you DON'T have one... The clock is ticking.

When servicing pools it’s import to have a process down.  A process can help automate the movements on servicing a pool so the technician doesn’t forget or miss certain steps.  With that being said, every pool is different and every pool may require a different process and that process may change from week to week.  With all my pools I grow into a normal process or procedure of the weekly services performed on that pool.   

Without going into detail about each different process, I will just highlight my process for pool that has a lot of debris or leaves.

1.  When I first walk into a client’s backyard, I immediately look at the overall condition of the pool.  The “condition” of the pool depends on various attributes.  I ask myself questions pertaining to the attributes.
   
   
   1. Is the pool water level too low or too high?
      
      
      1. If the water level is too low, I will turn on the fill line or put a garden hose in the pool so I can fill it up the entire time I’m servicing.  If I start filling the pool with water, I drop my truck keys near the water source.  This is so that I don’t forget the turn the water off when I leave and the pool overflows causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to the property that I am liable for.
         
         
      2. If the water level is too high, maybe this is a great opportunity for me to backwash the filter, or “vac to waste.”
         
         
   2. How does the water look?
      
      
      1. Is the water clear, cloudy, green?  Does it sparkle like it’s supposed to?  Is it better or worse than last week?
         
         
         1. Although no technician can tell you what’s going on chemically just by looking at the water (without testing), it gives me an overall feel for how the pool is doing and can help determine what chemicals I would add later.
            
            
   3. How much debris is in the pool?  What kind of debris is it?
      
      
      1. The amount and type of debris in the pool can change the servicing process.
         
         
         1. More large leaves may require more scooping with the net while dirt and smaller debris could be handled by vacuuming.
            
            
         2. Or, we may not even need to vacuum at all.
            
            
   4. Is the pump on? If the equipment is not on, should it be?
      
      
      1. If the equipment is not on, should it be?
         
         
2. If the equipment is not on and the timer hasn’t clicked on yet, I’ll turn it on or put it on “Quick Clean”.
   
   
3.  Now that we have water circulating I will immediately brush the walls. 
   
   
   1. This will loosen all the dirt and debris that can get stuck to the sides of the pool.  It will also push out all the floating debris that is stuck to the tile line of the pool.  I do this first for several reasons.  I want to stir everything up first.  I find that if I net, or skim, the surface of the pool with a net and then brush, I will always have to go back to the net.  There will always be something stuck to the walls that I missed.  Also, while this stirs up all the leaves, sticks, and debris, it is also bunching them together while getting them out of the corners of the pool.  This makes it easier and faster to vacuum up later.
      
      
4. After brushing I usually squeeze a bit of tile soap down the middle of the pool.
   
   
   1. This does a few things.  First, it will push a lot of the debris towards the sides of the pool making it easier and faster to skim up.
      
      
   2. Second, it will smooth out the surface of the water.  This helps for seeing what’s at the bottom of the pool.  Usually, in the middle of the day, the water is sparking so much that it can cause a glare that hinders the view to the bottom of the pool
      
      
   3. Lastly, sometimes it smells good.  I like that.
      
      
5. Now, I will usually net or skim the surface of the water with an oversized net.  The larger net makes it faster to cover a larger area of the pool surface.
   
   
6. When I have gotten all the floating debris in the pool skimmed out, I will take chemical levels.  This gives the debris a little more time to settle.
   
   
   1. I check pH and chlorine levels on all visits.
      
      
   2. Things like Alkalinity or CYA don’t need to be checked every time.  These don’t fluctuate as much in a short amount of time.  Once every quarter or so I have found to be a good balance between checking and over checking.
      
      
7. After I have tested the chemical levels, it’s time to vacuum. Sometimes another squeeze of diluted tile soap is necessary. 
   
   
   1. Most of the time I vacuum I use the Hammerhead vac.  One of the best investments I have made for my business.  It’s large and powerful.  It can pick up leaves and debris larger than any other vac head out there and it doesn’t put all that debris in underground plumbing lines.  But, it won’t pick up fine dirt.  It will just mix it around the water.
      
      
   2. If you don’t have a Hammerhead vac, now would be a good time to scoop up all the larger debris that will be tough to vacuum with a conventional style vac head that attaches to a skimmer and then vacuum with the vac head.
      
      
8. By now the pool is most likely looking a lot better.  The walls have been brushed and everything on the floor has been vacuumed up.  I take this time to pin point any debris that has been missed. I’ll scoop or skim them up with the net.
   
   
9. After all that, I empty the baskets. These include the skimmer baskets, pump basket and any auto cleaner catch net or basket.
   
   
10. Next, I will fill the chlorinator or floater with tabs.
    
    
11. Then, I’ll put in a cap full of yellowtrine.  This helps prevent mustard algae and really makes the water sparkle and shine.
    
    
12. When that’s all said and done, I’ll clean up my mess and put it all back in my truck.  This is when I will also grab scoops of whatever chemicals I need to adjust the pH, shock, remove phosphates or clear up the water.
    
    
13. Finally, I will jump back in my truck and pick up my cell phone.  Here I enter and document all the services and chemical levels from the weekly service in the Pool Service Log.  This helps me keep track of everything and also gives the client a database to check to see what services were performed on what day and at what time.  At this time, I am the only one in Hawaii that uses this tool.  I actually get a lot of good responses from customers about this and have even won bids for service because of it.  It takes less than a minute and has many benefits.
    
    

There's more then one way to skin a cat, and that was my generic process for servicing leafy and debris filled pools.  In other pools the process can vary.  Sometimes I vacuum first and others not at all.  It all depends on the pool and the condition that it’s in.  A regular process for a pool can really help cut down the time on servicing while hitting all the services that need to be performed.