Pool boy advise

[Summoner12]

I am not sure if this is the place, but going to see if this fits in here.

i posted this in the 'what you did to your pool' thread. Would like some insight so posting in its own thread.

The other day I spoke to my pool guy for the first time. Background, he's paid by the home owner of the house I am renting. I'd like to get rid of him. What are your thoughts?

I left him a note to call my wife or I before he added any chemicals. He called us both and left messages with irritated tone saying 'well i was told to call you, so here I am calling you...' I called back and got the VM right away. So I left him a nice VM asking him to not add any chemicals, that I had drained the pool a bit to lower the CYA and that I don't want him adding in the chlorine tablets. After the VM he started to text me.






Mind you, the pool does not have a overflow drain hole on it's side. So filling the pool until it overflows as a method of lowering the CYA would mean the pool drains over the side of the pool. My boss has had two pools built in his two previous homes. He said NEVER DRAIN OVER THE SIDE. So hearing this from a pool guys seems like he isn't too smart.

He never replied to my last questions.

I am looking to figure out who pays this guy to come, and convince them he's not worth the money.

my other issue is that the pool isn't even clean. Maybe he is paid to only add chemicals. But the pool has tons of silt on the bottom. I should try brushing in the am while the pump is on to stir up the silt and hope the skimmer pulls it in.

 

[Patrick_B]

Re: Pool boy sdvice

This is a better place for it for sure, so I will remove it from my thread. Glad you started a new one, so thank you.

You will have to get with the property owner on this, and convince them you'll do better. That would be my advice.

 

[nlindelldc]

Re: Pool boy sdvice

This is a better place for it for sure, so I will remove it from my thread. Glad you started a new one, so thank you.

You will have to get with the property owner on this, and convince them you'll do better. That would be my advice.

I agree with this. If you take over taking care of the pool maybe he'll give you a break on rent or flat out pay you what he was paying the pool boy.

 

[ewkearns]

Re: Pool boy sdvice

Where do you buy Ceramic Acid?

 

[needsajet]

Re: Pool boy sdvice

It sounds like he's accountable to the homeowner, so the pool tech is caught in the middle. Chances are that he would prefer using his own methods and having the final say. Sounds to me like you would need to talk it over with your landlord before mixing methods. Lots of landlords in that situation have ended up with messed up pools, which is why they use a pool service.

It might be possible to make friends with him and gain his trust. If he saw that he would be spending less on chemicals, and still getting paid by the landlord, he would be ahead of the game. If you're trying to get rid of him, I doubt this would work!

Cheers

 

[ewkearns]

Re: Pool boy sdvice

Needsajet, I truly see your point and I agree, but from another perspective, the renter is a bit in the middle, too. I'm not sure I would want to swim in the rented pond maintained by this pool boy. He apparently doesn't know the vernacular of pool chemistry, the OP reports that the pool is dirty, PB has a bit of a surly attitude, and then there is the red herring of popping plaster. I would hope that the homeowner would appreciate a heads-up on the quality of service they are getting for their money. Hopefully, there is a happy resolution......

 

[needsajet]

Re: Pool boy sdvice

Yep, I agree, ewkearns. All three including the landlord are potentially caught in the middle. Talking to the landlord might at least pin down who's responsible for what.

 

[Summoner12]

Re: Pool boy sdvice

I wonder why he is so concerned with the plaster popping. I mean, really? the pool is shot because the plaster got exposed to air? Our weather has been cloudy and cold. When the plaster was exposed it was mostly night time.

Does plaster fail that easily? Or is this just a scare tactic?

And really, overflowing a pool is something he'd actually consider? Is the fear of floating the pool worse than exposed plaster?

My plan is to try and get the guy to leave the tablets out, and if he has fears, I'll add over the weekends between visits. BUT the pool doesn't get cleaned. I mean, maybe the pool guy is only paid to come by and make sure the pool is still there and has chlorine in it?

I don't think I mentioned this, but if this pool guy owns the local pool store with the same name, he has a yelp rating of 3.5 stars with plenty of complaints of poor judgment calls. I think the positive reviews are from friends. Their builds look nice, but the plumbing shown in the photos look iffy.

My main goal is to not have tablets in the water, that's really the heart of my concerns. I don't need more CYA in the pool.

- - - Updated - - -

Where do you buy Ceramic Acid?

I was trying to figure out if that was an iPhone autocorrect or if that's what he really meant?!

 

[Patrick_B]

Re: Pool boy sdvice

You'll find when the opposite should be true that many Pool "Pros" haven't near the knowledge of things they should have. It's dowright staggering at times, and we see it over and over every single year. I think his claims on the plaster popping are grossly exaggerated at the least. As for his comments on Ceramic acid, well I would not be surprised if he meant to write that. Ultimately, this isn't your pool, and I would again encourage you to work with the property owner. I suppose you could remove the pucks and manage the pool on your own as we all do, but I'd want clearance with the owner first if it were me. Putting myself in his position, I'd certainly want the tenant to contact me about this first without question.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Pool boy sdvice

I've been following this thread but I'm a little confused about something - what is you contractual obligation as the renter in terms of pool care? Does the homeowner expect you to pay for upkeep in any way? Are you supposed to report issues to the homeowner or directly to the pool service company?

At the end of the day, as others have said, this is not your home or your pool. It's nice that you've taken such a keen interest in the pool's care BUT it is not your place to decide how the pool is cared for and you open yourself up to charges of liability if you fiddle around with the pool yourself. Just as its not your place to fix a broken water heater, the same goes with the pool (unless there's something in the lease that says you have to).

Maybe the homeowner will be receptive to your overtures of assisting with the pool's care; maybe he just wants you to stay out of it and leave it to the service company. Either way, the first step here is talking to the homeowner and to hold off on doing anything on your own.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Re: Pool boy sdvice

It's hard because I'm not sure I'd want to swim in a pool that's infrequently dosed by this guy as his only goal seems to be to keep it from going green but not actually maintain it.

I think you need to leave it alone and straighten out who's in charge of it's care. You can always try to get the owner to OK you taking over and the pool guy can come by and check to make sure it looks/tests OK so the owner's protected. You just want it clear (better in writing) that you are responsible for water chemistry, chemistry only and not physical maint or repairs and you get notified before the pool guy adds anything.

Do you have a test kit and have you been testing to make sure the chlorine level is high enough to keep the pool sanitary so it's safe for you and your family ?? Safe water and "clear" water may look alike but are worlds apart. It doesn't have to be green to be "dirty".

 

[Summoner12]

Re: Pool boy sdvice

It's hard because I'm not sure I'd want to swim in a pool that's infrequently dosed by this guy as his only goal seems to be to keep it from going green but not actually maintain it.

I think you need to leave it alone and straighten out who's in charge of it's care. You can always try to get the owner to OK you taking over and the pool guy can come by and check to make sure it looks/tests OK so the owner's protected. You just want it clear (better in writing) that you are responsible for water chemistry, chemistry only and not physical maint or repairs and you get notified before the pool guy adds anything.

Do you have a test kit and have you been testing to make sure the chlorine level is high enough to keep the pool sanitary so it's safe for you and your family ?? Safe water and "clear" water may look alike but are worlds apart. It doesn't have to be green to be "dirty".

I do have a test kit. I have the bleach and acid as well. I am ready for battle! haha.

I like your idea though, pool guy comes and checks in so the home owner is secure, but doesn't add anything. I think this is to his advantage. Just come by, see it's OK, don't spend money on chem and just sign off, see ya.