Funny discussion with a pool place rep ...

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Cain

Cain

0
Aug 27, 2015
95
West Fargo, ND
So at a local get together a pool company had some above ground pools setup as well as hot tubs. My pool brand was featured there so I figured I'd ask some questions to see what parts they have.

They funny part that came up was when the discussion turned to pool chemistry that the sales rep brought up on his own.

When he asked "So, what chemicals do you use?". Trying to pay attention to one of my kids I ended up just saying the laymen's term.

"Bleach" was my response which he gave a confused look and then explained just liquid chlorine.

I mentioned this website as where I got great info on the methods I use and then mentioned how it really helped the issues I inherited.

He then went on to mentioned how they have these "sticks" that clear the pool right up and they never had the change the water which I thought was a bit odd as this was a big pool they brought to the gathering.

I then politely asked:

"So, how are the stabilizer levels with those sticks, does it raise it at all overtime so you need even more to keep the levels and chlorination correct?"

He gave me this really confused look and then I explained based on what I had been reading, and that I could be wrong, but how over time you need more and more chlorine to get the proper chlorination of the pool.

He gave me this odd look and then said before leaving abruptly (and seeming upset):

"Well, you know more about pool chemistry than I do"

After getting my kids from a group they were playing with, it felt a bit ironic that this was the response especially where I started with the pool and how if I had followed the "sticks" method he was using, that my pool water quality would have been done right now, pronto.

It really gave me an appreciation for this site beyond what I already have with is immense.

Thanks again everyone here!
 
Cain, with that kind of advice coming from a professional, I am really curious about how laymen who just use tri-chlor all the time don't have perpetually green pool water after a month or so. Was thinking about starting a separate thread about how people get away with it.

Top hare-brained theory so far: the tri-chlor folks splash enough water out of their above-ground pools with enough frequency to keep the CYA level from raising quite so fast. Swimming season down here is a good five months (six if you can take coldish water), and most people drain down in the fall. I'm not sure if the math works with all that tri-chlor over all that time minus splash-out water = workable CYA levels. We have wet summers down here, too -- maybe frequent rain helps with the pool water dilution, helping slow the rise in CYA levels?
 
bordelond said:
Cain, with that kind of advice coming from a professional, I am really curious about how laymen who just use tri-chlor all the time don't have perpetually green pool water after a month or so. Was thinking about starting a separate thread about how people get away with it.

Top hare-brained theory so far: the tri-chlor folks splash enough water out of their above-ground pools with enough frequency to keep the CYA level from raising quite so fast. Swimming season down here is a good five months (six if you can take coldish water), and most people drain down in the fall. I'm not sure if the math works with all that tri-chlor over all that time minus splash-out water = workable CYA levels. We have wet summers down here, too -- maybe frequent rain helps with the pool water dilution, helping slow the rise in CYA levels?
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There are many locations that work for "traditional" pool store pool care. Many colder climates require removal of a huge amount of water each year to winterize, so there is their water exchange. many of these folks start getting algae at the end of the swim season and don't understand why. They just accept it as the cost of owning a pool.

Unfortunately the pool industry has evolved into sales by scare tactics, misdirection, misinformation and marketing hype. Go in to the store and tell them your TA is low and they are going to sell you baking soda in a fancy package at four times the cost of WalMart. Do they have a right to make a profit, yes - but lets be reasonable. Heck, even their definition of "low" can many times put you on a pH roller coaster that's hard to get off of. Is that lack of knowledge or a sales technique to sell you more chemicals to control your pH????

What the industry does not understand is that the internet is changing the industry. My favorite story is about my pool light. When I bought the house with the pool along with high CYA my pool light was not working. I could get a new bulb from Amazon for $19, but heck I'm part of that immediate gratification society as much as the next guy. I went down to the local pool store and there was the same bulb, $39. I talked with the manager. I didn't want them to match the price, they have to keep the lights on - just be a little more reasonable. The manager gave me two choices, take it or leave it.
 
Bordelond

It takes longer than a month or two. What else that happens is that someone uses them for a continual source, and is unaware of side effects. At some point down the road, when the pool goes south and grows Algae, it gets extremely difficult to kill and overcome because the stabilizer level has gotten so high. They kill some, or all of it, sometimes over and over, and over, but always have it return, or have the pool go swampy again. So many of the owners that arrive here have been stuck on this merry go round, often for years, only to discover exactly why after they arrive on the forum. This is probably one of the most common scenarios we see repeated here season after season. Once you understand, it's a very simple and easy solution to avoid the problem. As always, it goes back to knowledge and understanding, coupled with proper testing and balancing.
 
Patrick_B said:
Amazing more still, that even these people don't educate themselves with all the information right at their fingertips.
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I know oftentimes these are summer jobs for younger people and maybe I'm too far removed from that stage of my career, but I'm amazed that people in positions to give advice don't do more research on the area they are giving advice on

Even if you are given a script as to what to say, I would like to think even as a teenager I would have reasearchrd on my own so what I was recommending made sense to me. A simple google search on pool care would ultimately lead you to know about this method, even if you and your company don't recommend it to customers.
 
spinPHD said:
I know oftentimes these are summer jobs for younger people and maybe I'm too far removed from that stage of my career, but I'm amazed that people in positions to give advice don't do more research on the area they are giving advice on

Even if you are given a script as to what to say, I would like to think even as a teenager I would have reasearchrd on my own so what I was recommending made sense to me. A simple google search on pool care would ultimately lead you to know about this method, even if you and your company don't recommend it to customers.
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spin, you sound like my kind of person! I question everything! The whats and whys. How does it work? What does it do? What happens when? etc. BUT I will tell you that most people do not :( They take what is said at face value. Be it about a pool, a car, a pet, OR their health. It is kind of scary to me when I hear what some people say their doctor has told them and they believed and followed it without question. NOPE! Just NOPE!

Kim:kim:
 

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kimkats said:
spin, you sound like my kind of person! I question everything! The whats and whys. How does it work? What does it do? What happens when? etc. BUT I will tell you that most people do not :( They take what is said at face value. Be it about a pool, a car, a pet, OR their health. It is kind of scary to me when I hear what some people say their doctor has told them and they believed and followed it without question. NOPE! Just NOPE!

Kim:kim:
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Funny thing Kim, I questioned this site and method when I came across it. So I googled such things as: "controversy of BBB method", "side effects of using bleach for pool", "why TFPC is wrong." The only complaint I saw was one person complaining on another forum that they got banned because they promoted some ozone thing. Even there, people were jumping to this sites defense.
 
spinPHD said:
Funny thing Kim, I questioned this site and method when I came across it. So I googled such things as: "controversy of BBB method", "side effects of using bleach for pool", "why TFPC is wrong." The only complaint I saw was one person complaining on another forum that they got banned because they promoted some ozone thing. Even there, people were jumping to this sites defense.
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I saw that not long ago. That lady worked for a company that sold ozone systems. It was ridiculous. My first little intex pool was a mess because I didn't understand any of the relationships between what went in the pool, and why. When I bought our house with the big boy in the ground, I knew I had to get it right, and that's when I saw the light.
 
spinPHD said:
Funny thing Kim, I questioned this site and method when I came across it. So I googled such things as: "controversy of BBB method", "side effects of using bleach for pool", "why TFPC is wrong." The only complaint I saw was one person complaining on another forum that they got banned because they promoted some ozone thing. Even there, people were jumping to this sites defense.
Click to expand...

I know that person, but not personally. She owns her own pool company. We only met once.
 
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