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Your total alkalinity is 100 ppm. So is the pool next door’s. Why does one keep climbing in pH while the other takes a dive when you add alum?

On this Floc-It Friday, Rudy Stankowitz breaks down what’s behind that number on your test kit. He runs through a pool with 100 ppm total alkalinity and 100 ppm cyanuric acid, shows how the one-third shortcut changes the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) calculation, and explains where that shortcut can get you in trouble. Then he takes it back to the equipment pad with a pool whose pH keeps creeping up, an acid dose, and an alum treatment.

Rudy opens with a thank-you to Olga Welch at Rutgers University for a letter about his years teaching pool water quality. He also reads past the headline on Haviland’s announced $26 million Indiana facility and gets to the questions that matter when chemicals are included in your monthly service rate. Will it handle the products you buy? Will it change what’s available? What will you actually pay?

And in Hudson, Florida, two pickups roll onto a jobsite with a championship belt for John Poma, the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast Pool Industry Mentor of the Year. Rudy tells the story of the surprise and shares how John handles a late-night call about a plaster problem. He asks what you saw, what you checked, and what you think it means. The next time you see it, you know where to start.

Chapters

• 00:01 A letter from Rutgers and a thank-you to Olga Welch
• 00:38 Haviland’s $26 million announcement and what to ask your supplier
• 03:28 What your total alkalinity test actually measures
• 07:59 The 100 ppm example, the LSI calculation, and rising pH
• 11:48 John Poma’s surprise championship belt reveal
• 13:24 The mentor who shaped John’s approach and how the award was decided
• 19:01 The limits of the one-third CYA shortcut and what happens when you add acid
• 24:21 Alum, alkalinity demand, and why starting pH only tells you part of the story

Got a water chemistry question you’d like Rudy to tackle on Floc-It Friday? Email [email protected].

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A pool tech shocks a public pool, pulls out a test kit, and holds up a yellow chlorine sample for the camera. Wayne sees the clip and has one question. What did you actually measure?

With Steve traveling, Wayne takes the mic solo for Thursdays with Steve and Wayne. He uses that clip to get into the difference between free, combined, and total chlorine, what to look for in a test kit, and how glare and subtle shades of pink can make a simple color match harder than it sounds. Then he walks through the FAS-DPD drop test, including what to look for when the sample turns pink a second time.

Wayne also congratulates John Poma, the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast Pool Industry Mentor of the Year, and shares what it was like to score the nominations with the names removed.

In the Insurance Interlude, Steve Sherwood and Pat Grignon of the California Pool Association talk directors and officers insurance, crisis management, and the question every business partnership eventually has to answer. What happens when one of you wants out?

Chapters

• 00:01 Wayne flies solo from Maryland
• 01:15 John Poma named 2026 Pool Industry Mentor of the Year
• 06:02 The public pool test that set Wayne off
• 07:03 Free vs. total chlorine, DPD color matching, and FAS-DPD
• 17:42 Counting drops and checking for combined chlorine
• 22:28 Breakpoint chlorination and a quick detour into test strips
• 33:23 Insurance Interlude with Steve Sherwood and Pat Grignon
• 40:20 Directors and officers insurance and crisis management
• 50:46 Business partnerships, buyouts, and exit plans

Got a poolside testing question or a topic you want Wayne and Steve to tackle? Email [email protected].

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Talking Pools Podcast | Myth-Busting Wednesday with Natalie Hood

If you lose $3 every time you service a pool, what happens when you add 50 more to the route? Dan Lenz has a few things to say about that.

This week, Natalie Hood calls in the pool industry’s Batman. Dan explains how a two-week summer job breaking concrete turned into nearly four decades in the pool business and how a Polaris Slingshot earned him the nickname. Then they get into the stuff that can cost a pool company real money: assuming an inspection tells the whole story, matching a competitor’s rates without knowing your own costs, and mistaking a packed schedule for a profitable one.

Dan shares how he stretched a short Chicago pool season, why a clear quote and a firm appointment can win a job, and what happens when a tech takes the time to tell a customer their heater is on its last legs before it quits. And yes, Batman gets his own song.

In this episode

• What a passing inspection tells you and where engineering, installation practices, and workmanship come into play
• How to set service prices around your own costs and explain what customers get for the money
• How to spread out seasonal bookings and use the slower months to train your crew
• Why a clear price, a firm date, and a returned call can matter more to a customer than the lowest bid
• How documenting what you see on a service call helps customers plan for future repairs
• How to tell whether more pools, more equipment sales, or more hours are actually improving your bottom line

Chapters

• 00:00 — Natalie tees up the myths
• 02:56 — How Dan Lenz became Batman
• 04:40 — The two-week pool job that turned into a career
• 08:38 — Does passing inspection mean the pool was built well?
• 16:55 — The race to the bottom on pricing
• 19:29 — Giving customers a reason to buy from you
• 23:25 — Making the most of a short pool season
• 28:41 — Off-season training and getting your crew to trade shows
• 31:54 — What customers value when they call for service
• 37:12 — Bat Dan gets a theme song
• 39:19 — How communication keeps customers coming back
• 42:45 — What a tech can spot beyond the original service call
• 50:39 — More sales, more stops, more profit?
• 55:31 — Dan’s advice for techs, builders, and business owners

Follow Talking Pools Podcast for more Myth-Busting Wednesday with Natalie Hood.

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A stained pool gets the phone ringing. Knowing whether it needs a wash or a complete resurface is where the experience comes in.

This week on Tru in the Loop, Truman sits down with Mike from Stay Fresh Pools and Dope Boy Pools in Arizona’s East Valley for a frank conversation about chemical washing, customer expectations, and building a pool business that actually pays.

Mike walks through how his company evaluates pool interiors, why he puts his service customers on a two-year drain schedule, and how his washing process has changed over the years. He discusses his experience with Pool Wash, bicarbonate baths, and MicroGlass, while Truman asks how those services fit into ongoing pool care.

Then the conversation turns to the money. Included filter cleanings. Chemical costs. Hiring technicians. Customers who say no. And the expensive lesson that a full route doesn’t necessarily mean a profitable business.

In This Episode

• Chemical wash or resurface? How Mike evaluates a pool before recommending the work.
• Arizona versus Florida: Different markets, maintenance practices, and customer expectations.
• Mike’s washing process: His approach to Pool Wash, bicarbonate baths, and MicroGlass.
• Customer education: Explaining the scope and price of a service.
• The cost of callbacks: Why Mike makes reducing return visits a business priority.
• Pricing for growth: Charging enough to support employees and build careers.
• Filter-cleaning economics: Truman examines the unpaid time hiding in his service rate.
• Industry education: Manufacturer relationships, formal training, and field experience.
• Entrepreneurship: Finding room for family when the business follows you home.

Episode Chapters

00:00 — Truman introduces chemical washing
01:46 — Meet Mike from Stay Fresh Pools
02:57 — What is a chemical wash?
04:45 — Mike’s two-year drain policy
06:31 — Bicarbonate baths in Mike’s process
08:25 — Evaluating an interior: wash or resurface?
09:54 — Stain treatments and Pool Wash
12:16 — How Mike’s washing methods evolved
14:24 — Discussing MicroGlass
17:05 — Communicating value and reducing callbacks
18:44 — Truman questions the chemical-use argument
22:24 — Discussing LSI and scale
23:53 — Business tip: set your standards and your price
26:15 — Filter cleanings and service-rate economics
28:36 — Pricing, hiring, and growth
32:07 — Where to find industry education
34:31 — Advice from a mentor
35:45 — Connect with Mike
37:57 — The demands of business ownership
39:04 — Closing thoughts

Connect with the Guest

Find Mike through Stay Fresh Pools and Dope Boy Pools on Instagram, or Mike StayFresh on Facebook.

Sponsor: This episode is brought to you in part by Pool Brain.

Enjoyed the conversation? Follow Talking Pools Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app, and share this episode with another pool professional.

This episode contains explicit language. Product descriptions, treatment claims, and service schedules reflect the guest’s views and practices.

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Talking Pools Podcast | Mondays Down Under

A water test gives you numbers. Knowing what to do with them is where the job starts.

Lee continues the conversation with Chris and Nick about proposed changes to Australian Standard AS 3633—and what those changes could mean for pool technicians, retailers, and commercial operators.

The discussion tackles supplementary treatment systems, hydrogen peroxide, sulfate concerns, commercial pool backwashing, and the complications of testing mineral pools. Nick shares a commercial pool case involving deteriorating grout, while Chris describes a mineral dosing mistake that left a customer facing a major water replacement.

They also examine proposed alkalinity ranges, adjustments to saturation index calculations, and why the pool surface and its warranty deserve a place in every treatment decision. A broad operating range doesn’t tell you where an individual pool belongs within it.

In This Episode

• Proposed chlorine concessions for pools with supplementary treatment systems.
• Hydrogen peroxide and the challenges of managing chlorine residuals.
• Sulfate accumulation concerns associated with ongoing acid use.
• A commercial filtration system limited by its backwash disposal capacity.
• Make-up water allowances and their implications for busy spas.
• Questions about the draft’s TDS guidance for salt and mineral pools.
• Magnesium hardness, calcium testing, and a costly mineral dosing error.
• TDS factors and proposed mineral-pool adjustments in LSI calculations.
• Lower proposed alkalinity limits and the importance of surface warranties.
• Why technicians’ field experience belongs in the standards discussion.

Episode Chapters

00:01 — Supplementary treatment and proposed chlorine concessions
01:32 — Hydrogen peroxide enters the discussion
05:23 — Chlorine removal and the “chlorine overdraft”
07:19 — Mondays Down Under theme
07:56 — Recognizing the industry’s mentors
10:38 — Sponsor: Pool Brain
10:51 — What experienced technicians can teach the industry
11:17 — Sulfates, acid use, and deteriorating grout
14:50 — A commercial pool’s backwashing problem
17:25 — Make-up water and commercial spa turnover
18:33 — Questions about TDS limits in mineral pools
19:57 — Magnesium hardness and misleading test results
23:15 — Hardness parameters and saturation index discussion
29:49 — Proposed lower alkalinity limits
32:36 — Pool surfaces, warranties, and treatment decisions
34:00 — Closing thoughts and listener questions

Discussion context: This conversation concerns a draft standard under review at the time of recording. Several figures and interpretations are expressly flagged by the speakers for further checking; they should not be presented as confirmed requirements.

Episode sponsor: Pool Brain

Have a question or a topic you want the crew to tackle? Email [email protected].

Follow Talking Pools Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

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Talking Pools Podcast | Floc-It Friday with Rudy Stankowitz

If we tell people to do better, we have to leave them somewhere to go when they try.

After several episodes that stirred up the pool industry, Rudy asks a question that includes himself: Can somebody earn our respect after they’ve lost our approval?

From his conversations with Eric Knight to the response surrounding the 14 PSI interviews, Rudy talks about recognizing experience earned through different paths, correcting people without humiliating them, and giving progress a chance without letting anyone off the hook. An announcement isn’t proof of change. What happens in the next difficult interaction matters.

Then the conversation turns to water chemistry. Rudy explains why he teaches a preferred operating pH of 7.2–7.6, looking beyond saturation index and chlorine effectiveness. Drawing on published research and his six years studying swimming pool algae and cyanobacteria, he discusses the factors behind that preference, the limits of the evidence, and why the pool in front of you still requires judgment.

In this episode:

• Recognizing professional growth, even when you disagree with someone.
• Eric Knight, Lauren Broom, and acknowledging the work people put into learning.
• The 14 PSI conversations, accountability, and rebuilding trust through actions.
• Helping new technicians ask questions without regretting it.
• Why Rudy’s preferred pH range considers more than LSI.
• Copper behavior, iron discoloration, and the distinction between precipitation and corrosion.
• Rudy’s algae investigations and the biological communities behind visible growth.
• Why findings about particular cyanobacteria or diatoms need careful interpretation.
• Disinfection byproduct trade-offs and treatment-specific considerations involving coagulation and ozone.
• Making recommendations you can explain, monitor, and adjust.

Episode chapters

00:03 Can people earn back our respect?
01:57 Disagreement, experience, and recognizing effort
03:34 Eric Knight, Lauren Broom, and making room for learning
05:20 The 14 PSI conversations and expectations for change
08:47 Help one person move forward
11:52 Why Rudy prefers a pH of 7.2–7.6
14:02 Iron, discoloration, and upward pH drift
14:52 Algae research, biological complexity, and treatment trade-offs
21:23 Closing thoughts

Chapter times are approximate.

The challenge: Explain something. Share a resource. Give someone credit for improving. If you owe an apology, make it without attaching a closing argument.

Join the conversation: Send questions and feedback to [email protected].

Content note: Explicit language.

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Talking Pools Podcast | Thursdays with Steve & Wayne

You spend hours inspecting a commercial pool, identifying problems, calling suppliers, and building a proposal. Then the customer takes your scope of work to somebody cheaper. Congratulations. You just did their homework for free.

This week, Steve and Wayne tackle the cost of giving away your expertise and the uncomfortable question that comes with it: Should pool professionals charge for commercial site visits and proposals? Steve shares a recent bidding experience, the advice he received from a commercial builder, and why being helpful needs some boundaries.

The guys also discuss screening prospective customers before getting stuck in traffic, pricing difficult pools, setting expectations with homeowners, and making business decisions around three things: time, money, and energy.

Plus, Pat joins the conversation for an insurance discussion about running a business from home, using vehicles for both work and personal errands, and reviewing coverage when your services or route change.

In this episode:

• Chemical handling, protective equipment, and the consequences of getting careless.
• Wayne’s encouragement to get involved in industry committees and local associations.
• How Truman’s pool service story prompted Steve to rethink customer conversations about difficult pools.
• Working with a hotel client to explore a heater schedule and reduce operating costs.
• Screening residential leads with photos and preliminary pricing.
• Questions to ask about personal and business insurance coverage.
• Why selling a route deserves a conversation with your insurance agent.
• The difference between a service proposal and a paid pool inspection.
• Setting limits when “a quick question” becomes an unpaid consultation.
• Paying employees for added responsibility and accounting for time spent sourcing expensive equipment.

Episode chapters

00:01 Chemical handling and liability
03:21 Getting involved in the pool industry
05:13 Learning from other Talking Pools hosts
05:53 Difficult pools, pricing, and customer expectations
09:00 Time, money, energy, and a hotel heater project
12:30 Screening leads before making the drive
16:30 Insurance questions with Pat
31:25 When proposals become free consulting
39:21 Inspections, professional boundaries, and client relationships
45:28 Rudy and Eric Knight’s three-part conversation
46:54 Productivity, employee incentives, and equipment sourcing

Chapter times are approximate.

We want to hear from you: Do you charge for commercial site visits or proposals? Do you credit that fee toward the work if the customer hires you? Send your experience to [email protected].

Also mentioned: Rudy Stankowitz and Eric Knight’s three-part discussion, with two installments on Rule Your Pool and one on Talking Pools.

Content note: Explicit language.

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That vacation rental has a hot tub. Great. When did somebody last test the water?

Natalie Hood welcomes microbiologist Dr. Roy Vore back to the Talking Pools Podcast for part two of their hot tub myth-busting conversation. This time, they get into the plumbing, the maintenance shortcuts, and the uncomfortable questions every service professional and vacation rental owner should be asking.

Roy discusses biofilm management, the limits of shocking, and why he considers once-a-week service inadequate for busy vacation rental hot tubs. Natalie also asks the question guaranteed to settle an argument in somebody’s house: Does sitting in a hot tub count as taking a bath?

Between the laughs, the conversation gets serious about guest safety, operator responsibility, and charging enough to do the job properly.

In this episode:

• Biofilm inside hot tub plumbing and Roy’s approach to purging
• What shocking accomplishes and where its usefulness stops
• Water replacement, bather load, and total dissolved solids
• Showering before soaking and washing swimsuits between uses
• Why Roy calls for daily attention at vacation rental hot tubs
• Pseudomonas, Legionella, and the risks discussed in the episode
• Skin irritation, chloramines, and that familiar “chlorine smell”
• Ozone and bromine compatibility concerns
• Why an unused hot tub still needs maintenance
• Testing, service records, and knowing when to ask for help

Episode chapters

00:00 What’s hiding in the plumbing?
04:40 Biofilm and hot tub purges
07:23 Can you shock your way out of biofilm?
09:11 Water replacement and service expectations
10:32 Does a hot tub count as a bath?
12:35 Showering before soaking
15:20 Wash your swimsuit
19:59 Testing schedules and vacation rental hot tubs
29:21 Skin sensitivity and disinfection byproducts
34:11 Ozone, chlorine, and bromine
35:48 The neglected hot tub myth
38:39 Preparing a hot tub for arriving guests
41:17 Roy’s final advice for service professionals

The takeaway: A hot tub is an amenity that comes with responsibility. Test the water, take the service seriously, and charge for the work it takes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Three raffle entries. One winner. Six months of pool cleaning True wishes he hadn’t given away.

This week on Tru in the Loop, True shares how a holiday giveaway landed him a problem pool with relentless debris and a layout that made every visit a headache. The experience changed what he looks for before quoting a new account.

Then pool builder Adam joins the conversation to explain how his years on a service route shaped the pools he builds today. From equipment access to return placement, Adam builds with the person maintaining the pool in mind. He also shares how he grew from a teenage pool tech into a business owner overseeing construction and roughly 250 service accounts, and why keeping his maintenance route has helped him weather construction’s slower stretches.

Plus, should cleaning algae off the coping be included, charged separately, or handled as goodwill? True weighs the responses and explains why taking care of customers starts with pricing your service correctly.

In this episode:

• Gas Money Monday (Not affiliated with the Talking Pools Podcast) turns one pool pro’s generosity into help for another.
• The giveaway that became six months of unpaid headaches.
• Why True now counts and checks return locations before quoting service.
• Building pools with maintenance and equipment access in mind.
• Adam’s approach to plumbing upgrades and customer expectations.
• Creating distinctive pools with Baja shelves and custom spa finishes.
• Adam’s perspective on contractor credentials, written agreements, and progress payments.
• Knowing when to hire instead of doing everything yourself.
• How recurring service revenue supports a construction business.
• Pricing the little extras without building resentment.
• Setting phone boundaries so work doesn’t follow you everywhere.

A takeaway worth remembering:
“Don’t jump over dollars to pick up dimes.”

This week’s business tip:
Separate your business number from your personal number and establish a cutoff time. Being available to customers shouldn’t mean being on call every waking hour.

Sponsor:
This episode is brought to you in part by Pool Brain, software built to help pool service businesses operate more efficiently.

Listen to Tru in the Loop every Tuesday on the Talking Pools Podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your favorite podcast app.

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Pool equipment has changed. Water testing has changed. So why has Australia’s pool water quality standard taken so long to catch up?

On this episode of Mondays Down Under on the Talking Pools Podcast, Lee Salisbury and Nick welcome Chris Smith from Waterco for a look inside the proposed rewrite of Australian Standard AS 3633.

With 42 years in the industry and a seat on the technical committee, Chris explains how the draft came together, why its scope is expanding beyond private pools, and which proposals are generating debate. The conversation tackles filtration, testing, supplementary sanitizers, and the challenge of creating consistency across state health requirements.

There’s also a question for every pool business owner: Have the people recommending your products actually used them?

In this episode:

• Chris’s journey from building equipment to chemical training and research.
• Why retail staff need hands-on experience with green pool cleanups.
• Reading product labels and catching changes to instructions.
• Expanding AS 3633 to address residential and public pools.
• How working groups, technical review, and public comments shape the draft.
• Australian Standards versus state and local requirements.
• Professional water testing and the tools technicians use.
• Proposed testing frequencies, including total alkalinity.
• Chlorine dioxide and the discussion around supplementary sanitizers.
• Proposed chlorine limits and the practical challenges of heavy bather loads.
• Accounting for cold plunges, warmer water, filtration, and equipment response.

Episode chapters:

00:12 | Welcome to Mondays Down Under
02:14 | Meet Chris Smith: 42 years in the pool industry
07:05 | Research, product trials, and asking why
08:46 | Get your retail staff out into the field
09:58 | Read the label, even when you know the product
12:35 | Why AS 3633 needed a rewrite
18:49 | Expanding the scope to residential and public pools
24:43 | When standards and local requirements differ
28:22 | What counts as professional water testing?
31:23 | Public comments and evidence behind the proposals
33:24 | The alkalinity testing discussion
34:26 | Chlorine dioxide and supplementary sanitizers
44:27 | Proposed combined chlorine limits
45:25 | Temperature ranges, cold plunges, and sanitizer targets
47:23 | Chlorine limits, bather loads, and equipment capacity

About the guest:
Chris Smith of Waterco brings experience across pool equipment, water chemistry, training, and product development. He joins the conversation as a participant in the AS 3633 technical committee.

This episode discusses draft proposals under review at the time of recording. Proposed values should not be treated as final requirements.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Talking Pools for more conversations from across the pool industry.

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