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🚨 Warning: This episode contains intentionally abrasive commentary and strong language. 

Most Talking Pools questions come from pool service professionals. This week, Rudy clears the inbox of questions submitted by pool owners—and provides pool pros with a little emotional support in the process.

Why is the pool consuming so much chlorine? Why did it turn green after the technician left? Should the pump run longer during extreme heat? Why does a saltwater pool still need chlorine? Are chemicals, brushing, filter cleaning, equipment repairs, storm recovery, and emergency duck removal included in the monthly price?

The short answer: read your service agreement, communicate with your pool professional, and remember that weekly service means someone visits once every seven days. It does not mean the technician secretly lives inside the filter, guarding your chlorine around the clock.

Rudy tackles common homeowner questions with practical answers, pool chemistry, and the appropriate amount of profanity. He explains why heat, sunlight, swimmers, storms, landscaping, aging equipment, and a 30-person backyard party can create problems that no technician could prevent during one weekly visit.

Before getting to the pool questions, Rudy also examines gossip, fake intimacy, and the relationship between the “shit talker” and the “shit bucket.” If someone constantly talks to you about everyone else, you are not part of a protected inner circle—you are simply today’s audience and tomorrow’s material.

Topics discussed include:

• Why successful people rarely waste time talking behind your back
• How gossip creates counterfeit intimacy
• The relationship between the shit talker and the shit bucket
• Why chlorine demand increases during extreme heat
• How swimmers, sunscreen, sweat, debris, and sunlight consume chlorine
• Running pool pumps during unusually warm weather
• Why pools become cloudy or green after heavy rain
• Preparing a swimming pool before and after a major storm
• Preventing algae from returning during extreme heat
• Why saltwater chlorine generators sometimes cannot keep up
• How to determine the correct salt-cell output percentage
• Diagnosing a dirty, undersized, or worn-out salt cell
• Why saltwater pools may still require manually added chlorine
• Whether saltwater pools need to be shocked
• The real cost of converting a pool to salt
• Reducing the electrical cost of pool circulation
• What weekly pool service actually means
• Chemicals included with service versus chemicals billed separately
• Whether technicians should provide complete test results
• Brushing schedules and complicated pool designs
• How often filters should be cleaned
• Who is responsible when aging pool equipment fails
• Why specialty chemicals may result in additional charges
• Verifying training, certification, licensing, and insurance
• The difference between maintenance companies and repair companies
• Whether homeowners should expect the same technician every week
• Additional service following storms, parties, equipment failures, and extreme weather
• Temporary treatments versus correcting the underlying cause
• How homeowners can evaluate whether a recommended repair is necessary

Pool owners should ask questions, request readings, review photographs, understand the diagnosis, and learn what their service plan includes. What they should not do is assume one weekly visit creates a protective dome capable of repelling rain, pollen, equipment failure, fertilizer, sunscreen, relatives, and urine.

Have a question for Rudy or the Talking Pools Podcast team? Email [email protected].

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What happens when the people who actually know the product disappear—and customer service becomes a phone tree, a 90-minute hold, or an ordering department that cannot answer a technical question?

This week, Steve Sherwood and Wayne Ivusich examine the decline of accessible technical support across the pool and spa industry. Wayne reflects on his 32 years with Taylor Technologies, where he answered technical questions, developed educational materials, and taught an estimated 45,000 to 50,000 industry professionals. Since Taylor’s acquisition by Fluidra, much of that direct technical access—and even some of Wayne’s educational content—appears to have disappeared.

The conversation expands into a larger industry problem: corporate consolidation may preserve a product name, but it does not necessarily preserve the people, knowledge, or customer relationships that built the brand.

Before that, Steve is joined by Pat from the California Pool Association for the Insurance Interlude. They discuss how installers can protect themselves when equipment works correctly at completion but fails—or gets damaged—months later. Photos, service records, clearly defined warranty terms, and a documented follow-up may be the only things standing between you and somebody else’s blame game.

Topics discussed include:

• Protecting your company after completing equipment installations
• Documenting that equipment was operational when you left
• Why a written follow-up can become valuable evidence
• Distinguishing parts warranties from free labor
• Damage caused by homeowners or subsequent service technicians
• The importance of maintaining complete water-chemistry records
• Wayne’s 32-year career with Taylor Technologies
• What Fluidra’s acquisition of Taylor meant for technical support
• The loss of experienced educators and product specialists
• Steve’s experience waiting 90 minutes for manufacturer assistance
• Why sales representatives have become unofficial technical-support channels
• The value—and danger—of relying on Facebook groups for answers
• Knowing not only what questions to ask, but whom to ask
• Why genuine mentorship teaches people to investigate instead of merely supplying answers
• How Talking Pools can serve as an industry resource when manufacturers cannot

The label may survive an acquisition, but the institutional knowledge does not survive unless somebody deliberately protects it. When the experts disappear, customers are left owning products without reliable access to the people who understand them.

Have a pool, spa, chemistry, equipment, service, or business question you cannot get answered? Email the Talking Pools Podcast team at [email protected].

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Natalie Hood welcomes Eric Knight back to the Talking Pools Podcast to discuss his move from Watershape University to Pool Brain—and what this new role could mean for pool service professionals.

Eric explains how a conversation that began in 2022 eventually developed into an opportunity to combine the work he does best: water chemistry, education, technology, and solving real-world problems for technicians in the field. He also clears up the speculation surrounding his departure from Watershape University. There was no drama, no burned bridge, and no scandal—just an honest recognition of his strengths and an opportunity that better fits how his brain works.

The conversation then turns toward the future of the pool industry. Eric explains why artificial intelligence is unlikely to replace pool technicians, but will increasingly help them make better decisions, optimize routes, train employees, standardize service, and operate more profitable businesses.

Eric also offers an early look at Pool Brain’s vision for automated chemical dosing, guided technician workflows, and “point-of-need education”—giving technicians the information they need while they are standing in front of the pool, instead of making them wait for the next class or trade show.

In This Episode

• Why Eric Knight joined Pool Brain
• How his relationship with Pool Brain began in 2022
• The truth about his departure from Watershape University
• Why recognizing your weaknesses is an important leadership skill
• What Eric is most proud of accomplishing at Watershape
• Why traditional industry education is becoming cost-prohibitive
• How AI will assist pool professionals without replacing field technicians
• Why more displaced white-collar workers are entering the trades
• The story behind the Orenda Calculator and Chemiculator
• How technology can eliminate dangerous chemical-dosing shortcuts
• What automated water-chemistry dosing could mean for service companies
• How guided workflows can improve training, safety, and accountability
• Why technicians need education at the exact moment a problem occurs

This is Part One of Natalie Hood’s conversation with Eric Knight. Tune in next Wednesday for Part Two as they continue discussing his new role at Pool Brain and the technology being developed to support the next generation of pool professionals.

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In the conclusion of our conversation with Lee Moore and Blake, Technical Director at AIS Water, we examine what it takes to make saltwater chlorination work reliably in demanding commercial environments.

Commercial pools cannot be managed by reacting to every change with another drum of chemicals. Like steering a cruise ship, water chemistry requires calculated adjustments, accurate information, and equipment sized for the facility’s actual operating conditions.

The conversation covers the difference between ORP and direct free-available-chlorine measurement, on/off versus proportional chlorinator control, and how properly sized systems respond to sudden increases in bather load. Lee and Blake also explain why some facilities retain liquid or granular chlorine as backup sanitation—even when onsite chlorine generation handles nearly the entire demand.

We also challenge some persistent assumptions about saltwater pools. Modern commercial systems can operate at salt concentrations as low as approximately 950 ppm, opening the door for indoor pools, facilities with natural stone, and other applications where corrosion concerns have discouraged saltwater chlorination.

Finally, we look behind the marketing of “mineral pools.” Magnesium and potassium salts may change how the water feels, but the sanitation still comes from chlorine produced through electrolysis. Minerals do not replace the sanitizer.

Topics discussed include:

•  Why commercial chlorination begins with accurate system sizing 
•  Accounting for sunlight, bather load, turnover, and unusual applications 
•  Why water stability is more important than constant chemical correction 
•  Direct free-chlorine probes versus traditional ORP control 
•  On/off and proportional 4–20 mA chlorinator control 
•  Responding automatically to sudden increases in bather load 
•  Cell operation, reversing cycles, and expected service life 
•  Using liquid or granular chlorine as secondary sanitation 
•  Reducing chemical handling without removing backup infrastructure 
•  Liquid chlorine degradation, declining strength, and chlorate concerns 
•  Commercial chlorination at approximately 950 ppm salt 
•  Saltwater systems for indoor pools and natural-stone environments 
•  What “mineral pool” marketing gets right—and what it leaves out 
•  The roles of magnesium and potassium in swimmer comfort and water appearance 
•  Why mineral pools are still chlorine pools 

If you operate, specify, design, or service commercial aquatic facilities, this episode offers a practical look at building a chlorination system around stability, predictable demand, and intelligent control—not chemical firefighting.

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Profanity does not make someone unprofessional. Confidently spreading bad information does.

In this intentionally abrasive episode of the Talking Pools Podcast, Rudy Stankowitz takes aim at the comment-section experts who diagnose complicated pool problems from one blurry photograph, defend outdated beliefs with “I’ve been doing this for 20 years,” and treat confidence as a substitute for evidence.

BREAKING INDUSTRY NEWS
July’s pool-industry news revealed a market undergoing a serious correction: as reported by Pentair, distributors are aggressively reducing excess equipment inventory; as reported by POOLCORP, essential maintenance and repair demand remains resilient despite weak discretionary spending; as first reported by Bloomberg, Leslie’s was considering strategic options—including a possible Chapter 11 filing—to address its debt; and as reported by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, years of corrosion, inadequate safeguards and nearly 14 million pounds of reactive chemicals contributed to the catastrophic Bio-Lab fire in Conyers. Adding to the industry shake-up, as reported by Pool Brain on August 5, Eric Knight stepped down as executive director of Watershape University to become Pool Brain’s head of education technology, overseeing automated chemical-dosing tools, guided training workflows and point-of-need education for pool professionals. Pool Brain announcement

The Confidently Wrong 

Rudy explains why experience only has value when it remains connected to research, why a correct result does not necessarily prove the explanation behind it, and why professionals must be willing to say, “I don’t know.” He also examines the limits of the Langelier Saturation Index, the risks of oversimplified chemistry advice, and the difference between handing someone an answer and teaching that person how to investigate a problem.

The pool industry does not need to lose its personality, clean up every four-letter word, or turn itself into a room full of corporate robots. It does need people who verify what they say, correct themselves when the evidence changes, and understand that other professionals and customers make real decisions based on the information they share.

The loudest person may get the most attention. The person who consistently does the work earns the trust.

In This Episode

• Why profanity is not a measure of professionalism
• The difference between an opinion and supportable information
• How bad pool chemistry advice can become expensive, dangerous, and public
• Why 20 years in the industry does not automatically equal 20 years of growth
• Experience repeated versus experience examined
• How improved research and instrumentation change what the industry understands
• Why correlation does not prove causation
• The danger of diagnosing pool problems without enough information
• What the Langelier Saturation Index does—and what it cannot tell you
• Why “I don’t know” can be the most professional answer available
• Correcting misinformation without surrendering credibility
• Combining field experience with current science
• Teaching critical thinking instead of creating dependence
• Why trust is worth more than comments, likes, and online attention

Key Takeaways

Experience should be a foundation, not a shield against better information. A professional gathers facts, considers competing explanations, understands the limits of a diagnosis, and changes course when the evidence demands it.

A real mentor does more than provide an answer. A mentor teaches someone what to test, what to rule out, what information matters, and how to reason through the next problem independently.

Profanity backed by accurate information is a voice. Profanity used to disguise ignorance is noise.

2026 Talking Pools Top Ten Pool Industry Mentors

Congratulations to:

• Brandon Reid
• Jeff Hamp
• Chris Kavanaugh
• Tim McDowell
• Lacey Davis
• Jerry Wallace
• John Poma
• Greg Beard
• Terry Tammanin
• Peter Wiederman

These honorees were selected by the hosts of the Talking Pools Podcast for the lasting difference they have made in the lives and careers of pool professionals.

Episode Sponsors 

• BlueRay XL — bluerayxl.com
• Service Industry News — serviceindustrynews.net
• Jack’s Magic — jacksmagic.com
• AquaStar Pool Products

Content Advisory

This episode contains strong language and intentionally abrasive humor.

Connect With Talking Pools

Subscribe to the Talking Pools Podcast wherever you listen, share this episode with a pool professional who values evidence over ego, and follow the show for straight talk, practical education, and pool-industry commentary without the corporate filter.

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This week on Thursdays with Wayne and Steve, the guys take aim at “miracle” pool products, suspiciously cheap equipment, expired test reagents, and the growing number of online knockoffs promising professional results at bargain-basement prices.

Wayne recalls some of the industry’s most memorable gimmicks—including magnets that supposedly made calcium disappear—and explains why words like “miracle cure” should immediately raise a red flag. Steve breaks down how he presents customers with equipment options, why an internet price is not always an apples-to-apples comparison, and what customers give up when they purchase off-brand replacement parts without professional support or a reliable warranty.

During this episode’s Insurance Interlude, Steve and Pat Grenon examine a nightmare renovation in which an unlicensed contractor allegedly left chunks of concrete inside a pool’s plumbing. They discuss the homeowner’s possible options, the limits of homeowners insurance, and why asking to be named as an additional insured may provide valuable protection before a contractor begins work.

Wayne also explains why heavily discounted test kits and reagents may not be the bargain they appear to be. Products sitting in warehouses or clearance bins can be years old, and expired reagents can produce unreliable results—even when the packaging looks perfectly legitimate.

The conversation also covers customer communication, emergency-service pricing, protecting your profit margins, commercial-pool safety failures, and why treating people well remains the most effective marketing strategy in the pool business.

Topics discussed include:

• Spotting “miracle product” scams and deceptive demonstrations
• OEM equipment versus inexpensive aftermarket replacements
• How to explain equipment pricing and warranties to customers
• Why professionals should charge more for emergency and weekend service
• Identifying expired test kits, reagents, and test strips
• The risks of buying unusually cheap chemical-testing products online
• What happens when an unlicensed contractor damages a swimming pool
• Homeowners insurance and contractor-liability claims
• Why additional-insured status matters
• Concrete and construction debris trapped inside pool plumbing
• Developing relationships with reliable leak-detection specialists
• Commercial pools with dangerously low pH and alkalinity
• Cloudy-water problems caused by filtration and operational failures
• Changes within Leslie’s and what pool professionals should watch
• Building trust through honesty, education, and customer service
• Why word-of-mouth remains the strongest form of marketing

The takeaway is simple: read the labels, check expiration dates, compare products carefully, document contractor work, and never assume that the cheapest option is actually the least expensive.

Have a pool-industry scam or questionable product you think Wayne and Steve should investigate? Email the show at [email protected]. If your story is featured, the team may send you a small thank-you gift.

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Cold plunges and ice baths are appearing everywhere—from fitness centers and recovery facilities to wellness clinics, athletic programs, and luxury spas. But colder water does not automatically mean cleaner or safer water.

In this episode of the Talking Pools Podcast, Natalie Hood is joined by Dewey Case, Technical Director for the Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code and Aquatics Coordinator for Williamson County Parks and Recreation in Tennessee.

Dewey helped assemble the experts behind the new CMAHC Cold Water Venue Guidance. Together, he and Natalie separate cold-plunge facts from social-media fiction and explain why these increasingly popular venues require far more attention than a tub, a garden hose, and several bags of ice.

They discuss why bacteria can survive in cold water, how lower temperatures can slow sanitizer performance, and why even a single user introduces sweat, body oils, cosmetics, urea, and microorganisms into the water. They also examine the much greater contamination burden created when a commercial system serves dozens—or potentially hundreds—of users each week.

The conversation covers the risks associated with poorly maintained systems, including biofilm, Pseudomonas, swimmer’s ear, and the possibility of transferring gastrointestinal pathogens. They also explain why dunking your head into questionable cold-plunge water may be a particularly bad idea.

In This Episode

• Why cold water does not sanitize itself
• The truth about bacteria and pathogens in cold plunges
• Why “I’m the only person using it” does not eliminate water-quality concerns
• What sweat, cosmetics, clothing, and body oils add to the water
• Why users should shower before entering
• The risks of head submersion in poorly maintained water
• How biofilm and Pseudomonas can develop inside plumbing and on surfaces
• Why commercial cold plunges are not simply oversized bathtubs
• How high bather loads change filtration, sanitation, and maintenance demands
• Why cold-water chemistry can be more challenging than spa chemistry
• How low temperatures affect chemical dissolution and disinfection
• The purpose of the new CMAHC Cold Water Venue Guidance
• Why proper operation, cleaning, and maintenance make cold-water immersion safer

As Dewey explains, a home cold plunge used by one person and a recirculating commercial venue serving hundreds of bathers are not the same thing. When the bather load changes, the operational practices must change with it.

This episode is essential listening for pool professionals, aquatic operators, health officials, inspectors, facility managers, designers, builders, fitness-center owners, and anyone responsible for operating a commercial cold-water venue.

She Swims So They Can

Natalie is preparing to swim more than 21 miles across three open-water swimming marathons as part of the Tennessee Triple Crown Open Water Swim Challenge. Her campaign, She Swims So They Can, benefits Every Child a Swimmer and helps provide children with access to lifesaving swim lessons.

Her scheduled swims are:

• September 13, 2026
• September 20, 2026
• October 3, 2026

Donations will be accepted through October 3, 2026.

To learn more, donate, purchase official fundraising apparel, or explore sponsorship opportunities, visit Natalie’s Facebook or Instagram pages. Companies interested in sponsoring the campaign may contact Natalie directly at [email protected].

Every contribution helps—and every share expands the campaign’s reach.

Special thanks to campaign sponsors Revved Up Apparel, H2flow Controls, Tenjam, and the Talking Pools Podcast.

#TalkingPoolsPodcast #ColdPlunge #ColdWaterImmersion #IceBath #AquaticSafety #WaterQuality #PoolOperator #PoolProfessional #CMAHC #MAHC #PublicHealth #Aquatics #Pseudomonas #WaterChemistry

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On this episode of Mondays Down Under, Lee Salisbury and Nick are joined by AIS Water’s Lee Moore and Technical Director Blake for a deep dive into commercial saltwater chlorination.

AIS Water has worked in salt chlorination for approximately 35 years, developing systems for everything from swim schools and splash parks to resorts, 50-meter competition pools, coastal pools, and enormous lagoons containing millions of liters of water.

The conversation explores why more commercial aquatic facilities are moving toward onsite chlorine generation—and why their success depends on selecting actual commercial equipment, correctly sizing the system, and maintaining proper water chemistry.

The three major benefits are convenience, safety, and long-term cost savings. Generating chlorine onsite can dramatically reduce the handling, storage, transportation, and manual transfer of liquid or granular chlorine. It can also reduce the risks associated with chemical spills, damaged dosing lines, incorrect chemical mixing, and chlorine gas entering an occupied pool.

But not every “commercial salt system” is truly commercial.

The guests discuss facilities that attempted to meet massive chlorine demand by plumbing together banks of residential chlorinators—including one installation containing an astonishing 95 residential units. Besides creating a maintenance nightmare, these improvised systems can introduce excessive head loss, restrict circulation, shorten cell life, and still fail to satisfy the pool’s chlorine demand.

Proper sizing requires far more than knowing the pool’s volume. AIS Water considers actual peak bather load, water temperature, turnover rate, sunlight exposure, cyanuric acid use, environmental conditions, operating hours, and the facility’s location. Two pools of identical size—even pools located only a suburb apart—may require substantially different chlorine production capacities.

And just when you thought pool chlorination could not get any stranger, the discussion turns to horse pools, seal enclosures, sea lions, natural salt contributions from swimmers, and one exceptionally important unanswered question:

Just how much chlorine does a sea lion prefer?

You will have to return next Monday for the conclusion.

In this episode:

•  Why commercial aquatic facilities are adopting onsite chlorine generation 
•  The safety risks associated with storing and manually transporting chlorine 
•  How salt chlorination can reduce long-term operating costs 
•  Why an electrolytic cell is a consumable—not a failed chlorinator 
•  How commercial-grade anodes can provide significantly longer cell life 
•  The difference between residential and commercial chlorination equipment 
•  What happens when dozens of residential chlorinators are installed in one system 
•  How excessive head loss can compromise circulation and turnover 
•  Why peak bather load is critical when sizing a chlorinator 
•  How sunlight, shade, temperature, rainfall, and surrounding buildings affect chlorine demand 
•  Commercial systems ranging from low-salinity water to direct seawater 
•  The unusual challenges of chlorinating pools for horses, seals, and sea lions 

Guests:

•  Lee Moore, Sales and Marketing, AIS Water 
•  Blake, Technical Director, AIS Water 

Hosted by Lee Salisbury and Nick on Mondays Down Under, part of the Talking Pools Podcast network.

US certifications for AIS Commercial products. 

Certified to the Highest International Standards – AIS commercial chlorination systems are independently certified to NSF/ANSI 50 for swimming pool equipment safety and performance, UL 1081 for electrical safety, and are approved for installation in Los Angeles County, one of the world's most stringent regulatory environments. These certifications provide independent assurance that AIS products meet rigorous standards for quality, reliability, and safety, giving consultants, operators, and asset owners confidence in specifying AIS for demanding commercial aquatic facilities.

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Specialty chemicals are not the enemy. Phosphate removers, enzymes, clarifiers, sequestrants, scale inhibitors, flocculants and stain treatments can all deliver real value—when they address an actual, diagnosed condition.

In this episode of the Talking Pools Podcast, Rudy Stankowitz explains why the bottle should never become the protocol. Before adding any specialty chemical to a pool, service professionals should answer three questions:

•  Will it meaningfully benefit this customer? 
•  Will it become a pain in the ass for me or my technicians? 
•  Can my company make money providing the treatment? 

Rudy breaks down the hidden costs that are often ignored: return visits, filter cleaning, vacuuming, fuel, labor and the time required to explain an expected reaction to the customer. A $20 bottle is no longer a $20 treatment when it creates another hour of work.

He also explains why specialty treatments should not automatically be buried inside a flat monthly service rate. Customers are not paying for possession of the bottle. They are paying for the professional who knows when to use it, how much to use, what conditions are required, what side effects to expect and what to do when the treatment does not behave as planned.

The episode also includes a message honoring the 2026 Top Ten Pool Industry Mentors and Rudy’s final thoughts about his Reflecting Pool coating analysis reaching the White House—proof that sound technical work can matter far beyond the pool industry.

In this episode

•  Why mentorship means teaching people to think—not creating dependence 
•  How specialty chemicals establish added value 
•  Why every treatment should begin with a diagnosed condition 
•  The danger of mistaking a visible reaction for proof 
•  When phosphate removal makes professional and financial sense 
•  Why predictable follow-up work belongs in the treatment price 
•  How flat-rate chemical inclusion can hide value and destroy profit 
•  Why pool professionals should sell outcomes—not bottles 
•  Separating chemical problems from circulation, filtration and equipment problems 
•  Why chemistry and physics remain unchanged by politics 

The three-question specialty chemical test

1.  Will it benefit the customer? 
2.  Will it become a pain in the ass for me? 
3.  Can I make money on it? 

Specialty chemicals are tools—not miracles, substitutes for proper maintenance or acts of absolution for neglected pools.

Sponsored in part by Service Industry News, AquaStar Pool Products and BluRay XL.

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Show Notes

This week, Steve and Wayne tackle two timely topics affecting the swimming pool industry.

First, Steve discusses a growing number of calls from homeowners who find themselves trapped in construction projects with missed deadlines, questionable workmanship, and uncertainty about what to do next. The conversation explores the challenges of residential pool inspections, the gray areas of building codes, and why hiring an independent expert isn't always as straightforward as it sounds.

The second half of the episode takes a deep dive into the newly released Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) Cold Water Venue Guidance. With cold plunges becoming increasingly popular in homes, gyms, spas, and athletic facilities, Steve and Wayne explain why industry guidance is needed, how it is developed, and what pool professionals should understand about water quality, sanitation, filtration, and safety.

In This Episode

• Why homeowners are increasingly seeking independent pool inspections during construction.
• The challenges of enforcing residential pool codes compared to commercial pools.
• What homeowners should expect before pursuing construction disputes.
• Understanding the role—and limitations—of expert inspections.
• The new Model Aquatic Health Code Cold Water Venue Guidance explained.
• How MAHC guidance is developed through industry collaboration and scientific review.
• Why "guidance" is different from law or regulation.
• Safety recommendations for cold plunge users, including age and health considerations.
• Why colder water changes the speed of chemical reactions.
• Challenges of maintaining proper sanitizer levels in very small cold-water vessels.
• Why many professional athletic organizations simply dump and refill cold plunge water rather than attempting to filter it.
• Lessons learned from servicing cold plunge systems used by professional sports teams.
• The importance of proper maintenance as cold plunges become more common in homes.
• The growing need for practical standards as cold-water therapy enters the mainstream.

Key Takeaways

• Residential pool inspections often involve significant gray areas compared to commercial construction.
• Expert opinions can identify deficiencies, but correcting them may still require negotiation or litigation.
• Cold plunges present unique operational challenges because of their small water volume and low temperatures.
• Lower water temperatures slow chemical reactions, making sanitation more complicated than many people realize.
• Proper water management is just as important in a cold plunge as it is in a swimming pool.
• As cold-water therapy grows in popularity, industry guidance will play an increasingly important role in protecting public health.

Featured Discussion

The MAHC's New Cold Water Guidance

Steve and Wayne explain why the Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code developed guidance for cold plunge facilities, how recommendations are reviewed by subject-matter experts, and why science—not social media trends—should drive industry best practices.

Behind the Scenes with Professional Sports

Drawing from firsthand experience servicing facilities for NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLS organizations, Steve shares how professional teams maintain therapy pools, cold plunges, and rehabilitation equipment—and why sanitation protocols are often much more aggressive than many people expect.

Sponsored By

A special thank you to the Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code (CMAHC) for supporting this episode and their continued work advancing science-based aquatic health guidance.

Have a topic you'd like Steve and Wayne to cover? Send your suggestions to [email protected]. If your idea is featured on the show, you might even receive a special thank-you gift!

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