Cheat sheet
Pool chemistry
| Reading | Target |
|---|---|
| Free chlorine | 2 to 4 ppm |
| Combined chlorine | Under 0.5 ppm |
| pH | 7.4 to 7.6 |
| Total alkalinity | 80 to 120 ppm |
| Calcium hardness | 200 to 400 ppm |
| Cyanuric acid | 30 to 50, salt 60 to 80. Max 100 |
| Salt | 3200 to 3400, Palmway band |
| Phosphates | Monitor 1000, treat 3500 ppb |
Total minus free equals combined.
Spa with its own water, where it differs
| Reading | Spa |
|---|---|
| Free chlorine | 3 to 5 ppm, higher |
| Bromine | 4 to 6 ppm |
| Combined chlorine | 0 ppm, stricter |
| Calcium hardness | 150 to 250 ppm, lower |
| Max temperature | 104 degrees, hard limit |
| Drain and refill | Usage driven |
An attached spa sharing one pump, filter and heater is one body of water with the pool. Use the pool column.
pH and working chlorine
| pH | Chlorine working |
|---|---|
| 7.2 | About two thirds |
| 7.5 | About half |
| 7.8 | About one third |
| 8.0 | About a quarter |
Same reading on the test. Different killing power.
Symptom to cause
| Says | Means |
|---|---|
| Strong chlorine smell, sore eyes | Too little free chlorine |
| Chlorine fine, keeps going green | Locked stabilizer, 80 to 100 |
| Pressure UP from their normal, weak flow | Dirty filter. No universal PSI, ask their clean baseline |
| Pressure DOWN from normal, weak flow | Starved pump, not the filter |
| Bubbles at the jets | Suction leak before the pump. Ask if anything was just serviced, trapped air looks the same |
| Gurgling or sucking pump | Air |
| Grinding or screeching pump | Impeller or bearing |
| Humming, will not start | Electrical |
| Clear water, yellow dust | Mustard algae. Reinfects from swimwear and toys |
| Hot tub foaming | Defoamer, enzyme, calcium first. Drain if water is old or foam is dark |
Routing
| Bucket | Examples |
|---|---|
| Answer | Chlorine smell, phosphates never zero, green spring opening |
| Schedule | Green pool, dirty filter, mustard algae, cloudy water |
| Service call | Grinding or humming pump, suspected leak, drain or acid wash request |
| Escalate | Freeze, power outage, hot tub over temperature |
Torn? Ask a manager. A tech visit usually means a service call charge the client has to approve.
On an existing client
Never make it sound like the tech missed something. Notate it, and the tech checks and corrects on the next service.
| Not this | This |
|---|---|
| "The chlorine has been too low" | "I will note it for the tech to check next visit" |
| "Someone should have caught that" | "Water moves between visits, we will get it corrected" |
Explain the condition, not a verdict on the last visit.
What you may promise
- That chemicals are included
- That Florida weekly service emails after photos and chemistry automatically
- Before sign off: that you will try to get a tech out asap and will call back to confirm
- After sign off: you schedule and quote directly, from the live source
Never, at any stage
- Advise chemical dosing over the phone
- Quote from memory, or commit anything you have not checked
- Discuss markup, margin, or cost basis
- Name a subcontractor, vendor, or referral partner
- Suggest draining as a fix yourself
- Negotiate the 104 degree limit
Scope and areas
| Florida | Pinellas except Tarpon Springs, most of Tampa, Brandon to Sun City Center, Bradenton, Palmetto, Ellenton, Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key, Sarasota to Osprey. It goes by ZIP code |
| Pennsylvania | Monroe County |
| Unsure on a location | Check, do not guess either way. For Florida, use the service area lookup |
| Florida property | Pool plus hot tub, or pool only. Never hot tub only |
| Hot tubs, Florida | Weekly or twice weekly, with the pool |
| Hot tubs, Poconos rentals | After every checkout |
| Leak testing | Poconos yes, Florida no |
| Do we subcontract | No, work is in house |
| Escalate to | Fatima, office manager |
| Coverage | Seven days a week |