Wind Event Pro Tips For Your Pool Service Route

Educating the clients on your pool service route before a major wind event is critical. You must lower their expectations or assumptions that their pool will be cleaned up in one visit. Many clients will assume that since they pay you to maintain and clean their pool you will spend 2 hours at their account to get things cleaned up. That is just an impossible expectation and with a service, agreement spelling out what they should expect in a major wind event you are off the hook.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:08 Santa Ana Wind Events
03:48 Where to start?
04:54 Time limit
07:20 Customers helping out
08:42 Pro Equipment
13:53 Cleaning Schedule

A strategy that I implement is letting the customer know that if they can skim the surface and empty the skimmer basket I will vacuum up the pool bottom, thus speeding up the cleanup. Having a pole and leaf rake at every one of your service accounts is essential. That way the client can pitch in during a major wind event. About 80% of my current clients will skim the pool surface the day after a wind storm. This makes it easy for me to get the pool back in shape with my vacuum system.

It is a good idea again to have a Service Contract so that your customers are aware that the Santa Ana winds are an “act of God” and out of your control. Also, explain the clean-up process in the contract so that they are aware you can't spend hours each week cleaning up the pool. The Podcast goes over this and more in greater detail so listen to it for more detailed information. If you would like a copy of my one-page service contract email me at david@swimmingpoollearning.com and I will get one over to you.

Speaking of which if you don’t have a vacuum system and you service a wind-prone area, get one. There should be no reason except economic hardship preventing you from purchasing a Riptide or Bottom Feeder. A vacuum system is a real game-changer and instead of dreading the after-effects of a wind storm, you will just be mildly irritated. If you haven’t used a vacuum system you are missing out.

For the pool service professional, you will need to set a timer for each pool for 25-30 minutes. If you spend less time at another account you can use the time for your current stop. But realistically with the short amount of sunlight in the Winter, you will not be able to complete your route each day if you spend 50 minutes to an hour at each pool. Besides that it is exhausting and you could hurt yourself by trying to do too much each day. Explain to your customers that your priority the first stop after a wind event is to skim the surface and get the pool running.

The dirt and ash present another problem and I suggest using some type of Portable Filtration System or Portable Pump. Here in So Cal most of the pool filters are either Cartridge filters or D.E. Filters with only a Push/Pull Backwash Valve. Very few accounts have a Multi-Port Valve with a “Waste” mode where you can vacuum the pool and bypass the filter. This means that all of the dirt and ash will have to be vacuumed up and go directly into the pool filter. Then you will have to take the filter apart and clean it which takes time. Better to vacuum the pool out with a Portable Pump that is easy to build or invest in a Portable Filtration System like the PORTAVAC by Advantage Manufacturing.

Accounts that have a Multi-Port Valve with a “Waste” mode where you can vacuum the pool and bypass the filter. This means that all of the dirt and ash will have to be vacuumed up and go directly into the pool filter. Then you will have to take the filter apart and clean it which takes time. Better to vacuum the pool out with a Portable Pump that is easy to build or invest in a Portable Filtration System like the PORTAVAC by Advantage Manufacturing.

Products are shown in order of appearance in the video:
Purity Pool SUPERRAKE: https://amzn.to/3H3uCdp

Bottom Feeder: https://bit.ly/3FUUdE1
Riptide: https://www.riptidevac.com/
Power Vac: https://powervac.com/
Hammer-Head: https://www.hammerheadvac.com/
PORTAVAC: https://www.advantageman.com/Portable_Vacuum_System_p/adm_portavac.htm
Advantage Manufacturing T-Bar Mount: 1-800-636-8866
Purity Pole GATOR Leaf Rake: https://amzn.to/33O6P2w

Visit my Website: http://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/
eBook: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/swimming-pool-care-ebook
YouTube Video Index: http://poolmandave.blogspot.com/2014/03/swimming-pool-tips-reviews-how-to-video.html – A list of all of my videos.
Blogger: http://poolmandave.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swimmingpoollearning/
Shop at Leslie's: Leslie’s Pool Supplies has been do-it-yourselfers and pool trade professionals trusted partner since 1963, providing quality products and services to make pool care easy and solutions and expertise to do it right. http://lesliespool.com/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=spll&utm_campaign=spll