NOVEMBER 2021 UPDATES
HEATING POOL - CHEMICALS - POOL CLEANERS - COMMUNICATION
Due to Covid & Democrat policies the swimming pool industry has been hit as hard as most other industries. Chemicals, equipment and labor are still in short supply and can be hard to replace when needed. This has greatly increased the cost of doing business for all companies. Staffing has decreased throughout the industry and many companies have gone out of business in the last 6 months due to shortages of chemicals & equipment. At Esposito Pools we planned for these shortages early last year and we have been able to keep taking care of our customers at the 5-star level they have come to expect. However, these current political driven conditions have challenged our company to be as responsive as we always have been for the past 26 years.
To work within the current conditions there are some pressing issues that need we need weekly service customers to understand.
HEATING YOUR POOL - Contact us first
Since Covid everyone has rediscovered their 'backyard away from home'. And now more than ever more homeowners are heating up their pools for year-round use.
Unfortunately, heating the pool increases chlorine and other chemical demand greatly. At this time, the whole nation is dealing with a major chlorine shortage. Some weeks there is no chlorine available for us to purchase and when chlorine is available companies are limited to only being able to buy 1 or 2 containers (we use about 5-7 containers each week). To make this simple we would like to charge customers more for heating their pools as we always did before. But, with this chlorine shortage at this time, we can not use our current inventory of chemicals on heated pools at the risk of running out so we can keep treating all our other pools on service.
As always we are reminding customers that want to heat their pool to please do these things:
1. Purchase extra 3" chlorine tablets.
We will use these as extra tablets needed to sanitize your pool above the normal amount we use for normal colder water temperatures.
About 5-8 extra tablets per heating/week are needed to keep water sanatized at 80 degree pool water temperature.
More or less depending on how hot you are heating your water and how smooth your plaster is.
There are other factors that also increase the amount of chemicals needed this time of year as filters can be much dirtier due to the extra weekly debris that gets into the pools and breeds more bacterial/algae.
2. Make sure your pool cleaner is running daily for at least 3 hours per day.
See below for more details about the importance of having daily working pool cleaners.
3. Email us at least a week before you plan to heat your pool and let us know these 4 things:
A. You have left a bucket of 3" chlorine tablets by your pool equipment.
B. Date you will start heating your pool.
C. Date you will stop heating your pool.
D. Temperature you plan to keep your pool water.
84* takes the chill out of the water for most bathers. Temperatures above 84 increase chemical demand and maintanance greatly.
Emailing us a week before heating your swimming pool is very important so we can properly take care of your water sanitation before the water gets heated.
Swimming pools that are heated without proper sanitation first will start to grow algea rapidly and can turn green overnight or before your next service visit.
After heating pool water it is also more difficult to kill algae in the warmer water than treating pool when water is still cold.
At a minimum, pools that are heated should test water daily to make sure your chlorine is maintaining 4-5ppm and report any cloudy water or algea growth to us asap. Even after turning off the heater, the pool water is subject to rapid bacteria growth that will still need extra attention and chemicals.
POOL CLEANERS & PLASTER CONDITIONS
As with all pools, it is even more important that pool cleaners are fully working and run 3 hours minimum each 'morning' to keep dirt and bacteria from building up on plaster so the chemicals can sanatize all areas of the pool plaster and and keep the water circulated along the floors and walls. Floors and walls are the most stagnant areas and dirt dust settles on them allowing bacteria to grow under the dirt on the pool walls.
Pool cleaners don't just pick up visible debris. Daily pool cleaners keep your plaster and pool filter more clean and they are the biggest help in keeping your pool water sanatized and healthy.
Pebble Plasters, Aggregate Plasters and all pool plasters that are not chalkboard smooth have more surface area for dirt to settle and grow bacteria. These spaces between the pebbles and aggregate also protect the bacteria from being brushed, as the bristles can't reach all the bacteria/dirt in the crevices. This increases daily operating costs greatly with each season that passses and immediately increases bacteria growth in warmer water. Any plaster that is not chalkboard smooth needs more weekly/daily brushing than actual cleaning. Your daily automatic pool cleaner helps tremendously in keeping dirt/bacteria from sticking to all types of plasters smooth or rough and minimizes pool algae growth.
Please contact us for further discussion before chosing any new plaster to make sure you are chosing a plaster that is not just beautiful but minimizes your daily operating costs of your swimming pool.
We urge all customers to only speak to us before making any purchases large or small for your swimming pool.
I can't tell you how many customers we talk to that are unhappy after getting new products or plaster from a salesperson that claimed "you'll love this, I have this in my pool". From skimmer baskets to most plaster applications, most sold products are not a worthy purchase and you really want to know the pro's and con's before buying something that may have a simpler solution.
Recognized as a top 20 remodel and service company in the Houston area for the past 3 years, we are always focused on giving you the best advice. Many trust us because we will give you great details and the best advice, even if it means we talk you out of selling you something you think you need.
SWIMMING POOL CLEANING SERVICES
Over the years last 26 years we have been proud to provide reliable services as much as the best companies doing business for $40-70 less than other reputable companies charge. With recent price increases, we still are able to keep our savings to you in this price range. However, with the current increases in the cost of doing business we are going to summerize a few things that, in the past, I only spoke face to face about. The price we charge for your weekly services is based on many factors of your pool:
1. Pebble, Quartz, Aggregate and older rough plasters versus smooth, flat plasters. Any plaster not smooth and flat like a chalkboard creates a higher daily operating expense and needs more manual labor to keep sanitized. Pebble, Quartz and rough plasters unfortunaly need much more brushing than they need full vacumming to avoid algea growth. These plasters also need a working cleaner to run daily.
2. For all plasters it is equally important to have working cleaners running 7 days a week to avoid any dirt from sticking to the plaster. Pool cleaners should be maintained in full working condition and should be run in the early morning so it can minimize the dirt and debris in the pool before the sun peaks onto the pool and diminishes the chlorine in the pool.
3. Expensive robotic pool cleaners are being sold to homeowners in place of pressure side cleaners. These cleaners are expensive to purchase and expensive to repair. Nothing at this time beats the reliability of the correct pressure side cleaner model for your pool. In the end, the correct pressure side cleaner is much less than all costs of a robotic cleaner. And the cost of running your pressure side cleaner over the years is much less expensive in repairs, electricity usage and better at preventing issues with your plaster due to their reliabilty of running daily to keep your plaster clean of dirt and bacteria. Most all robotic cleaners can not clean heavier debris as well as better pressure side cleaners and never have we seen a homeowner who is able to consistently run their robotic cleaner daily as it should be run for plaster and algae health. Robotic cleaners that have to be removed from the pool after each use are cumbersome and have short life spans before needing major repairs or replacements.
4. Always contact us before buying any internet gimmick or a pool store salesman's advice of "this is great and is the same model I have in my pool". From skimmer baskets to pool equipment to complete pool remodels and new plaster, we will guide you through the pro's and con's of all swimming pool items before we let you make even the smallest purchase and in most cases, not the best purchase for your pool or your family.
5. Some of the higher priced cleaning companies are trying to justify their much higher pricing by giving you services you don't need each week. We don't do 'Dog and Pony' cleanings. Meaning we price your pool service based on what labor time and chemicals your pool will need to operate clean and healthy. We offer 3 levels of weekly services to accomodate your pool. When your pool plaster is rough or uneven like pebble or quartz, it not only needs a cleaner running longer dailyhours, but also needs more brushing each week than vacuuming in areas of the pool that aren't well cleaned by your cleaner. For this reason, we provide the services your pool needs based on the factors of your pool and keeping your plaster and water healthy and sanitized. A normal pool should not expect to have any debris after we clean it, but vacuuming may be minimal so the plaster can be brushed more thoroughly where your cleaner does not do a good job.
6. For pools with good daily working cleaners and minimal debris we also offer less expensive weekly services listed under our sevices offered page.
COMMUNICATION
Please use email to contact us for all issues, include details:
[email protected]
Due to the continuing Democrat policies creating industry issues, our office communication is not anywhere near the standard we have provided over the last 26 years.
With short staffing and shortage of material availiblity, we currently have much longer response time. Unfortunatly, due to the higher number of companies out of business and the higher number calls, texts and emails that come in we have even lost track of responding to too many customers. We're asking all customers to please use email to contact us about all issues so we can print and schedule your needs/callbacks.
If you have an urgent issue or we don't respond to you within 1-2 business days, please call or text us to follow-up with your email.
Thank you for continuing to trust us for your swimming pool needs!
