9 Biggest Misconceptions About Maintaining Your Pool

Have you ever gone to your local pool shop with a minor query, only to be sent home with enough chemicals to make a rainbow?

At Pool Builders Pool Shop, we understand what it really takes to efficiently manage a pool – we’ve been building them for over 30 years.

Over time, we’ve dealt with countless clients who have received dodgy advice from generic pool shops on how to maintain their pool. Here, we dive into the 9 biggest misconceptions we’ve heard about maintaining your pool.

1. The Results Are In: You Need To Buy 7 Different Chemicals!

You want to ensure your pool stays in top condition. Even though you can’t always see a problem, you know it’s important to look beneath the surface and get your water tested. But secretly, you dread this.

Why? Because whenever your test comes back, you’re told you need a bunch of chemicals – chemicals that come with a big cost… and little to no explanation regarding their *actual purpose*.

The truth is, generic pool shops are notorious for overselling on chemicals you really don’t need. We can almost guarantee that you’ll be prescribed different chemicals for the same water test from one franchise to the next. The only thing that stays the same is the big-ticket cost.

2. It’s Broken, So Replace It!

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But with pools, if you have a faulty part, you don’t always need to jump into buying a new product. Often, faulty parts can be fixed in skilled hands.

Unfortunately, if your pool technician has no understanding of the product that requires maintenance, they’ll generally just try to sell you a brand new one. At Pool Builders Pool Shop, we thoroughly investigate the issues to accurately diagnose the fault. Often, we’ll be able to repair the product, which saves you time and money.

3. We Do Our Own Repair Work

Most generic pool shops will try to tell you they’re the “all-round experts” on all things pools. In reality, a vast majority of repair work completed through generic pool shops is outsourced by third parties.

4. We’re Experienced!

We love seeing new technicians making their start in the industry. We don’t love it when pool shop franchises oversell their level of knowledge and training in the industry.

Too often, franchises will claim their pool technicians are equipped with a wealth of experience when they are actually just starting out. This further perpetuates the issues we’ve outlined already.

5. We’re SUPER Qualified!

As well as grossly exaggerating their experience level, it’s too easy for generic pool shops to oversell their ‘qualifications’.

Let’s be clear: there is no government or industry qualification to become a licensed owner or operator of a pool shop. Anyone can wake up one day and decide to be a mobile pool maintenance technician. Anyone can set up shop and claim their expertise as a pool technician, without providing any evidence or justification.

In *stark* contrast, Pool Builders Pool Shop is owned and operated by a licensed pool builder. And gaining this (well recognised) government qualification as a pool builder does not come easily. It comes with years of specialised training and a meticulous understanding of the pool industry in the relative field of construction, hydraulics and equipment, and water chemistry.

6. We Don’t Make Mistakes

Overselling products to clients that are unfit for the problem at hand leads to unresolved issues.

And when unresolved issues occur with staining or treatments, it’s ‘never the franchises that are in the wrong’.

Unfortunately, the blame is often falsely passed on to the pool builders, or even the chemical suppliers.

In reality, mistakes commonly occur in pool franchises because they are tied to dealership agreements with one or two equipment manufacturers. The extent of their knowledge is limited to the equipment sold by these manufacturers. When the technician is dealing with unfamiliar pool equipment and suffers from a lack of experience, this inevitably leads to a misdiagnosis of issues.

This widespread problem among franchise pool shops has become particularly pertinent in recent times, wherein the pool shop market has experienced an influx of different sanitation systems outside the traditional sphere of salt water chlorination. These include UV, O-Zone, ionisation and freshwater, as well as sophisticated automation systems that require a completely different method when treating the water.

7. We Have A Reliable Team

If you keep noticing new faces at your local pool shop franchise, you’re not alone. Franchises have a high staff turnover because they place enormous workloads on their technicians.

That means even if you find a reliable, skilled pool technician, they likely won’t be there for long. At privatised pool shops, staff are worth far more than just a number. That means you can expect a reliable team that can take the time to understand your unique pool maintenance needs.

8. We Never Rush

When staff are overworked, they struggle to take the time to complete the job properly. It’s common for generic pool shops to overbook their technicians, making it impossible to complete everything in the one day. As a result, afternoon services tend to suffer. Issues tend to be ignored, such as minor leaks. Often, the client is told the issue can just wait till the next service.

As pool builders, we know postponing necessary pool maintenance is never a good idea.

9. We’re Fair Priced!

Fluctuations in price are incredibly common among pool shop franchises. We’ve noticed spare parts frequently suffer inconsistent pricing – one shop may be fairly priced, while your next option could be double the price.

How Pool Builders Pool Shop Is Different

At Pool Builders Pool Shop, we understand how important it is for our clients to manage their pool efficiently. We’re tired of hearing more and more pool owners are suffering from exorbitant pool maintenance fees. If you’re after a pool service from the experts, you can trust Pool Builders Pool Shop will get the job done right the first time. We offer a range of services, including in-field services, warranty services and off-site monitoring. If you’d like to find out more, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our expert team.