The following video is not an editorial. The video represents facts. If you don’t like the video, don’t take it up with me, take it up with Washington. Our business is affected by the economic climate. Right now the economic climate is not that favorable to running a successful business. It is in this context that I think the following information is important.
Winterizing Your Swimming Pool – Winter Closing
Tomorrow is the official first day of fall. College football is in full swing (Go Tigers!) and NASCAR only has 9 more races to go before they can crown a “King of Whiners” for 2009. The days are starting to get a little cooler, too, which means it won’t be long before I have to start wearing long britches to play golf. If you’re a pool owner, it’s probably about time you thought about closing your pool for the winter.
The way we close pools is different that what most people recommend. We do it differently for a reason. We know what works! Call us and we can exlain it. Once you decide to close your pool, you can get all your pool closing paraphernalia here at Buck Stove Pool & Spa. We have pool covers, water bags, gizzmos, plugs…pretty much everything you need plus expert advice. Bring us a water sample and we can balance your water to get you ready for covering your pool. We have specially formulated Bioguard Winter Kits to use once you are balanced. Buy a winter kit and you get 20% off your pool cover.
If you are thinking about having a security/safety cover installed, we can do that too. What is that, you ask? Take a look…
This'll Button Her Up Nicely
So, bring a water sample in and let us test it for you. When you open your pool up next spring, you will be glad you winterized with Buck Stove Pool and Spa. If you don’t feel like winterizing yourself, we can do it for you. Give us a call and set up a closing with us. Call us at 223-1660.
We’ve Given You Over $14,000 and We’re Not Done Yet
Whew! Man, have I been busy lately. You guys have swamped me with water samples to test, pool parts to find, and equipment to repair. I haven’t had time to eat lunch some days, much less write a new post. I figured this morning would be a good time to update this thing before the crowd starts coming in around noon.
I hope everyone made a smooth transition to digital TV this morning. When I came in, the TV we have over the fireplace was giving me the old “no signal”, so I had to AUTO PROGRAM it again to tune-in the new frequencies. For those of you that still watch over-the-air TV, don’t forget to AUTO PROGRAM to get your new channels. I’m sure there’s a “Digital TV Hotline” you can call if you are having problems, but by the time you dial the number on your rotary phone the new digital technology may be obsolete.
Let’s talk about the FUN PASS customer rewards program for a minute. If you haven’t taken advantage of it you really should. To date, we have given away over $14,000 in free money! We have over 700 customers signed up on the program and more are joining every day. When you combine our expertise and friendly staff with free money, there’s really no reason to shop anywhere else!
July 4th will be upon us in only a few short weeks. Now is the time to start whipping your pool into tip-top shape so you can coast into the holiday with no worries. Don’t wait until the week before to try and clear up a cloudy or green pool. NOW IS THE TIME! Bring us a water sample and we can get you straight.
Come in and stock up on toys, games, and swimming aids like goggles and swim masks. Your kids and grand kids will think you are the coolest for having all that fun stuff at the pool and you can earn free money you can use down the road to buy important things like shock and chlorine sticks. I’ll tell you what…
All toys, games, and floats now earn DOUBLE REWARDS
That’s 14% back on your card
Well, the door dinger is starting to sound off more frequently now, so I guess it’s about time to head on over to the front counter and start helping you guys out. If you have a pool, please come in and see us. We really know how to help you take care of your pool and we take a personal interest in making sure your pool is clean, clear, and ready to use. Don’t forget to ask for a FUN PASS rewards card if you haven’t already gotten one. You earn free money (at least 7%) every time you buy something. It adds up quickly!
Thanks and have a nice day.
Matt
Warm Up Your Swimming Pool Water the Easy, Affordable Way
Is your pool water clean and clear but still too cold to go swimming?
Swimming pools lose a tremendous amount of heat this time of year. All that heat from the warm sun that your pool soaks up during the day bids farewell during the evening as your pool water evaporates. Have you ever seen that cloud of fog over your pool on a cool evening? That’s your water evaporating from the surface of your pool. Here’s a quick science lesson.
For molecules of a liquid to evaporate, they must be located near the surface, be moving in the proper direction, and have sufficient kinetic energy to overcome liquid-phase intermolecular forces. Only a small proportion of the molecules meet these criteria, so the rate of evaporation is limited. Since the kinetic energy of a molecule is proportional to its temperature, evaporation proceeds more quickly at higher temperatures. As the faster-moving molecules escape, the remaining molecules have lower average kinetic energy, and the temperature of the liquid thus decreases. This phenomenon is also called evaporative cooling. This is why evaporating sweat cools the human body. Evaporation also tends to proceed more quickly with higher flow rates between the gaseous and liquid phase and in liquids with higher vapor pressure. For example, laundry on a clothes line will dry (by evaporation) more rapidly on a windy day than on a still day. Three key parts to evaporation are heat, humidity and air movement.
Sorry if that gave you a headache, but I felt it was important to know. So, if we can put a barrier between your pool surface and the outside air, we can decrease the evaporation rate and therefore keep your pool water from cooling so you can go swimming sooner. You follow?
Solar blankets have been used for years to combat evaporation and heat loss. You know, those big bubble wrap looking things. Solar blankets work very well, but they aren’t cheap and can be difficult to handle and store.
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There is a much easier and much more affordable way to warm your pool up faster. The Solar Fish creates a liquid blanket on the surface of your pool and prevents heat loss due to evaporation. Each fish contains a safe liquid that is dispensed into your pool at regular intervals. Just activate the fish, drop it into your pool and watch the mercury climb! For most pools, 2 solar fish will do the job and they will last for a month. After a month, the water will be warm enough. So, for about $32.00 you can warm your pool and start swimming in a week or so.
I have had many customers come in and tell me how well they work and how much more quickly their pool warms. Come in and give it a try. Your kids will thank you for it. They don’t like blue lips any more than you do.
A Sample In a Jar
Question: What do pool start-up kits and affordable health insurance have in common?
Answer: Neither one exists.
I’ve had several pool customers come in and request a “pool start-up kit.” While it sounds nice and would make our job much easier, there is really no such thing. Let me explain why.
When you close your pool in the fall, we offer a closing “winter kit” that includes winter shock and a winter algicide. This kit is effective only after your water has been properly balanced.
If you have a solid safety cover with a cover pump and you’ve closed your pool properly, your water balance should be nearly perfect when you open your pool. Otherwise, things such as rain water, water loss due to leaks, and water loss due to vacuuming to waste are all factors which determine how “unbalanced” your pool water will be. Since all pools experience “unbalancing” factors in varying degrees, there is no way for us to determine what your pool needs unless we analyze your water.
If we claimed to be able to tell you what your pool needs without testing the water, we’d be doing you and your pool a disservice, and we’d be outright lying to you! We don’t want to do that. We’re not going to do that.
I feel badly about turning people away and asking them to go back home and get a water sample. I know their time is precious, just like mine. But, the truth of the matter is we have a duty to conduct our job honestly and openly. Sure, we could take our best guess and sell you a bunch of chemicals that we think you might need, but you and your pool are too important to us.
How to Collect a Water Sample
- Make sure the water has been circulating (pump running) for at least 24 hours.
- Go to an area of the pool that is NOT in the direct flow from a return inlet.
- Take a clean container (preferably a BioGuard water sample bag or bottle) and submerge the container “elbow deep” under the surface of the water.
- Fill the container to the top and cap (or zip)
- Take the sample directly to your BioGuard Authorized Dealer for a complete water analysis test.
Do not:
- Collect sample in uncleaned containers (soda bottles and pickle jars are not good choices)
- Leave the sample in your hot car
In a pinch, we can use our best judgement in the absence of these preconditions, but we would prefer to not do this.
Bring us a sample of water (at least 12 oz.) taken about elbow deep in the water. Clean jars or bottles are good containers. If you must use a drink bottle, a drinking water bottle is best. Soda bottles may tend to alter the pH reading we get since it is very difficult to completely clean the bottle.
Maintaining a proper water balance is not rocket science, but it is water chemistry. While the average pool owner can learn a great deal about water chemistry over a period of years, we see a lifetime of pool water scenarios in a single season. Combine this with the fact that we’ve been doing it for almost 30 years and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in town that knows more about pool water chmistry than we do.
Trust us with your pool this Summer. We always do our best to make sure your pool is clean, clear, and inviting.
Meet Team Buck Stove
For all those who come in on a regular or semi-regular basis and haven’t gotten to know the staff very well, here is an inside look at the people that make Buck Stove Pool & Spa tick.
Terry Boone – Team Captain
What he lacks in mobility, he more than makes up for with shear determination. This 30 year veteran has never come up against a job couldn’t handle. His level of dedication to his work and to his customers is unparalleled. He never gives up. He’s been known to say “Hello” upwards of 20 times before finally accepting the fact that the call was dropped. That, folks, is determination. His only known weakness is failing to recognize his phone’s wireless capabilities. A consummate team player.
Jason Smith – Ambassador of Goodwill
This crafty right-hander knows the system like the back of his hand. He’s never met a customer, or a golf course, he didn’t like. He masterminded the “Spring Swing of 2007″, a feat in which he managed to play golf with 4 different sales reps in 4 consecutive days, and still get his day off. This accomplishment has yet to be duplicated, except by himself. He is deceivingly cunning. You’ll never catch him off-guard. You may, however, catch him on any given tee box on any given day of the week.
Mike Velez – Silent Thunder
Don’t let his quiet demeanor and bowler’s mustache fool you. When the chips are down, Mike’s the guy you want on your side. His methodical stylings are a thing of beauty. Never flashy, but always smooth. There is no question to which he can’t find an answer. Specializing in grills and hair gel, he can whip up something for dinner and look good doing it. His witty sense of humor goes unnoticed most of the time, but that’s the way he likes it. Mike – Silent Thunder.
Steven Hines – The Informer
An expert in compiling technical data, Steven isn’t afraid to impart some knowledge on an unsuspecting customer. His area of expertise is boundless. Never at a loss for descriptive terms, Steven has coined the phrases “micro-particles” and “super-deluxe”, both of which are now considered to be standard pool jargon. Steven has an amazing attention to detail. If he were a CB radio, he’d be missing a “squelch” knob. An asset to all.
David Coleman – The Exterminator
Ruthless, maniacal, and street wise, this warehouse manager paradoxically attacks his job with surgical precision and reckless abandon. Whether it’s a grill that needs assembly, or a family of rats that needs rubbed out, David will take care of the job. With the flexibility of a Chinese gymnast, David handles multiple tasks of varying difficulty levels. Today he may be answering the phones. Tomorrow he could be installing your liner. That’s just the kind of guy he is. He’ll eat just about anything for the same reason George Mallory climbed Everest – because it’s there.
Matt Smith
Blogger, website guy, and so much more. A massive conflict of interest prohibits me from writing anything of substance here.
One Reader and Counting
I’ve been “blogging” now for a grand total of about two weeks. At first, writing a blog seemed kinda like waving a freshly snapped Polaroid picture around: you’re not sure if it accomplishes anything, but everyone else does it.
Today, however, all my hard work was rewarded. I actually had a customer come in and refer to my blog posts. For the sake of preserving her anonymity, we’ll just call her “Amy”. Amy not only mentioned that she had read my blog, but also mentioned that she liked it! I felt like Sally Field at the Oscars.
Temporarily overwhelmed with excitement, I forgot to ask her to share the blog with all her friends at her workplace (again, to protect her identity let’s just say it rhymes with ‘floptimum wife splinter’). That was a big mistake. So, “Amy”, if you’re reading this, please send the blog link to 10 of your friends in the next 5 minutes and Bill Gates will pay you $2 Million. And, don’t forget to accessorize.
That’s one reader and counting. I guess you have to start somewhere.
By all accounts, blogging and blogs are like a snowball. As they pick up momentum, mostly by referrals, track backs, and word-of-mouth, they tend to get bigger and better. To get the ball rolling, I’m going to need your help. If you read something on our blog that is informative, interesting, or the least bit entertaining, leave me a comment or tell a friend about it. Also, look for the RSS icon on your browser and click it to subscribe to my feed.
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Better yet, suggest topics you’d like to see discussed. The whole purpose of this blog is for us to inform and interact with our customers. With all due respect, it’s going to require a little participation on your part. Email your topic suggestions to matt@buckstovepoolandspa.com.
Let’s face it. If I wanted to convey information without any expectation of it falling on open ears, I’d go to the Wendy’s Drive-Thru.
p.s. – Waving a Polaroid picture does not make it develop faster. It does, however, make you look very, very silly.
Don’t Work Harder – Work Smarter
Sure. I could go on and on about how great the Nitro Wall Climber automatic pool cleaner is, but I don’t want to. I really want to be out playing golf or fishing. So, because I’m slack and because I know how to make things easy on myself, I’m just going to embed this video and bolt. You, too, could spend more time doing the things you enjoy and less time doing the things you don’t. Somewhere in this video is a product that can help you do that. See if you can spot it.
Pick one up at Buck Stove Pool & Spa and with double rewards you’ll get $98.00 on your FUN PASS when you buy one. See you on the golf course.
Always Stick With the Basics
I was talking with a good customer Saturday morning and he told me that he had come to a realization about his pool. What he told me was simple. After years of owning a pool he had concluded that, if you want to avoid water clarity issues and algae problems, the most important thing you can do is make sure you keep chlorine sticks in your skimmer. He had realized that the majority of his problems occurred when he had let his chlorine sticks completely dissolve and neglected to replace them for a day or two. A proper water balance is also a necessary part of keeping your pool looking good, but for the most part, he was right on the money.
Although his epiphany may seem like a forgone conclusion for some, you’d be surprised at how many people continually fail to always keep chlorine sticks in their skimmer. As the water temperature increases, chlorine dissolves more rapidly. If you allow your sticks to dissolve completely before replacing them, you are not giving your pool all the chlorine it needs and it’s only a matter of time before you start to see algae and water clarity problems.
A good rule of thumb is to replace your sticks once they dissolve down the the size of your index finger. By replace, I mean to add more. You can leave the old ones in there. I can imagine the phone call now…”what am I supposed to do with all these tiny little chlorine sticks I got left?”
Which Type of Sticks Do I Use?
There are two main types of Bioguard sticks available for your pool – Smart Sticks™ and Stingy Sticks™, both of which are available with Silk Guard™ technology. Silk Guard™ technology helps extend the life of the pool equipment (such as pumps, ladders and heaters) life, by providing a coating to the metal surfaces – even stainless steel. This patented coating protects these surfaces from rust & corrosion. Silk Guard™ also prevents scale formation in pool circulation systems and on pool surfaces.Using the proper chlorine sticks can make taking care of your pool easier, cheaper, and can protect your liner as well. Let me explain.
The determining factor for which type of chlorine stick is right for you is how long you run your pump. Although running your pump continuously is the best thing for your pool (I feel a post on pool run-time coming on), the reality of it is most people can’t afford to do so. If your pump is set on a timer or you manually turn it off and on, Smart Sticks™ are the way to go. Smart Sticks™ use a patented technology called Smart Guard that prevents the sticks from dissolving when there is no water flowing over them. Brands you may find at Wal-Mart or other big box stores do not have this technology.
Chlorine can only be dispensed into your pool when your pump is running. That’s just common sense. So, it does no good for your sticks to continue to dissolve when your pump is off. This wastes chlorine, uses up your sticks more quickly, and the high concentration of chlorine that builds up in the skimmer when your pump is off can bleach the color from your liner around the skimmer opening. We’ve all seen pools with this unsightly white ring around the skimmer opening. Now you know why. You can avoid all these problems by using Smart Sticks™.
On a pool running 12 hours a day, Smart Sticks™ will last an average of 35% longer than Stingy Sticks because they only dissolve when your pump is running. Over a season, that 35% can add up to a lot of money. So, if you don’t run your pool 24 hours a day and you want your chlorine sticks to last longer, consider using Smart Sticks™.
It’s Like Steroids for Your Pool
Don’t expect your pool to go out and break the single-season home run record or anything, but do expect greatly improved water quality and superior resistance to algae.
Every pool owner has experienced algae to some degree. It seems that no matter how hard you work at taking care of your pool, every year algae creeps in, usually at the most inconvenient times. Plan a pool party or a backyard get-together and your chances of getting an algae increase significantly. That’s just the way it works.
Even the most savvy of pool owners falls victim to the Green Menace. You don’t have to leave it to chance. You can take a positive step toward algae-free water this year. The trick lies in this nifty green and white bottle. Bioguard’s Optimizer Plus is your key to keeping a healthy, happy, algae-free pool this summer.
When maintained at 30-50 ppm and used within a proper pool treatment regimen, Optimizer Plus GREATLY reduces the risk of algae growing in your pool and also drastically improves your water quality. It softens your water, giving it a silky feel and contains clarifying agents to make your water sparkle. Most importantly, it removes carbon dioxide from the water, making it very difficult for algae to grow.
Its not cheap to clear up a green pool. Nor is it easy. Resolving an algae problem usually requires lots of hard work adding chemicals, brushing the pool, shocking, cleaning filters and equipment, and so on. It can take up to 2 weeks to accomplish it all. This robs you and your family of valuable swimming time – time in which you could be making life-long memories.
Isn’t it time you took a pro-active approach to algae prevention? This summer, let us treat your pool with Optimizer Plus. It will make caring for your pool this season a much more enjoyable experience.
