Innovative Technology for the Pool Tech By Lauren Broom
The pool industry is a very robust industry. Over the years, it has adopted technology advancements to meet industry needs. There are many types of technologies being utilized to help pool professionals in their everyday jobs. Pool professionals can find technology helping in many categories like water chemistry, pool inspections, route management, and communication with customers.
LSI & Dosing
Pool techs strive for balance to give their customers pool water perfection. While there’s the common practice of balancing the foundational elements of pool water like pH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness, if you want to get really in-depth, you should learn how to balance your water using the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI). The LSI can give you a greater overall picture of what’s going on with your pool water, making it easier to maintain. The LSI is an index that measures mineral saturation in pool water, and more specifically, the measurement of calcium carbonate. Developed in 1936 by Dr. Wilfred Langelier, understanding the pool’s LSI can help you predict and control the pool water chemistry.
The calculation of LSI can be very confusing when the pool tech tackles it by hand. Thankfully, there are phone apps and online calculators that can do all the work for you. These apps are a godsend for those that aren’t mathematically inclined. All you have to do is enter in the respective numbers, and the app will give you the ideal levels you should have to balance the various chemicals in the pool.
Pool Inspection Software: Inspector Dottie
Inspector Dottie is pool inspection software that empowers pool techs to conduct pool area and equipment inspections in minutes and generate branded reports for their customers. The convenience of the software enables pool techs the ability to add this to their list of services. The app is simple, easy to use, and fast to generate reports for customers. The professional reports generated present the pool tech as an expert and generates an additional stream of income.
Skimmer for Route Management
Skimmer is an app that assists pool service companies of any size who might be thinking about moving to a digital format. Skimmer can help pool techs in many categories.
Skimmer can help pool companies manage their business from a single system and more easily grow their businesses. Pool techs can ditch their paper, get organized, and increase their efficiency within their business. Skimmer helps with staying on top of everything, delegating tasks effectively, and saving time for pool techs.
Skimmer will streamline a pool service business, from scheduling and route management to customer
Lauren Broom is a Certified Pool Operator Course, CPO
, instructor and a former health inspector for the Florida Department of Health. Lauren has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and is a registered sanitarian.
She has 16-years of experience in commercial pool inspections and waterborne disease outbreak investigations.
Lauren lives in Palm Bay, Florida with her husband of 17 years and their 3 children.
Lauren can be reached at spacecoastpoolschool@yahoo.com
Lauren Broom Florida
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communications to billing. Poor communication with customers is a big reason why customer accounts are lost. Skimmer helps to maintain this communication to your customers by making it easy for pool techs to just email their water chemistry readings and pictures of issues at the location.
ORP Controllers & Monitoring
Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) controllers are the technology behind automated control of chlorine or any oxidizer in pools, spas, and water features. ORP is used in swimming pools to read disinfection and oxidation performance in pool water in “real-time.” Most commercial pools use pH and ORP probes continuously because it’s important for pool operators to know if something is wrong. If the ORP level drops, it’s a signal that chlorine might not be working at its best potential or that the oxidant demand (contaminants) in the water has increased relative to the amount of free chlorine in the water.
ORP is a valuable tool for pool operators by providing a different method to read the capacity of the disinfectant. By monitoring ORP levels regularly, pool techs can ensure that the pool water is properly disinfected, which minimizes the risk of recreational water-illnesses. It also gives operators a sense of the chlorine demand in the water.
ORPis measured using a specialized device called an ORP probe. The probe is connected to a computer called an ORP controller. This ORP probe has electrodes submerged in the pool water being tested within a chamber. The electrodes measure the voltage generated by the electron transfer reactions (called redox reactions) in the water. The voltage is then converted into an ORP reading, usually expressed in millivolts (mV).
Many of these ORP controllers can also be equipped to send information to an operator’s phone, where they can monitor and adjust levels without having to visit the pool. The operation of pool, spa, and water features requires a combination of technologies to cohesively integrate into a sustainable, reliable, and costeffective system. There are many ORP manufacturers that provide this technology to our industry. Pool techs can use this technology to make monitoring of disinfectant levels easier.
Pool Shark: Chemical Levels & Customer Communication
The pool tech has many methods of recording daily chemical readings and other important maintenance information and must choose between written records or technology. Written records are technologically easier for some pool techs to use, but if they are not stored properly, then the record may not be found or become damaged. Over time, written records can become a bulky method of recordkeeping.
Technology is now available to the pool tech for pool maintenance records. This alternative to written records is a form of electronic records that can be operated via an application on a mobile device. This allows for easy recordkeeping that is not limited to a physical storage capacity. The majority of the applications transfer the data to a cloud-type storage. In Florida, the application must meet the requirements of the Florida Department of Health (check your local requirements), and the log must be available to the inspector upon inspection or request.
An example of one such available mobile application is Pool Shark H2O. It records all the required Florida public pool requirements on the daily maintenance log and transfers it to cloud storage. The daily log can be accessed by the pool inspector through a QR code sticker that can be posted in a conspicuous location.
