Pool Craft, in Richmond Hill, Ont., which provides pool and hot tub maintenance and service across the greater Toronto area, also offers its customers a winter filter cleaning service. In fact, Cassidy Franks, the company’s operations manager, says if their customers’ filters look as though they need to be replaced after cleaning them over the winter, they suggest keeping them on hand, as using them during spring pool startup can be beneficial.
“The pool is typically at its dirtiest point during the opening season, thus the cartridges are filtering more debris than usual,” he explains. “Therefore, we recommend using the original set during spring opening to get the filtration process started by clearing heavier debris from the pool.
“Once the pool water is clear, the new filters can be installed to provide a more productive filtration process over the course of the summer. This will also extend the lifespan of the new filter cartridges.”
The importance of filter pressure
A service technician can save valuable time and resources during the busy summer months using a simple measurement—filter pressure. The change in pressure differential (pounds per square inch [psi]) can help a service technician determine if a filter is dirty and may need to be cleaned or simply backwashed—even over the phone.
For this to work, it is important to keep a log of the filter pressure on each pool being serviced. This can be done by making a note of the filter pressure in each customer file when opening their pool. This way it can be easily retrieved and referred to as needed. Having an archive of this data can also help when troubleshooting problems such as cloudy pool water or a malfunctioning heater.
For example, if a client calls with a problem, the first thing a service technician should do is open the customer file and ask them to check their filter to provide the pressure reading. If it was 18 when the pool was opened but is now reading 32, the customer can be instructed to backwash their filter, which in turn should solve the problem with their heater, as restoring water flow will allow it to function, and the pool water should also start to clear up.
This best practice can help a pool service company operate more efficiently, as some homeowners invariably seem to call with water clarity issues right before a big pool party or a long weekend. Therefore, it is great to be able to solve these types of problems over the phone rather than trying to squeeze them into a service technician’s busy schedule.
“We are diligent in keeping a log of all of our clients each time we service their pools,” says Lenz. “One of the most important figures we note is the initial psi on the gauge at the top of the filter tank. In fact, our technicians log 40 to 50 items via mobile device when servicing a client’s pool which immediately gets entered into their file in our business management software.”
