The human infections of Crytosperidium have an incubation period of 1 to 12 days; 7 days is typical. So identifying this disease is commonly difficult. Now the bad news; there is currently no cure for Crytosperidium. Cryptosporidium enteritis is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the parasite cryptosporidium. The main symptom is diarrhea but there are many side effects. The major risk factor is swallowing water contaminated with fecal matter. How can this be limited? EASY! Listen to your pool service technician. A swimming pool should allow a “complete cycle turn” to occur that will help eliminate materials 2 times in a given day. In other words this means your entire pool contents pass through your filter twice, every day, to help eliminate the risk of spreading disease.

There are many factors that will agitate Crytosperidium. One being a dirty filter! The most common; a “filter cartridge”, is designed to remove impurities out of your water. Manufacturers recommend replacing ALL elements every 18-24 months. Think of it like this: Your filter is a “trash can” for your pool water. The more debris you accumulate in your trash can, the less it can hold. Like all trash cans you should clean them out so you can store more trash. Now let me demand you use one bag for 18-24 months. Could you keep this bag clean? 1 week, 1 month, how about 5 years? The answer is simple; No chance. So don’t risk your health.

OK Scary man,

Can’t I just wait another 18-24 months?

Length:
In healthy people, the infection will clear up but can last up to a month. In people who are immunosuppressed, prolonged diarrhea may cause loss of body weight and malnutrition.

Outbreaks have been linked to:
Drinking from contaminated public water supplies
Drinking unpasteurized cider
Swimming in contaminated pools and lakes

Treatment:
There is no one treatment for cryptosporidium enteritis.

Causes:
In these groups, this diarrheal infection is not just bothersome. It also can lead to severe, and potentially life-threatening, loss of muscle and body mass (wasting) and malnutrition.

Those at higher risk:
Animal handlers
People in close contact with infected individuals
Young children

Pool Acid Wash

Over Nick’s right shoulder, you see the reflective and cleaned section of the pool from the acid wash. This is a killer way to quickly bring off algae from the pool’s bottom!

NOTE: Getting an acid wash is a hazardous and dangerous process. Dynamic Services performs them all the proper safety equipment to protect our employee’s safety and health. Please do not attempt to perform your own acid wash! We don’t rush the job, and we must be safe. The fumes can be very strong, and very dangerous. Our technicians wear a respirator that will block muriatic acid fumes, goggles or safety glasses and protective clothing. They wear old shoes, or rubber boots and spray off before exiting the pool.

by Nick Chaffee

If you are reading this then it probably means you have read a few other blogs like this one. So I will go ahead and assume you know my Grandfather then. This story is about him. P.S. The best part about my Grandfather is he tells you stories all the time, but he will add in random details he left out the time before, just to make sure you are listening. And he knows if you are listening!

The time is: Dynamic Services V1.0 established in the mid fifties. For a long period of time my Grandfather performed service on all the his swimming pools himself. However for a brief period of time my grand father became ill with kidney stones. Therefore he had to be hospitalized. Before his stay began he decided to find a helper to help alleviate the down time…. and so this story begins:

The subject is a good service technician is hard to find…

Grandpa: A while ago, when I had to goto the hospital, I had to find a guy to help me with my route while i was in there.

Me: Oh when you got sick with the stones?

Grandpa: Yea I was eating out all the time and the stress got to me…..So i needed to go in so I asked around for a good guy to help me.

Grandpa: Yes, so he was a nice guy (i know it’s a mid subject change), he came highly recommended from a friend, but he had a hard time keeping track of time, he would be out until sundown. I kept telling him that it shouldn’t take any longer than 30 minutes to vacuum, scrub the tile, even clean out all the equipment. Regardless he still always had trouble. So one day I got a call from a client, she asked me if I had heard from the guy. I said “Well not today”.

Me: Oh no!

Grandpa: Well it gets better don’t worry. So she asks me if I had “…seen him” because all that she had found from him was “…his clock”. “A clock?” I asked. And she said “Yes.”, she said she “…Came out to find only an alarm clock, and his pole and vacuum still in the pool”.

Me: And? What happened to him?

Grandpa: I don’t know, that was the last I ever heard from him. I guess he just realized there wasn’t enough time in the day for him. Let that be a lesson to you, sometimes people have what it takes and others don’t.

Grandpa:“You cant always pull water from a well.”

Me: A Real story from my Grandpa. 4/25/2010 Dinner with him and the family.

There are many factors that show how much care goes into the pools final construction. How well the bottom cleaner works, how much suction comes to the skimmer baskets, if the skimmers can be isolated, if there is even two skimmers in the pool! So many things go into it.

Many people today only reasearch the price. I say the most easily manipulatable thing in pool service or construction for that matter is the price. Customers call around thinking they have what it takes to battle the “phone” sales person. Anyone can make a $25 pool service sound like the best thing since sliced bread. But the real kicker comes when the guy actually shows up.

Let me give you an example of what I mean: There are some days I just want my truck washed right, and other a quick clean up job. I feel many people want the same out of a pool service, that’s why I designed “Always right” pool service.

We come in at a low price, and always make sure that when it’s needed (broken pump seal, algecide treatment, water clarifier) that we are there to keep your pool perfect “In the clutch.”

What does this mean for you? It means your billing will never be complex again. Billed by email, by mail or payable in person, we try to make the payment process as both seamless and convenient for you. You can now pay your bill online, instantly with your debit or credit card.

We here at East Coast Pools, Patio & Grills  answer these questions everyday.  We want to sell product as much as the next guy.  But we want our customers to make an educated decision, before they spend those hard earned dollars. So we are going to try to answer some of these questions for you. We hope  this information helps you make the right buying decission.

Should I buy a new Polaris 380, or used?

First you need a little history. Polaris 180 was the first pressure side pool cleaner that ran from a booster pump. The Polaris 180 has only 1 jet that creates the cleaning power.  It has a narrow throat, which allows leaves to clog it up.  It works very good, and is easy to repair.   It is old and out dated.  But it was the best at the time.

Polaris hoses! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Hose’s on old Polaris go bad. Don’t waste money buying alot of hose parts. Replacing Back up valves, swivels, and sweep tails is ok. But if your floats are sinking,
dragging the hose on the bottom, buy a new hose kit. The old floats were a type of  foam that got water logged, causing them to sink .  Don’t waste money buying floats for the hose’s , the old ones are way to hard to take off.

Polaris 360 & 380 were the next units to hit the market. These are 3 jet cleaners. The 380 In-ground requires a booster pump as does the 180 and 280, 480.  The 360 works off the return lines. The 340 work off the skimmer. The 65, 165 and Turtle work off return lines. The 165 is for inground, 65 and turtle for above ground pools.

Let’s start with the Polaris 380. It’s a great unit, but if you are buying an old one you need to ask?
If one wheel turns do they all turn? (If not, bad belts)  Does unit lay on it’s side? (yes, bad head float)
Dose hose sink?(yes, bad hose floats). Does unit back-up? (no, a bad back-up valve). Does bag stay clipped on? (no, possible bad bag, on throat where bag clips into it.) Are tires rounded alot? (older tires were squared in edges, the newer types are slightly rounded, (alot round bad tires). The front tire, and single side tires wear the most. the trailing tire(back right) wears the least. You can rotate the tires. If wheels are wobbly, bad bearings. The 380 is hard to fix, belts, and inside bearings. These parts need to be replaced when they show problems.  To inspect just pop of the cover and do a visual inspection. Look for broken bearings, see if things wiggle. If you are handy you should be able to fix one. but be careful not to loose parts. The 380 is a great cleaner. We do not reccomend buying used cleaners, from a picture you can’t tell if the inside parts are worn. If you do buy one used the units with the clear type tops are only a year or so old.

Next topic the Polaris 360. This unit head is just like the 380 except it does not use a booster pump. It works off the return line. The heads are the same, the same type things go wrong with them both.  The hose for the 360 are different. It has a backup valve but it is different, than the 380’s. The 180,280, 380, 480 all use the same backup valve. If a backup valve stops shooting water out, relplace it. It has a timer gear inside, it goes bad, & is not worth replacing parts, buy a new valve. 360 hose’s last longer if you do not have a automatic chlorinator on the return line. you will have to replace hose’s from time to time. You should get upto 3 years out of the hoses.

Next is the Polaris 280.   We like this one best. This unit has a larger throat, it is less prone to leaf cloggs. It has 2 ports that create the cleaning power. The flow design off the bottom and larger throat allow it to clean way better than the old 180, and just as good as the 380. This unit is very easy to fix,
the parts cost less than the 380. Again if any Polaris lays on it’s side the Head Float is bad and needs to be replaced. The 280 does not have a rebate program, but parts will cost you less, and in the end this unit will cost you less.

Now the 180, 280,380,480..(only sold by builders on new pools), all use a booster pump. They all need a dedicated line to run in the pool. The booster pump runs off a time clock. the cleaner timer can be jumped from the filter timer, or connected to it’s own breaker. Booster pump motors go bad, if it humms, it is either bad bearings or capacitor…(Bearings you ‘ll know that, it will be screaming, then after time the bearings heat up and cease.) Time for a new Booster pump. Don’t replace motors on booster pump it’s not worth the money.  The capacitor is under that bump up thing on top of  the motor. In there is the capacitor. They can explode, rupture, and some time just go bad. (Never take that top off  with power on you will get shocked.) (We do not recomend you ever mess with electrical connections on your pool if you do not know what you are doing. You could do something and put a charge in the water, a swimmer could be injured.) Signs it is bad leaked fluid, the top where the terminals are should be flat. If it is bumped up and terminals are crooked it is bad.
Bad Polaris pump Seal. You see water spraying out of the side of the seal bracket. These seals go bad over time, and if the pump runs without water the impeller over heats, seal over heats, & pump leaks, spraying water all over, this water can get into motor bearings, and cause that to go also. The new hose kits for the booster pump are excellent. If yours leak replace them.  Some booster pumps are set up with garden hose type fittings, with washers. Chlorine cause these washer to swell up,and decrease floe to pump. This can cause the pump to be loud and overheat.

We hope this information is of help to you, we still have more to add later.

Thank you for visiting my site. I hope that you enjoy it and use it to be successful at whatever you are working on. If it is allowing us to come and service your swimming pool than so be it. But if your a “Do-it-Yourselfer” then please enjoy the knowledge.

We understand that it can be difficult to get a new pool up and running so if you have a problem please don’t hesitate to contact me at 916-532-7034.

Many swimming pool service companies make their business by providing a singular type of service. However Dynamic Services is a different story, we supply the community with a “handyman” like service.

Since October 1st we are taking on new customers in need of our unique services. The customer that we identify with is a person or persons that need quality swimming pool at a competitive price.

Of course there was no reason to worry, with the help of my handy side kick we made short work of the debris in Alexs’ swimming pool. He expected us to be there for “hours” but we assured him that this is a simple task for leave eating machines like us. He of course laughed in delight as we waved goodbye.

If you are in need of leaf removal services or any of our one time services please shoot me a call so I can zip out, and help the situation asap. Remember you don’t have to be all alone when it comes to pool service, we are always here to help you with the hard stuff, after all, it’s our job.