Pool Perfection! Fireside Chat – Chad Nikkel, Owner of Aquaman pools
With the Phoenix summer upon us, a sparkling clean swimming pool is at the top of “must-have” list for many vacation home rental guests. As a vacation rental home owner, you’ll want to be sure your pool is maintained with excellence. You’ll also want protect yourself against potential liabilities!
Amanda Thomas of Moxie Girl recently had opportunity to chat with Chad Nikkel, owner of Aquaman Pools about some simple steps you can take to ensure a great vacation rental experience for your guests – and yourself – this summer.
AT: Hi there – this is Amanda Thomas with Moxie Girl, your vacation rental cleaning specialists! I’m here with Chad Nikkel, the owner of Aquaman Pools. He’s here today to give us some tips on caring for your vacation rental pools. Thanks for joining us today.
CN: You bet! Good to be here.
AT: Yeah! Thank you! So, when we were talking earlier, you had mentioned that vacation rental pools are more like commercial pools than residential pools. What did you mean by that?
CN: Yeah, in a residential pool you might have, you know, two or three people in the pool during the week. At a vacation rental pool, people are paying for use of the property for a vacation, so quite often there may be 10 people in the house. Since they are paying for the use of the pool, they are using that pool much more. In this situation there might be 5, 6, 8, 10 people – maybe more – in the pool every day. Pools run and consume chemicals based on how many people are in them and how much organic matter is in the pool. So you might have 10 or 15 times the amount of people in that pool than you would normally have in a residential pool. And that’s why we treat it like a commercial pool, much like an HOA for condo complex or a hotel.
AT: So, it would need more chemicals? Or just different chemicals, or…?
CN: Yeah, so it would a chemical feeder on the pool, like a tab feeder that’s back at the equipment, essentially so that it is continually feeding chlorine to that pool. So it is staying in front of those issues so that it doesn’t get murky, etc.
But then also maybe some other chemicals like enzymes and that type of thing that we wouldn’t always use in a residential setting. So for instance, with sunscreen and things like that on the body, chlorine is fighting to get rid of that and it’s consuming a lot of chlorine to do that, so if there’s more and more people in the pool, things like enzymes and other types of algaecides can help get rid of those things so that the chlorine can actually do its job correctly and keep the water clear.
AT: OK, so that’s why one time we stayed in a vacation rental and there were eight of us in a hot tub. The next morning it was like a scummy soup. Right, so you don’t want that happening with your vacation rental guests. That’s not good reviews!
Cool! So any other tips you would give vacation rental owners to make sure they are protected, they are safe and that they are getting good reviews?
CN: Yes! One of the things is to make sure it’s not just a chlorine floater in the pool. In a residential situation there’s a little pop-up feeder that has chlorine in it that’s floating around the pool. In a vacation rental pool, it’s better to have that back at the equipment because somebody’s kid could take that chlorine tablet out of that floater and it could hurt them. That’s a potential liability and something that could be easily solved with a simple tablet feeder that’s located back at the pool equipment, so that it is away from the environment that the guests are swimming in.
All commercial pools have that as a requirement – it’s code. So, even though it’s not an “inspected” pool, that’s the best way to do it. And from a liability perspective, that eliminates some concerns so it may be a situation where you could reduce some insurance costs if you can do some of these things, like putting “No Diving” signs around, and doing your part as a vacation rental home owner in saying, hey, the signs were there, you know if somebody – god forbid – hurts themselves diving in your pool.
AT: Yeah, try to protect yourself from the silly decisions your guests could make. Sounds good! So, it sounds like it’s important to have signs posted and also make sure that your pool guy knows that this is a vacation rental so he can have the chemicals set up correctly for that.
CN: Exactly! Yep!
AT: Perfect! And if any of you owners out there don’t have pool service yet or are looking to change, Aquaman Pools services the Valley, and they are fantastic! This is Chad, he’s the owner. If you have any questions please reach out to them. They would be happy to help you with your pool. Thanks so much and we’ll see you next time!
For all your pool service needs, contact Aquaman Pools at 480-243 POOL (480-243-7665) or email info@supercleanpools.com!
With our vast experience, Moxie Girl can help with all your vacation rental home needs – and we’ve found some of the best local products and services in The Valley. Watch for more Moxie Girl fireside chats coming soon!