H2O Dectective Series: The Case Of The Haze
It was a cold day in December. A day right after Christmas and the store was quiet. The change from Christmas music to the standard Muzek 1980′s hit parade was an unexpected welcome to the employees swapping jokes around the front counter.
The day was cold, but not cold enough to turn the slight moisture falling from the sky into snow. A man of about 50 walked through the sliding doors and removed his over sized hat and walked toward the front counter. “I need to speak to the water expert.” he exclaimed as he reached into his coat pocket to remove his water sample.
“I can help you.” Said a voice reaching out over the counter. Harold Osborne II was an old hand in the pool and spa business. He had been in the business his whole life and had literally forgotten more then what most in the business would ever learn. Harold didn’t take any particular pride in this point. He understood that he gained this knowledge from a lifetime of retail sales and at the end of the day, he had become a solid retail sales associate in a niche market and that was about it.
“What kind of problems are you having Mr. Hamilton?”, asked Harold as he noticed the customers name on the test bottle.
“My spa was crystal clear and I adjusted my chemicals and it turned cloudy instantly.”
Harold led him back to the water test station and did the standard run up of chemical tests that every customer expects. The tests were not really needed, as Jeff had a good hunch what the problem was before running the tests.
The tests came back and everything was in the exact range they were supposed to be in. Harold asked, “Let me guess, did you add PH increaser to your hot tub right before it went cloudy?”
“Well, yes I did.” mentioned Mr. Hamilton.
“That’s just what I expected. The problem with the water is the PH was increased too quickly. Tap water from the faucet has a lot of calcium and other dissolved solids that are in the water. When you increase your PH too quickly, it takes the calcium out of this dissolved state and makes it a solid again and that’s what the haze is from.”
“What do I have to do to fix it? Is it time to drain the spa? I just drained it a few weeks ago.” Complained Mr. Hamilton.
“You shouldn’t have to drain the spa. Add about 10 ounces of Stain and Scale Remover and that should convert the calcium back into a liquid and by doing so, remove the haze from the water after a day or so. After doing this, it’s a good idea to follow up with the weekly maintenance dose of the Stain and Scale Remover. It’s a good product and will prevent you from having excessive build of calcium in your plumbing and on your heater.” Harold was starting to get in his preaching mode. This is what he was good at and often went on far too long, to the point of boring the customers with information beyond their general need.
Harold went and showed the customer the Stain and Scale Remover on the shelf and the customer left. Another problem solved. But, Harold knew that there would always be another case to solve. Not many problems were too difficult for Harold, but he was looking forward to the challenge.
Debunking A Spa Myth
I will fully admit to not remembering everything I have said on this blog over the years, but just the other day I was faced with a spa request that is always tricky to explain. I had a customer walk in and say they wanted a small spa with lots of jets. Now, I understand that people are wanting more than just a couple of jets in a spa, but I think there is confusion out there that more jets equals better therapy and that simply is not the case. Jet count is important, but effective movement of water through those jets is even more important. All spas mix air with water and the air mixture is equal to every jet. Because of this smaller jets tend to have a higher psi and aren’t quite as effective at delivering the heat and massaging benefits of true hydrotherapy. Many manufacturers take advantage of consumers just looking for a high jet count by using a great deal of these small jets that may look impressive but fail to truly deliver the therapy they are supposed to provide. Since very few people actually wet test the spas they don’t really get a fair comparison of a spa that does things the right way and one that uses smoke and mirrors (or excessive jet counts). Hopefully that all makes good sense, if not stop in and I will be happy to show just what I mean…and I will be sure to show you exactly why the products we carry do things the right way.
Craig
What Spa Mode To Operate On
Customers often ask which spa mode they should operate their spa on for peak energy efficiency. The two most common modes are “standard” and “economy”. The standard mode operates much like setting the thermostat on your home HVAC unit, one places the temperature where they would like it and the spa will stay there all the time.
Super Hot Tub Deals!
If you’ve been considering a hot tub purchase, you should stop in as soon as possible. We just made a special purchase of hot tubs from Four Winds Manufacturing. These are display tubs from Home Shows and State fairs. They are all brand new and carry full manufacturer warranty. There may be some small cosmetic scratches on the cabinet or a mark or two on the shells, but these are some great deals and you can save thousands on some models. Priced in lower to mid-range price points, these are pretty much upper-end spas—big, with lots of options such as backlit jets, digital perimeter lighting, stereos, iPod connections, and water show fountains and waterfalls. Each is unique and each is a one-of-a-kind.
Stop in before your neighbor stops in and gets your hot tub! –Max
Winterizing Your Spa
First of all, I don’t understand why anyone would want to winterize a spa. Most of our customers find that using “their spa on a cold winters day, is just the thing their body needs to warm up the bones and take care of all of their aches and pains. The tough part of using the spa in the winter, is getting to the spa in the cold. Once you are in a spa, one could care less if there is a blizzard raging! Getting out is easy as well, the entire body is warm to the core and one barely feels the cold on the way back to the house. For those that are resolute on winterizing their spa, here are some tips.
Super Hot Hot Tub News
If you’ve been considering a hot tub purchase, you should stop in as soon as possible. We just made a special purchase of hot tubs from Four Winds Manufacturing. These are display tubs from Home Shows and State fairs. They are all brand new and carry full manufacturer warranty. There may be some small cosmetic scratches on the cabinet or a mark or two on the shells, but these are some great deals and you can save thousands on some models. Priced in lower to mid-range price points, these are pretty much upper-end spas—big, with lots of options such as backlit jets, digital perimeter lighting, stereos, iPod connections, and water show fountains and waterfalls. Each is unique and each is a one-of-a-kind.
Stop in before your neighbor stops in and gets your hot tub! –Max
Time To Change The Hot Tub Water
Why not? The fall season is upon us and after that comes winter. The last thing you want to do is try and change it in the heart of the winter when it is bitter cold. So let’s do the math. If you change it NOW, the next change would be due in late December to mid January while the weather and temperature is still manageable. After that comes the spring change—April to early May.
If you wait another month from now to change the water, the following change falls smack dab in the middle of February. Can you say five below zero! Plan now to avoid the February cold and freeze.
A little advance planning will allow you to enjoy the tub in water that still is fresh and balanced. –Max
Spa Pillow Maintenance
In a word, don’t remove your spa pillow unless it is absolutely necessary. We get quite a few people walk through the door with pillows that are torn apart or destroyed from having the plastic nodes broken off. These are the plastic pieces that snap into a receiver in the spa shell. Generally, manufacturers give little or no warranty because they are easy to damage, so any warranty you get is generally through the good will of the retailers. But if you MUST remove the pillow, do this:
- Gently slide your hands in behind the pillow and exert even pressure outward. Try to get as close to the nodes as possible.
- Do NOT simply grab the pillow and yank from the corner. The nodes will not release from the receiver and the pillow will either tear or the nodes will rip out of the back.
The only reason pillows are removable is for when they discolor or wear out. Let them die a natural death. Don’t assist. –Max
Investing In Your Pool’s Well Being
What’s new at Eastgate Pools? Well, if you own a pool or spa, you might be interested in knowing that there is lots of “new” to be found at the test center. Within the last week, we have taken delivery of our second brand new, state of the art test lab. The first new lab arrived and went into service a few weeks earlier, replacing an older model. The addition of this second lab gives us the ability to serve two customers simultaneously, meaning shorter wait times on those really busy days when it seems like everyone decided to have their water tested at the same time.
These water test labs are the very latest technology available from Palintest, and they will help insure accurate results that will help us to help you keep your pool or spa water clean, clear and safe. These new labs are costly, but we consider them an investment in your pool’s well being. At Eastgate Pools, we are committed to being your pool or spa professional. Try getting a state of the art water test at those big box stores where they don’t know pool water and they certainly don’t test it!
You Have To Check This Spa Out!
The model I am referring to is the Mira M10000. I’ve never seen a hot tub like this one and while it doesn’t fall into the ‘economy’ price points, it’s not as much as you might think. You can see it on our web site, but here is the gist. 3 pumps, seats 5-6, dozens and dozens of jets that hit just about everywhere you can imagine, jets that LIGHT UP in a variety of colors, a sound system that lets you listen to your favorite music on radio, CD, or your own device, and speakers both inside and outside the hot tub for when you want to entertain with using the hot tub. You’ve got to see it in person so stop in and get the complete tour. –Max
Do You Have An IPhone Or IPod?
Bring it to the store and we’ll plug it into the docking station of our Sundance Hot Tub. Chances are your music will sound it’s very best. I have a great inventory of Sundance Hot Tubs that have iPod Docking stations with JBL speakers and the sound quality is preposterously good. You need to experience it. Don’t have an iPod? We can demo it here at the store with our own units so that you can experience the most amazing sound system on the spa market. You may decide to get an iPod, or even better, a Sundance Spa. –Max
Max’s Big Bargain Spa Tent Sale
We’ve turned into Tent City here at Eastgate Pools & Spas. Not only do we have two outdoor tents featuring 1200 sq. ft. of outdoor casual furniture demos and special deals, we now have a third tent set up with some special spas that we need to move! These are special units. Several are last ones– one-of-a-kind demos. There are also a couple that have SMALL imperfections that are leading us to sell them off at BIG discounts. There is even one that I flat out just ordered wrong for a customer. They used it for a couple weeks while I got the correct spa in and then we switched them out. My error but some lucky customer will reap the benefits of my ‘oops’ moment.
Stop in on. Deals are to be had for the lucky that decide to visit. –Max
See Us At The Home And Garden Show . . . Get your Hot Tub!!
Eastgate Pools is prominently displayed at this year’s Fifth Third Bank Cincinnati Home and Garden Show at the Duke Energy Convention Center. There—did I get all the sponsor’s names in that sentence? Kind of like a NASCAR race. Anyway, our return features some great deals on Hot Tubs. Factory representatives will be there and we’ll have some incredible prices on quality first-run hot tubs. Why not stop on down and pick one out. Or just stop and say hi to me. I’ll be there for the entire show, which runs February 26-27, and March 2-6. It is closed on Monday February 28 and Tuesday March 1.
Want to attend for free? Well stop at the store and get a VIP pass for FREE admission on Wednesday March 2, Thursday March 3, or Friday March 4. I have a limited supply of these VIP passes so I’ve placed a limit of four per request or until they are gone. Just see any of our store sales phenoms for your free VIP passes. –Max
