PoolRx Boosters: When, Why, and How—According to Fred Schweer

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:51):
Hey, welcome to the Best of the Pool Vay podcast
show.
In this episode, I'll be joinedby Fridge Tweer of Fool RX, and
we're going to talk about howFoolarX works and the different
sizing of Fool RX in 2024-2025.
They came out with new sizingsof the Fool RX Plus.
We're going to go over that aswell.
And Full RX Plus, of course,will allow you to use a lot less

(02:12):
chlorine in the pool andeliminate all types of algae in
your pool.
Are you a pool service prolooking to take your business to
the next level?
Join the Pool Guy CoachingProgram.
Get expert advice, businesstips, exclusive content, and get
direct support.
From me, I'm a 35-year veteranin the industry.
Whether you're starting out orscaling up, I've got the tools
to help you succeed.

(02:33):
Learn more at swimmingpoollearning.com.
Yeah, so let's talk a little bitabout the lifespan of the Full
Rex unit and the booster.
So a lot of questions come upwith you know four to six
months.
Most people swim season, likeit's changed a lot in Southern
California.
I was just talking to one of mygroup members about how our
season's changed here becauseit's getting warmer later now.

(02:56):
Used to be five or eight yearsago, May would be the beginning
of the pool season.
It was already 90, 100 degrees,but it's kind of shifted into
June.
And then school starts herebeginning of the middle of
August.
So once the kids go back toschool, no one's using the pool
anymore.
And so we really have a prettyshort season in my area now

(03:16):
because um in Los Angeles Countybecause of the school year
starting early.
And then the season typically,at least for the last two or
three years now, hasn't reallystarted till like June.
But you want to talk about thewhat affects the length of the
pool or X and what about thebooster?

SPEAKER_01 (03:33):
Yeah, absolutely, David.
Um the longevity of the product,uh, as I mentioned a little
earlier, is based on severalfactors.
But our minerals, we want tosize it properly.
Number one, get the right amountof mineral in the water based on
the gallons.
We have to get that in therebecause we have to have the
right tipping point for thechemistry works.
The longevity will be influencedby the sizing.

(03:56):
Did you put the right size unitbased on the gallons?
The other one is you know, howclean was your filter prior to
installation?
Uh on our basic directions, it'shey, we got to clean the filter
first because it's granularmineral.
It needs to dissolve out of theunit through the filter into the
water.
Uh, the minerals are not killinganything at the filter level.
So we need that mineral insolution in the water.

(04:17):
So always say, hey, start with aclean filter before you install
it.
Um, the other one would be youknow, how green was the pool
prior to installation.
So if you put this into a realswampy green pool, we'll get you
cleared up.
But those minerals, some of thatmineral gets used up on that
initial algae kill.
And so you're gonna have to adda booster sooner than later.

(04:37):
And I'll get to the booster in asecond.
Uh, the other thing that isinfluencing is you know,
backwashing, uh, splash out,leaks, you know, excessive rain.
You know, our minerals are notum affected by by sunlight, by
heat, or evaporation.
But they are affected if theylose, you know, if you're losing
water from you know,backwashing, splash out, or

(05:00):
leaks, um, or you have to, youknow, you're getting heavy
dilution, obviously our mineralconcentration is gonna be out of
the water as well.
And so that will have an effecton the longevity.
You know, the other ones are youknow, pretty typical, like just
your normal pool chemistryranges are important, normal
pump run times, normal, normalfiltration, all of those things,
you know, put pressure on yourpool.
So if those are all in normalranges, it's gonna you're gonna

(05:21):
have a better, you know, uh abetter experience, a longer life
of the minerals.
The nice thing is, um, you know,we do have a booster.
And so over time, the minerals,you know, they they do get
recharged uh as they pass overthe unit, but over time they
also get used up uh from killingalgae and they get filtered out.
Over time, the mineralconcentration does get reduced

(05:43):
in the water.
As that happens, uh, you'regonna notice, you know, four to
six months after putting a poolRX in, that your chlorine demand
starts to go back up.
And like I said earlier, it'sbecause the microalgae in the
water can start growing again.
Once our mineral concentrationgoes below a certain tipping
point, that microalgae has theability to grow and your

(06:05):
chlorine demand will go up.
You're still gonna be clear,it's just gonna take a little
bit more chlorine.
You're gonna start noticing yourchlorine demand going up.
The second noticeable sign wouldbe, you know, your water is in
normal ranges, you got a goodum, you know, it's in normal
chemistry range, you got a goodfree chlorine reading, but it's
just looking kind of dull orcloudy.
That's the next noticeable sign.
And then the third one is prettyobvious.

(06:26):
If you see any hint of algae, alittle mustard spot or a little
tinge of green, you know at thatpoint we're we're overdue.
Uh the minerals are are used upuh and and filtered out, and
it's definitely time to add abooster.
And what the booster is, as youknow, David, is just um it's the
same mineral that's packedinside the original unit.
We have a blue booster thathandles uh 7,500 to 20,000

(06:49):
gallons, and a black boosterthat that supports the 20 to
30,000 gallons.
Um and all you really do isyou'll, you know, like you do an
install for regular pool RX.
You want to make sure your wateris the normal range, you want to
make sure your filter is clean.
Uh, and then you just open upthat jar and you dump that

(07:23):
booster into the skimmer or pumpbasket and you run your pump uh
long enough for all thoseminerals to dissolve.
And what's gonna happen is thoseminerals are gonna dissolve um,
you know, through your filterinto solution in the water.
Uh those minerals will raise themineral concentration back up in
that water, and you're gonna beallergy-free and using less
chlorine with it by the nextday.
Uh, as though as that water withthe booster minerals in it flows

(07:47):
over that original pool RX unitthat you leave in the pump
basket or the skimmer, uh, thebooster minerals will be
recharged to last for anotherfour to six months.
Uh, and then the following year,you want to start with a new
unit because the unit, the alloycylinder in there, does get
scaled and it loses itsconnectivity with the minerals
in the water over time.
So every year it's a new unit.

(08:07):
Four to six months later, orwhen necessary, you can add the
booster.
And then the other reason forthe booster, as you know, David,
is for those larger bodies ofwater.
So you can kind of mix and matchbased on what you're supporting.
Um, we can we can support anysize body of water.
We also have uh a commercialunit uh and a 10-pound bucket of
minerals that can support youknow pools from you know 150,000

(08:29):
to 500,000 gallons.
And obviously we we can gohigher than that.
We've done you know million,million gallons, two million
gallons, um, no problem.
Just about getting you know theright amount of uh of our
specially treated alloy in thisin the system as well as uh the
enough enough minerals tosupport the gallons.
To make it simple, guys, it'sit's pretty much a Pull X unit

(08:50):
each spring.
And uh at the end of the summer,uh when you need to, you can add
the booster.
So that that's the basics of it.

SPEAKER_00 (08:59):
Yeah, for a saltwater pool, uh the polar X
is compatible with salt systems.
I think there is one thing thatyou need to do though when
you're when you're initiallyadding it to the salt pool.
Since the saltwater pools, thepH is like 8.2, 8.4.
It just runs super high.
Uh it's just a natural byproductof the production.
You would want to lower the pHat least to 7.4 before adding

(09:20):
the polar X units for theminerals dissolve.
Is that a correct assessment?

SPEAKER_01 (09:24):
Yeah, that's absolutely right.
Yeah, you're you've you've beendoing this a while, and I know
you've been using Polar X awhile.
So yeah, the minerals aregranular and they need to
dissolve into solution.
And it's gonna be easier todissolve into solution uh in in
normal pool chemistry range.
Um, you know, and I I alwaystarget, I always say, hey, let's
target like a 7.2, 7.4 prior toinstall.
Just because to your point, likeyou said, you know, that those

(09:47):
soliclorine generators areproducing a pH of you know, a
chlorine of of about 13 comingoff that cell.
So that's why they're alwaysdriving the pH up.
And and when they're in thatscaling mode, they're it's
pushing calcium out of thewater.
And so I would rather theminerals have an easier time
dissolving into solution ratherthan you know, in that, you
know, eight eight point zeroplus eight two, eight four,

(10:07):
where it's gonna take longer forthose minerals to dissolve into
the water.
Um and that's where you can seeyou know that undissolved
mineral, you know, kind of stickto the scale, you know, before
it dissolves.
And so to avoid that, just youknow, it it's not it's not a
huge factor, but again, it justleads to let's keep it in normal
pool chemistry ranges.
Um, and it's better to start atthat at that lower level because

(10:29):
as you're producing, you know,as that salt covering generator
is running, it's gonna keepdriving that pH up.
And so for the initial install,yeah, I think you know, 7-4
would be great.

SPEAKER_00 (10:38):
And then for a salt water pool, of course, it's
gonna be the same effect whereyou're gonna notice the
chlorine's holding in the poollonger.
And I've noticed that sometimesyou have to turn the salt
production down to even as lowas 30%, because otherwise you're
gonna just be producing way toomuch chlorine.
And typically the salt waterpools have a lot less cyaneric
acid in them than the trichlorpools, and that that could be a

(11:01):
problem too.
So that's a key factor, too.
You lower that salt productionas soon as you put the polyx
unit in.

SPEAKER_01 (11:06):
That's right, David.
Yeah, you're absolutely right.
That's the benefit not only tothe pool service pro, because
you're gonna be able to use lessacid to keep that high pH uh in
normal range.
Uh, but it's also a benefit tothe homeowner, right?
The uh, you know, you're you'regonna prolong the life of that
salt cell if if you're producingless, uh, you know, if you're
having to produce less everyday.
So if you can turn down thatsalt clearing generator, um, it

(11:28):
benefits uh both of you.
Um and one additional note isyou know there is some zinc in
our product that is a naturaldescaler.
Um and what this it we don'tsell it as a descaling product,
but but the the way that thatzinc works is that it's gonna
prevent the scale from attachingas easily to surfaces, uh
especially the salt cells.
So you're not gonna have toclean that salt cell as
frequently, which again is abenefit to the to the homeowner.

(11:51):
But um, yeah, you're you'regonna definitely notice that you
you can turn down that salt andchlorine generator.
Um, and all we need again, guys,is you know, to have you know
0.5 to 1 part per million offree chlorine and and everything
else in normal range for us towork as advertised.
So huge benefits for salt poolcustomers.

SPEAKER_00 (12:08):
Yeah, and you mentioned using less acid
because if you turn down theproduction, those side effects
from the production of thehigher pH gets reduced as well.
So I think to clarify that,Clorex is going to make the coin
last a lot longer in the saltpool, which means that if you're
set your salt output at 80% or100%, you bring that down to 30

(12:29):
or 40 percent, you're gonna haveless of that side effect at the
higher pH.
So it does do two thingsactually in a salt water pool,
which is great, or actuallythree things if you count the
zinc as a descaler.

SPEAKER_01 (12:40):
Absolutely.
It's it's um it's kind of a no,it's it's really works great in
all pools, but the nice thingabout salt pools is you can
really tell that your yourchlorine, you know, that that's
a great test of showing you, heyman, my this chlorine is much
more active and available.
So for folks that don't believeit, you know, try this in a salt
pool.
You'll you'll definitely see thebenefit of what poolar X is

(13:01):
doing as far as the chemistrygoes.

SPEAKER_00 (13:03):
Let's just talk a little bit about compatibility
because a lot of people have thesalt water generated, then they
have UV and ozone attached to itas well.
And then the Pool Pro also likesusing enzymes and phosphates.
A lot of pool pros like usingborates.
So poolar X generally is almostunderstanding.
I said all those togetherbecause it's compatible with all
the things I mentioned.

SPEAKER_01 (13:22):
Yeah, that's correct.
You know, if you're making moneyselling phosphate removers once
a season, that's fine.
You know, um it works with allthose, but it works with
borates.
Yeah, again, not necessary basedon our chemistry and our
science.
But um, if if you want to uh usethose products as another layer
uh of support, they have noadverse interactions.

(13:45):
The ones we would not want youto work uh to use would be you
know, bromine.
Uh so any of your spas, youknow, you're gonna have to start
with fresh water, clean filter,uh, and use pool RX and a little
bit of, you know, maybe atablespoon of dichlor once a
week, a little non-chlorineshock.
So no bromine, uh no sodiumbromide, uh, no bigwanides, um,

(14:07):
and no other copper-basedproducts.
You know, so we are your algaeside.
You know, and again, don't usewith fish, even though we have
these new sizes for forfountains and ponds and stuff,
don't use with fish.
Fish don't react the same tochlorine and minerals um as we
do, as mammals do.
So um, but yeah, all those otherproducts are fine.
Um, just really based on if youwant to go less is more, um, you

(14:30):
can go pull our X and not needthose.
Um, but again, if if you wantsome extra other other layers of
support and you're actuallymaking money selling those
products, uh you'll be fine.

SPEAKER_00 (14:42):
The last thing I guess we can touch on before we
end here is uh Calhypo.
It's pretty popular in Texas.
Uh Florida is becoming a lotmore popular.
It's always been kind of popularhere, but liquid chlorine has
always been more popular.
It's trichloroforce, it's thenumber one sanitizer of choice
in in Southern California.
But Calhypo and Polar X, thereare a couple of cautions when

(15:04):
using it.
It's nothing that'sincompatible, but it's just how
Calhypo kind of reacts in thewater with it, right?

SPEAKER_01 (15:10):
Yeah, correct.
So our our basic instruction isto err on the side of caution.
First of all, not all cal hypois made the same, and that
that's one uh variable.
But what we say is we wouldrather we need you guys to
dissolve and dilute your calhypo before pouring it in the
pool when you're using pool RX.
If you don't, uh in some cases,you sprinkle that cal

(15:34):
hypogranular around the edge ofthe pool and it settles to the
bottom before it dissolves, andit can instantly oxidize and
turn black or gray.
So that is totally avoidable ifyou just take your five-gallon
bucket of water and pour yourcal hypogranulate into the
five-gallon bucket of water,stir it up for a little bit and
then and then slowly pour it inthe deep end.

(15:55):
It will prevent any of that calhypooxidation.
And some people think, oh, I canstill sprinkle it in and I'll
brush up real quick.
No, it in some in some cases itinstantly oxidizes.
So that's the one all othertypes of chlorine have we have
any kind of granular chlorine isis has no impact on that.
But cal hypo is the one that wewe ask you to dissolve and
dilute the cal hypo before youpour it in.

(16:17):
Yeah, cal hypo tabs, no problem.
Um, so yeah, no issue there.
It's just that granular.
And again, guys, it's not it'snot all.
Uh there's a lot of cal hypo outthere.
Uh, but I I would rather youavoid that issue than than uh
have to fix it.

SPEAKER_00 (16:33):
Then the guy should be doing that anyway because
pouring it directly at certainfull surface types is not
advisable.

SPEAKER_01 (16:39):
I I know, I know, I know, David.
It's but you know, we people areare cutting corners and and uh
especially if you're usingpullar X, you should just uh
make sure you dissolve anddilute it.
It's pretty simple.

SPEAKER_00 (16:49):
I always think liquid chlorine is is better
anyway, because it's it's justdoesn't add the calcium, it
doesn't cloud the water.
But I know some areas liquidchlorine is is not as readily
available as the cal hypo.
Understandable.

SPEAKER_01 (17:01):
Um before we go, David, I know we want to wrap
this up.
Um, just a couple quick notes,guys.
We we talked about sizing,installation, and maintenance.
The a couple of basics that Iwant to cover are when you
install this, you want to makesure your filter is clean.
Um, if you have a DE filter, youneed to actually clean the
grids, put the right amount ofDE in there.

(17:22):
If you can bypass uh or put iton recirculate and bypass the DE
on the initial install, evenbetter because that mineral
won't get caught on that DEfilter.
Um, so that's my first choice.
Um, if you don't have time to dothat, you know you don't want to
you don't want to recirculate oror bypass that DE and come back
in a few hours.
Um, if you don't want to dothat, you just you want to put

(17:43):
on a DE filter, you definitelywant to put it in the skimmer
basket furthest from the pump.
Make sure that that that skimmerhas some flow and make sure that
you install it at the the uh thestart of the pump run cycle for
the day.
That will give the minerals moretime uh to slowly dissolve into
solution and more time to getinto solution in the plumbing
before they have to pass throughthat DE.

(18:03):
I know DE is not as losingpopularity, but uh just for
those folks, and again, thatalso leads to the getting that
mineral into the water.
We don't want to get it caughtup on the DE.
We want to get it in solution inthe water.
The second thing aboutinstallation, guys, is you know,
if you're if you have variablespeed pumps, which is almost
everybody now, you know, ourdirections say three to four

(18:24):
hours, you know, it's gonnadissolve in three to four hours.
That's probably more on on yourhigher speeds, your higher RPMs.
If you're if you're not gonna beable to do that, uh and you want
to you're running it for six oreight hours a day on variable or
longer, you want to put theproduct in at the beginning of
the pump run cycle, ideally.
So it gives those minerals timeto dissolve into solution

(18:45):
through the filter into solutionin the water.
And and the longer the pumpruns, uh, the better on that
additional install.
And then when we talked aboutnot cleaning or backwashing
after install, uh, that uh ismore, you know, your the concept
here, guys, is that some of thatmineral does get caught up in
the filter.
And the longer you have for thatmineral to dissolve through that
filter into the water before youhave to clean that filter again,

(19:09):
means the more mineral that youpaid for is gonna be in solution
in the water, again, leading tobetter longevity.
So um, but again, if if you'reclearing up a green pool, you
know, it's a little bitdifferent.
You're you're gonna have to runthat punk 24 hours and come back
that next day, and you're gonnahave to probably clean that
filter because of all that deadalgae.
So ultimately, guys, if when youhave to clean the filter, you

(19:30):
have to clean the filter.
No matter if that pressure getsto a certain point that you
gotta backwash or clean it, thenthat's what you got to do.
Um, but ultimately, you know,the initial install, if we can
get that right, um, we can getthe most bang for your buck, and
um it'll be a great season foryou.
You know, this product, we'vebeen we've been saving people
money and and keeping peoplealgae-free since 1994.

(19:53):
Um, and it's the real thing.
I mean, this this is really,there's nothing like pool RX out
there.
That's why I love being part ofthis company.
But you know, we are reallyunique compared to anything else
on the market.
And we really set ourselvesapart, you know, with our
mineral formulation, uh, the waythat the product's chelated, the
way the product reacts with ourspecially treated alloy to last

(20:16):
for up to six months.
Um so yeah, there's nothing likeit.
If if um you know, if you're apool service professional, even
if you know, chems included,it's absolutely no-brainer.
You're gonna save yourself timeand money.
Uh, if you're charging forchemicals, uh, you can charge
for pool RX.
You're gonna be spending lesstime at these pools and you're
gonna have a happier customer.

(20:36):
So great for both sides andobviously great for the
homeowner uh on so many levelswith not only water, water
quality, clarity, safety,longevity, the the whole
experience of always having anice clear pool.
So great for everybody involved.

SPEAKER_00 (20:51):
Yeah, and I'm a definitely a believer in the
product.
And there, if you look at thereviews anywhere on on the
internet, you'll see that uh youguys get stellar reviews.
So it's not just us talkinghere.
Consumers over the last 30 yearshave really loved, and the pool
pros have really loved Pool Rec.
And you'll find all that thatwe're just not talking here.
Uh, there's a lot of empiricalevidence backing us up here.

(21:15):
So thanks for your time.

SPEAKER_01 (21:17):
Yep, thank you, David.
I appreciate it as well.
Thanks, everybody.

SPEAKER_00 (21:20):
And if you're looking for other podcasts, you
can find those by going to mywebsite, swimmingpro
learning.com.
On the banner, click on thepodcast icon.
There'll be a drop down menu ofover eighteen hundred podcasts
for you to listen to there.
And if you're interested in mycoaching program, you can learn
more at PoolGuyCoaching.com.
Thanks for listening to thispodcast.
Have you guys through a week andGod bless.

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PoolRx Boosters: When, Why, and How—According to Fred Schweer

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