December 10, 2025 • 22 mins
Most routes bleed time and money during filter season, not because the work is hard, but because the system behind it is fuzzy. We break down a simple framework that keeps your margins healthy, your schedule predictable, and your clients happy: when to clean, how to price, what to replace, and which tools shave minutes off every stop.
We start with the big decision: include filter cleaning in your monthly price or bill it separately. For regions running full-size cartridge and DE filters, separating the charge boosts accountability and keeps your bids competitive. From there, we compare four-month and six-month schedules.
Next, we go tactical. Learn how batching by filter type reduces on-truck inventory and speeds decisions, what spare parts to carry for common DE and cartridge models, and how a three-year replacement cycle for grids and quad cartridges prevents messy mid-summer failures. We talk through efficient upsells, when a full grid assembly swap pays off, and why pairing salt cell cleaning with filter service saves steps. Maintenance timing matters too: rebuild backwash valves during shoulder seasons to prevent leaks and headaches in July. For pure speed, we share the small tools that make a big difference, from multi-torque socket sets for clamps to the Orbit Sunmate 58361N nozzle and low-dust DE that keeps lungs and trucks cleaner.
• charging separately for filter cleaning to increase accountability and margin
• regional differences between single-cartridge systems and quad or DE filters
• four-month versus six-month cycles and why seasonal timing wins
• pairing salt cell cleaning with filter service and choosing whether to bill
• pricing strategy to keep monthly rates competitive while itemizing cleanings
• batching routes by filter type and stocking only needed parts
• three-year replacement cycle for cartridges and DE grids, longer for select systems
• adding backwash valve maintenance during off-season windows
• time-saving tools including multi-torque sockets and high-pressure nozzles
• choosing l
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:02):
And welcome to the Pool Guy Podcast Show.
In this episode, I'm going totalk to you about seasonal
filter cleaning, and I'm goingto go over some aspects like
should you charge extra forfilter cleaning, what when
should you clean the filters, atwhat time of year, and also
pricing if you are charging, andall kinds of things related to
filter cleaning, the processitself, and how you would
(01:26):
approach it with the customersin your service area.
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 veteran in theindustry.
Whether you're starting out orscaling up, I've got the tools
to help you succeed.
Learn more atSwimmypoollearning.com.
(01:48):
And I'll tackle the first one,and that is should you charge
for filter cleaning?
If you're in certain areas ofthe country like Arizona,
Nevada, Florida, would besomething I'll touch on in a
second.
But California, the West Coast,Texas, where you have full-size
cartridge and D filters, Ireally do suggest you charge
(02:09):
extra for filter cleanings.
You don't include them in theservice.
There's a couple of reasons whythis is logical.
And one is that it kind ofmotivates you to actually clean
the filters.
I know this sounds crazy, but ifyou have it all inclusive and
you're charging, let's say$10 amonth more for the customer,
probably a little more thanthat, I should say actually,
(02:30):
maybe like 15 or 20, and you'reincluding the filter cleans,
there's not a lot of incentivefor you to clean the filters
when the time comes becausethere's no extra money on the
table.
And for me, I think that's a bigmotivator for not just you but
also for your employees to cleanthose filters because it's like
anything, it's all optic.
(02:51):
If you're getting the money, ifyou're getting the money during
the month, you're not reallyseeing the money come in, and
you know in the back of yourhead you gotta clean the filter
because you're getting paid forit.
But if you charge the customerat the time you're cleaning the
filter, it just is much easier,I think, mentally to get into
the mode to clean, you know, 70or 80 filters.
(03:12):
Now, as far as Florida goes, alot of the area has the single
cartridge filters, and you haveto clean them probably once a
month or every other month.
And so including that in yourservice rate does make a little
sense.
Doesn't take too long to clean asingle cartridge filter.
However, if you have D filtersor larger filters, you will want
to charge for that cleaning aswe do here on the West Coast
(03:35):
because it is more timeconsuming, and it's something
that you don't do every month,you're gonna do it every four to
six months.
And then, of course, the otherargument is how often should you
clean the filters?
Now I don't like cleaningfilters, I'll be honest with
you.
I've cleaned so many of themover the years since I started
back in 1988, that it's one ofthose things that I don't like
(03:57):
doing.
A lot of pool guys actually willoutsource their filter cleaning
to other companies.
There's a few here inCalifornia, or a few guys here,
or gals here, that'll put a signup at the supplier saying
they'll do filter cleaningservice.
And there's one company here inparticular that actually takes
the filter into their truck andtakes it to their shop and
cleans it there and then bringsit back.
(04:18):
So there's actually no mess atall on the property.
A really good service because asyou get older and as you've done
these over the years, you justdon't want to clean them
anymore.
And so it's one of those thingswhere it's like, yeah,
outsourcing them sounds great.
But if you are going to say, youknow, should I clean them every
four months or six months?
Mathematically, of course, everyfour months is going to make you
(04:41):
more money if you charge perfilter cleaning.
I'll keep it simple.
Let's just say you charge$90 afilter, and if you're doing it
three times a year, of course,you've captured$90 more dollars
over the course of let's say 60filters, and you know that's
$5,400 extra if you do it everyfour months versus every six
(05:03):
months.
And the manufacturer doesrecommend cleaning the filter.
I think it says in someliterature every four to six
months, and sometimes you canget away with saying the
manufacturer recommends this, oryou can just set it up as your
policy to clean it every fourmonths.
It's not gonna hurt to clean a Dfilter every four months, or to
take a four quad type cartridgefilter apart and clean it every
(05:26):
four months.
And I should emphasize thedifference between the areas in
Florida where they use a singlecartridge filter and the areas
here where we use a quad typecartridge filter, which are four
usually 100 square footcartridges in one filter tank.
And those don't need to becleaned every month like the
single cartridge filters inFlorida.
(05:48):
As far as D filters, you do haveto clean those at least every
six months, in my opinion.
Some people will say otherwise,you can just backwash them for a
year and then clean them in oneyear.
But I think if you are chargingfor the filter cleaning, it's
better to clean the D filtersevery six months or every four
months if you choose to do that.
(06:09):
The only problem I see withdoing it every four months is
that you're actually going to becleaning the filters in the
middle of the season, where itis probably not the most ideal
time to clean the filters.
Every six months you can kind oftime it to where you're cleaning
it at the beginning of theseason and when the season is
ending before you get intowinter.
So I really prefer every sixmonths myself for that reason.
(06:30):
You can clean your filters inMarch and April, and that way
they're just perfectly ready forMay, June, July, and August, and
then take them apart again lateSeptember and into October.
Here in my area, that's beforethe Santa Ana wind season
starts, so that's perfect aswell.
And then in March and April,there's not a lot to do at the
pool site.
(06:51):
So you can get away with doing areally quick cleaning of the
pool and then spending the timethere cleaning the filter, and
same with late September, earlyOctober.
There's not much going on eitherweather-wise, and you can get
away with deferring the cleaningof the pool, maybe just doing a
quick skimming, brushing,checking the chems, and then
(07:11):
knocking out the filter.
And I think those are the idealtimes to clean the filter.
When you start getting intoApril and May, here you start
getting a lot of pollen in thein the pool.
The season may start early, andyou may have to do some algae
treatment, things like that,charging up the salt systems,
working on cleaning the saltcells.
And by the way, I always like toclean the salt cell in tandem
(07:34):
with the filter cleaning, justbecause it's probably gonna need
it.
And since you had the filterapart, you might as well take
the salt cell off and soak it inthe acid water mixture, and it
kind of kills two birds at onestone.
And again, there's a debate onshould you charge for salt cell
cleaning.
A lot of guys charge like$35 or$50 to clean them.
It does take time, and since Ido them usually when I clean the
(07:57):
filter, I haven't set up acharge for them.
I probably should, but since I'mjust taking it off and putting
it in where I'm cleaning thefilter, it's not really a big
deal for me.
And I rarely have to clean itlike middle.
Well, I should take that back.
Certain pools do need their saltcell cleaned in the middle of
summer.
But usually when I clean it inthe beginning of the season,
there's only a handful of themthat may need an acid bath in
(08:21):
May or June.
And then other areas aredifferent, of course, because
your water is much harder, andyou may have to clean the salt
cells much more often.
So that's for you to decide ifyou're gonna charge for that or
not, and maybe that's for adifferent podcast episode.
But as far as filter cleaning, Ireally think again, as I said at
(08:58):
the beginning, you should becharging for the filter cleaning
service because it motivates youto do it, it motivates the
employees to do it, and it'ssomething that is just very
common here and very normal asfar as service goes.
The pool service companiesusually don't include it as an
all-inclusive service here.
It just is better also whenyou're bidding for a pool.
(09:22):
Because when you're bidding, thebottom line is how much is it
monthly?
And if you're adding the filtercleaning into the monthly rate,
it's gonna raise the rate aboveyour competitor who may be
charging for the filter cleaningseparately.
So again, it may be to youradvantage to charge a lower
monthly rate and then build themevery six months for the filter
(09:43):
cleaning.
I find the easiest way to keeptrack of your filter cleaning
progress is still with a printedsheet in some cases, so you can
kind of visualize each day whichfilters need to be done.
And you can do this in aspreadsheet as well, and you can
put them in order of D filtersand cartridge filters on that
(10:06):
service day.
So, for example, let's say on aTuesday you have 6D filters and
eight cartridge filters.
Now it's up to you if you wantto clean the cartridge filters
first or the D filters first.
I don't recommend doing amixture of both.
I used to do it like that.
I used to go in order, so Iwould just start at the
beginning of my route, clean thefilter, and do like the first
(10:27):
four, and then I would do thenext four the next week, the
next four the next week, and thenext four the following week.
So in a month I would finishthat whole day of filter
cleaning.
But I find it's much better tosplit them up to where you have
say the cartridge filters firstand the D filters second.
There are a few reasons forthis.
The main reason is that thefilters are vastly different and
(10:53):
the components are different aswell.
What I mean by that is if you'regoing to do D filters, you
should carry spare grids on yourtruck.
So you should have some 48square foot, 60 square foot,
some of the Penter FNS Plusgrids, and you should also have
the Penter 4000 and 2000.
I shouldn't say Penter FNS Plusbecause they're pretty universal
(11:16):
with the Jandy and Haywardfilter.
It's just that I have a lot ofPenter FNS pluses in California
in my area.
So you want to carry that alsostem O-rings, O-rings for the
tank.
And you should have your routeanalyzed to the point where you
know what filter type is onwhich day, what filter brand,
what you should have on yourtruck as far as O-ring for that,
(11:38):
stem O-ring, grids.
And so if you're doing it towhere you're just doing it in
order, you know, by the poolthat that that day, and not by
filter type, sometimes you'recarrying a lot of parts on your
truck that you don't reallyneed.
And it does take up a lot ofspace inside your back seat of
your truck.
That's where I carry my grids.
(11:59):
I used to carry the grids on theback of my truck, but I've lost
a few that have blown out.
And I also realized that the sunhitting the grids is not a good
thing.
It really weakens them reallyfast.
They're not made the way theyused to be made, so any kind of
sun exposure really ruins thosegrids fast.
So I like splitting it up mainlybecause I can carry the grids
(12:22):
during the DE filter cleaningtime, carry the dietomaceous
earth on the back of my truck.
That's a big thing, by the way,having you know four or five
bags of DE.
So having all of that and mixingit between cartridge and D
filters to me is inconvenient.
So I'd like to split them.
So I'll go through a checklistand I'll make sure I mark all
(12:42):
the DE and cartridge filtersthat day, and then I'll know
which ones I'm gonna startdoing.
And I still do them in order bythe way.
So you know the first pool mayhave a cartridge filter, the
third and fourth pool has one,then the seventh and ninth pool,
and staying in order reallyhelps so you don't make a
mistake.
Also, since I change theelements every three years, this
(13:04):
is also an important thing thatyou want to do, and I usually do
this the week prior to my filtercleaning.
You can do this during yourfilter cleaning process as well,
but I find it's better to dothis the week before because
then you'll knock some of thefilters out and you'll have room
on your truck to have theelements.
What I mean by that is that ifyou change the four cartridges
(13:26):
out on a pool every three years,like I do, and you mark on the
filter with a sharpie or on yourin your app, when you change the
grids out or the cartridges out,you can actually time it so
where and you should always kindof do this during the filter
cleaning season if you can.
Now, sometimes a D filter willdevelop problems, the grids will
(13:48):
tear, and you can't time it aswell.
But you would really want totime this as much as you can
during the filter cleaningseason.
So I'll replace the grids andthe the cartridges every three
years, with the exception of thequad D filters, those cartridges
seem to last a lot longer.
So I'll go five years withthose, and then the system 3
(14:09):
filter, the stay right filterwith the large cartridge and the
smaller one.
I'll do that one maybe every sixor seven years.
Because the elements are reallyexpensive, and they really last
a very long time over thestandard quad four cartridge
filters.
And then you'll again want totime this usually the week
(14:31):
before you do the filtercleaning.
So go down the list of all thefilters that you're going to
bring elements for, order those,have them on your truck, and
then I change those out prettyrapidly.
What I usually do with Dfilters, if I can get away with
it, if the customer doesn'tmind, I'll just get a full grid
assembly.
That's the top manifold, bottommanifold, all eight grids, and
(14:51):
I'll just pop the lid off thefilter, and I'll take that whole
thing out and drop it in there.
Now, sometimes customers aremore economical and they don't
want you to spend that kind ofmoney, extra money for the whole
grid set.
I think it's a good way of doingit because everything is brand
new at that point.
But if you can't do that, andprobably do that every other
three years, so every six yearsyou can do the whole grid set if
(15:12):
you wanted to.
Changing out the D grids ispretty easy and quick for me as
well.
So I'll do that, and it savesyou a cleaning basically because
you're just taking the old gridout, putting a new one in.
The cartridges are the same way,they take up a lot of space on
your truck, and doing it everythree years is really easy.
You just take out the oldcartridges when you get to the
third year, put the new ones in,throw those away, and you're
(15:35):
pretty much set.
And it's you save yourself afilter cleaning, but I do charge
an install fee for the grids andfor the cartridges.
So you make you don't lose thatfilter cleaning charge if you
are charging during the season,the filter cleaning season.
You still recapture that chargeyou have you have to take it
apart.
Takes you some time to do it,and I do charge for the
installation of the cartridgesand also the grids.
(15:58):
Ed, you'll take you'll alsocheck that off, you know, to
clean that filter at that time.
So that helps you as well, kindof mentally, and also with your
time management.
And you should really changecartridges, the quad type
cartridges, I should say, singlecartridges, you're gonna change
more often.
But the quad type cartridges,change those every three years,
(16:18):
and the same with D grids, theydon't last as long as they used
to.
It just prevents the D gridbreaking during the season,
causing D to get into the pool,causing a big mess during the
summer.
So if you are in this regimentof every three years, you're
gonna have a really easy timemaintaining these filters.
The longer you go withoutchanging the elements, the
(16:39):
cartridges, and the grids, theharder it is to maintain that
pool, in my opinion.
So I just tell the customersevery three years I have to
replace the elements and thefilter, and that's just the way
it is.
It's this industry standardbasically now.
In my opinion, it should be, andyou should do this at least
every three years with yourfilters on your route.
I also like to do backwash valvemaintenance when I'm doing the
(17:01):
filter cleanings at this time.
It's a good time to replace theO-rings in the piston, or
replace the piston itself, or ifyou have a multi-port valve,
sometimes it's a good idea toreplace the top of the
multi-port valve or the spidergasket at this time.
Basically, kind of lumpingtogether your backwash
maintenance with the filtercleaning time is a great way to
(17:24):
kind of do both at the same timeand keep the filter running at
the optimal capacity.
I don't really like messing withthe backwash valves during the
season, especially in thesummertime where you may have a
problem.
So if you can do it in theoff-season, beginning or at the
end of the season, and do allthe backwash maintenance as
well, backwash valve maintenanceas well.
I think it's smarter and abetter use of your time.
(17:48):
No matter how you want to do it,I think you should split them up
between cartridge and D filters,in my opinion.
It just makes for an easierfilter cleaning time.
And of course, there's all kindsof tools you can use with the
cartridge filters, like thecyclone filter cleaning, and you
can also, you know, with the Dfilters, I like using it, what's
called the Orbitz nozzle.
(18:09):
I should give you that numberbecause to me, I think it's the
best nozzle for D filtercleaning, getting the grids off.
You can also use it forcartridge filters.
Here it is for you.
It's the Orbit Sunmate Hose End58361N.
That's the Orbit Sunmate 58361N.
It's a tiny little sweepernozzle.
(18:29):
They wear out.
I keep them in my pocket, I keepthem in my glove box in my
truck.
These are great for the Dfilters.
It gives you the added pressurethat a lot of homeowners here in
California, we have like a lotof restrictors on the hose
lines.
They're really annoying becauseyou can't get the full water
pressure, and you can't reallyget the restrictors off either.
They're like really hard to getoff without breaking the hose
(18:51):
spigot.
So this orbit nozzle is greatfor D and cartridge filters, in
my opinion, because it just kindof gives you a lot more pressure
or water pressure.
So pick some of these up.
They're like eight bucks onAmazon.
I used to get them at Walmartfor like two or three dollars
each.
I'd go into the garden sectionand grab a handful of them, but
I don't think Walmart carriesthem anymore.
They may carry them by you, butthis is definitely the best hose
(19:14):
nozzle you can get.
And one more tool I shouldmention before I end here, and
this goes without saying, is themulti-torque socket set.
This is gonna be a great way toget these the clamps off, the
compression nuts and bolts offthe filters very rapidly, and to
get them on very easily.
It saves you a ton of time outthere.
(19:35):
Just go to multi-torque.com,pick up a set, and these are
pretty universal for theHayward, Jandy, and Pentair
filters, and it's gonna save youa tremendous amount of time,
even with those stay rightsystem 3 filters with the
clamps.
It's just that of course thebuilders like to put them right
up against the wall or againstthe house, and you're always
(19:56):
kind of trying to get one clampoff still with your hand, one or
two clamps, but these are agreat way to get that off
rapidly.
So the multi-tour tools aregreat, a great way to speed up
your filter cleanings on yourroute.
Whatever you can do to speed upyour day out there.
And I should mention before Iclose, I also like the cellar
pool low dust diatomaceousearth.
(20:17):
I find this to be easy to add DEwithout the dust going
everywhere.
Plus, the bags are a lot morerobust, it's like a plastic bag,
and you can usually get them atyour supplier if you order them
ahead of time, if they don'thave them in stock.
So it's the cellar pool, the lowdust diatomaceous earth.
To me, that's the best DE to useout there, and it's easy to
manage, easy to carry, and thebag's not going to rip on you.
(20:39):
I mean, invariably you're gonnahave all these bags of DE
ripping in your truck.
One way to prevent this, ofcourse, is just to put a put
them in a 13-gallon trash bagahead of time, and that way if
the bag does rip, you you havethe trash bag protecting your
truck from having all thisdiatomaceous earth all over the
place.
So whenever I get a bag of DE, Iput it directly into a 13-gallon
(21:01):
white trash bag, and thatactually protects it, keeps it
from being torn just by rubbingagainst something in the truck.
And it's just something that'skind of annoying that the
diatomaceous earth is in a bagthat tears so easily.
Looking for other podcasts, youcan find those on my website,
swimmingpulllearning.com.
You go to my website, you'll seea drop down menu of over 1800
(21:23):
podcasts there for you.
And if you're interested in thecoaching program that I offer,
you can learn more atpoolguycoaching.com.
Thanks for listening to thispodcast.
Have you ever seen your week andGod bless.
And welcome to the Pool Guy Podcast Show.
In this episode, I'm going totalk to you about seasonal
filter cleaning, and I'm goingto go over some aspects like
should you charge extra forfilter cleaning, what when
should you clean the filters, atwhat time of year, and also
pricing if you are charging, andall kinds of things related to
filter cleaning, the processitself, and how you would
(01:26):
approach it with the customersin your service area.
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 veteran in theindustry.
Whether you're starting out orscaling up, I've got the tools
to help you succeed.
Learn more atSwimmypoollearning.com.
(01:48):
And I'll tackle the first one,and that is should you charge
for filter cleaning?
If you're in certain areas ofthe country like Arizona,
Nevada, Florida, would besomething I'll touch on in a
second.
But California, the West Coast,Texas, where you have full-size
cartridge and D filters, Ireally do suggest you charge
(02:09):
extra for filter cleanings.
You don't include them in theservice.
There's a couple of reasons whythis is logical.
And one is that it kind ofmotivates you to actually clean
the filters.
I know this sounds crazy, but ifyou have it all inclusive and
you're charging, let's say$10 amonth more for the customer,
probably a little more thanthat, I should say actually,
(02:30):
maybe like 15 or 20, and you'reincluding the filter cleans,
there's not a lot of incentivefor you to clean the filters
when the time comes becausethere's no extra money on the
table.
And for me, I think that's a bigmotivator for not just you but
also for your employees to cleanthose filters because it's like
anything, it's all optic.
(02:51):
If you're getting the money, ifyou're getting the money during
the month, you're not reallyseeing the money come in, and
you know in the back of yourhead you gotta clean the filter
because you're getting paid forit.
But if you charge the customerat the time you're cleaning the
filter, it just is much easier,I think, mentally to get into
the mode to clean, you know, 70or 80 filters.
(03:12):
Now, as far as Florida goes, alot of the area has the single
cartridge filters, and you haveto clean them probably once a
month or every other month.
And so including that in yourservice rate does make a little
sense.
Doesn't take too long to clean asingle cartridge filter.
However, if you have D filtersor larger filters, you will want
to charge for that cleaning aswe do here on the West Coast
(03:35):
because it is more timeconsuming, and it's something
that you don't do every month,you're gonna do it every four to
six months.
And then, of course, the otherargument is how often should you
clean the filters?
Now I don't like cleaningfilters, I'll be honest with
you.
I've cleaned so many of themover the years since I started
back in 1988, that it's one ofthose things that I don't like
(03:57):
doing.
A lot of pool guys actually willoutsource their filter cleaning
to other companies.
There's a few here inCalifornia, or a few guys here,
or gals here, that'll put a signup at the supplier saying
they'll do filter cleaningservice.
And there's one company here inparticular that actually takes
the filter into their truck andtakes it to their shop and
cleans it there and then bringsit back.
(04:18):
So there's actually no mess atall on the property.
A really good service because asyou get older and as you've done
these over the years, you justdon't want to clean them
anymore.
And so it's one of those thingswhere it's like, yeah,
outsourcing them sounds great.
But if you are going to say, youknow, should I clean them every
four months or six months?
Mathematically, of course, everyfour months is going to make you
(04:41):
more money if you charge perfilter cleaning.
I'll keep it simple.
Let's just say you charge$90 afilter, and if you're doing it
three times a year, of course,you've captured$90 more dollars
over the course of let's say 60filters, and you know that's
$5,400 extra if you do it everyfour months versus every six
(05:03):
months.
And the manufacturer doesrecommend cleaning the filter.
I think it says in someliterature every four to six
months, and sometimes you canget away with saying the
manufacturer recommends this, oryou can just set it up as your
policy to clean it every fourmonths.
It's not gonna hurt to clean a Dfilter every four months, or to
take a four quad type cartridgefilter apart and clean it every
(05:26):
four months.
And I should emphasize thedifference between the areas in
Florida where they use a singlecartridge filter and the areas
here where we use a quad typecartridge filter, which are four
usually 100 square footcartridges in one filter tank.
And those don't need to becleaned every month like the
single cartridge filters inFlorida.
(05:48):
As far as D filters, you do haveto clean those at least every
six months, in my opinion.
Some people will say otherwise,you can just backwash them for a
year and then clean them in oneyear.
But I think if you are chargingfor the filter cleaning, it's
better to clean the D filtersevery six months or every four
months if you choose to do that.
(06:09):
The only problem I see withdoing it every four months is
that you're actually going to becleaning the filters in the
middle of the season, where itis probably not the most ideal
time to clean the filters.
Every six months you can kind oftime it to where you're cleaning
it at the beginning of theseason and when the season is
ending before you get intowinter.
So I really prefer every sixmonths myself for that reason.
(06:30):
You can clean your filters inMarch and April, and that way
they're just perfectly ready forMay, June, July, and August, and
then take them apart again lateSeptember and into October.
Here in my area, that's beforethe Santa Ana wind season
starts, so that's perfect aswell.
And then in March and April,there's not a lot to do at the
pool site.
(06:51):
So you can get away with doing areally quick cleaning of the
pool and then spending the timethere cleaning the filter, and
same with late September, earlyOctober.
There's not much going on eitherweather-wise, and you can get
away with deferring the cleaningof the pool, maybe just doing a
quick skimming, brushing,checking the chems, and then
(07:11):
knocking out the filter.
And I think those are the idealtimes to clean the filter.
When you start getting intoApril and May, here you start
getting a lot of pollen in thein the pool.
The season may start early, andyou may have to do some algae
treatment, things like that,charging up the salt systems,
working on cleaning the saltcells.
And by the way, I always like toclean the salt cell in tandem
(07:34):
with the filter cleaning, justbecause it's probably gonna need
it.
And since you had the filterapart, you might as well take
the salt cell off and soak it inthe acid water mixture, and it
kind of kills two birds at onestone.
And again, there's a debate onshould you charge for salt cell
cleaning.
A lot of guys charge like$35 or$50 to clean them.
It does take time, and since Ido them usually when I clean the
(07:57):
filter, I haven't set up acharge for them.
I probably should, but since I'mjust taking it off and putting
it in where I'm cleaning thefilter, it's not really a big
deal for me.
And I rarely have to clean itlike middle.
Well, I should take that back.
Certain pools do need their saltcell cleaned in the middle of
summer.
But usually when I clean it inthe beginning of the season,
there's only a handful of themthat may need an acid bath in
(08:21):
May or June.
And then other areas aredifferent, of course, because
your water is much harder, andyou may have to clean the salt
cells much more often.
So that's for you to decide ifyou're gonna charge for that or
not, and maybe that's for adifferent podcast episode.
But as far as filter cleaning, Ireally think again, as I said at
(08:58):
the beginning, you should becharging for the filter cleaning
service because it motivates youto do it, it motivates the
employees to do it, and it'ssomething that is just very
common here and very normal asfar as service goes.
The pool service companiesusually don't include it as an
all-inclusive service here.
It just is better also whenyou're bidding for a pool.
(09:22):
Because when you're bidding, thebottom line is how much is it
monthly?
And if you're adding the filtercleaning into the monthly rate,
it's gonna raise the rate aboveyour competitor who may be
charging for the filter cleaningseparately.
So again, it may be to youradvantage to charge a lower
monthly rate and then build themevery six months for the filter
(09:43):
cleaning.
I find the easiest way to keeptrack of your filter cleaning
progress is still with a printedsheet in some cases, so you can
kind of visualize each day whichfilters need to be done.
And you can do this in aspreadsheet as well, and you can
put them in order of D filtersand cartridge filters on that
(10:06):
service day.
So, for example, let's say on aTuesday you have 6D filters and
eight cartridge filters.
Now it's up to you if you wantto clean the cartridge filters
first or the D filters first.
I don't recommend doing amixture of both.
I used to do it like that.
I used to go in order, so Iwould just start at the
beginning of my route, clean thefilter, and do like the first
(10:27):
four, and then I would do thenext four the next week, the
next four the next week, and thenext four the following week.
So in a month I would finishthat whole day of filter
cleaning.
But I find it's much better tosplit them up to where you have
say the cartridge filters firstand the D filters second.
There are a few reasons forthis.
The main reason is that thefilters are vastly different and
(10:53):
the components are different aswell.
What I mean by that is if you'regoing to do D filters, you
should carry spare grids on yourtruck.
So you should have some 48square foot, 60 square foot,
some of the Penter FNS Plusgrids, and you should also have
the Penter 4000 and 2000.
I shouldn't say Penter FNS Plusbecause they're pretty universal
(11:16):
with the Jandy and Haywardfilter.
It's just that I have a lot ofPenter FNS pluses in California
in my area.
So you want to carry that alsostem O-rings, O-rings for the
tank.
And you should have your routeanalyzed to the point where you
know what filter type is onwhich day, what filter brand,
what you should have on yourtruck as far as O-ring for that,
(11:38):
stem O-ring, grids.
And so if you're doing it towhere you're just doing it in
order, you know, by the poolthat that that day, and not by
filter type, sometimes you'recarrying a lot of parts on your
truck that you don't reallyneed.
And it does take up a lot ofspace inside your back seat of
your truck.
That's where I carry my grids.
(11:59):
I used to carry the grids on theback of my truck, but I've lost
a few that have blown out.
And I also realized that the sunhitting the grids is not a good
thing.
It really weakens them reallyfast.
They're not made the way theyused to be made, so any kind of
sun exposure really ruins thosegrids fast.
So I like splitting it up mainlybecause I can carry the grids
(12:22):
during the DE filter cleaningtime, carry the dietomaceous
earth on the back of my truck.
That's a big thing, by the way,having you know four or five
bags of DE.
So having all of that and mixingit between cartridge and D
filters to me is inconvenient.
So I'd like to split them.
So I'll go through a checklistand I'll make sure I mark all
(12:42):
the DE and cartridge filtersthat day, and then I'll know
which ones I'm gonna startdoing.
And I still do them in order bythe way.
So you know the first pool mayhave a cartridge filter, the
third and fourth pool has one,then the seventh and ninth pool,
and staying in order reallyhelps so you don't make a
mistake.
Also, since I change theelements every three years, this
(13:04):
is also an important thing thatyou want to do, and I usually do
this the week prior to my filtercleaning.
You can do this during yourfilter cleaning process as well,
but I find it's better to dothis the week before because
then you'll knock some of thefilters out and you'll have room
on your truck to have theelements.
What I mean by that is that ifyou change the four cartridges
(13:26):
out on a pool every three years,like I do, and you mark on the
filter with a sharpie or on yourin your app, when you change the
grids out or the cartridges out,you can actually time it so
where and you should always kindof do this during the filter
cleaning season if you can.
Now, sometimes a D filter willdevelop problems, the grids will
(13:48):
tear, and you can't time it aswell.
But you would really want totime this as much as you can
during the filter cleaningseason.
So I'll replace the grids andthe the cartridges every three
years, with the exception of thequad D filters, those cartridges
seem to last a lot longer.
So I'll go five years withthose, and then the system 3
(14:09):
filter, the stay right filterwith the large cartridge and the
smaller one.
I'll do that one maybe every sixor seven years.
Because the elements are reallyexpensive, and they really last
a very long time over thestandard quad four cartridge
filters.
And then you'll again want totime this usually the week
(14:31):
before you do the filtercleaning.
So go down the list of all thefilters that you're going to
bring elements for, order those,have them on your truck, and
then I change those out prettyrapidly.
What I usually do with Dfilters, if I can get away with
it, if the customer doesn'tmind, I'll just get a full grid
assembly.
That's the top manifold, bottommanifold, all eight grids, and
(14:51):
I'll just pop the lid off thefilter, and I'll take that whole
thing out and drop it in there.
Now, sometimes customers aremore economical and they don't
want you to spend that kind ofmoney, extra money for the whole
grid set.
I think it's a good way of doingit because everything is brand
new at that point.
But if you can't do that, andprobably do that every other
three years, so every six yearsyou can do the whole grid set if
(15:12):
you wanted to.
Changing out the D grids ispretty easy and quick for me as
well.
So I'll do that, and it savesyou a cleaning basically because
you're just taking the old gridout, putting a new one in.
The cartridges are the same way,they take up a lot of space on
your truck, and doing it everythree years is really easy.
You just take out the oldcartridges when you get to the
third year, put the new ones in,throw those away, and you're
(15:35):
pretty much set.
And it's you save yourself afilter cleaning, but I do charge
an install fee for the grids andfor the cartridges.
So you make you don't lose thatfilter cleaning charge if you
are charging during the season,the filter cleaning season.
You still recapture that chargeyou have you have to take it
apart.
Takes you some time to do it,and I do charge for the
installation of the cartridgesand also the grids.
(15:58):
Ed, you'll take you'll alsocheck that off, you know, to
clean that filter at that time.
So that helps you as well, kindof mentally, and also with your
time management.
And you should really changecartridges, the quad type
cartridges, I should say, singlecartridges, you're gonna change
more often.
But the quad type cartridges,change those every three years,
(16:18):
and the same with D grids, theydon't last as long as they used
to.
It just prevents the D gridbreaking during the season,
causing D to get into the pool,causing a big mess during the
summer.
So if you are in this regimentof every three years, you're
gonna have a really easy timemaintaining these filters.
The longer you go withoutchanging the elements, the
(16:39):
cartridges, and the grids, theharder it is to maintain that
pool, in my opinion.
So I just tell the customersevery three years I have to
replace the elements and thefilter, and that's just the way
it is.
It's this industry standardbasically now.
In my opinion, it should be, andyou should do this at least
every three years with yourfilters on your route.
I also like to do backwash valvemaintenance when I'm doing the
(17:01):
filter cleanings at this time.
It's a good time to replace theO-rings in the piston, or
replace the piston itself, or ifyou have a multi-port valve,
sometimes it's a good idea toreplace the top of the
multi-port valve or the spidergasket at this time.
Basically, kind of lumpingtogether your backwash
maintenance with the filtercleaning time is a great way to
(17:24):
kind of do both at the same timeand keep the filter running at
the optimal capacity.
I don't really like messing withthe backwash valves during the
season, especially in thesummertime where you may have a
problem.
So if you can do it in theoff-season, beginning or at the
end of the season, and do allthe backwash maintenance as
well, backwash valve maintenanceas well.
I think it's smarter and abetter use of your time.
(17:48):
No matter how you want to do it,I think you should split them up
between cartridge and D filters,in my opinion.
It just makes for an easierfilter cleaning time.
And of course, there's all kindsof tools you can use with the
cartridge filters, like thecyclone filter cleaning, and you
can also, you know, with the Dfilters, I like using it, what's
called the Orbitz nozzle.
(18:09):
I should give you that numberbecause to me, I think it's the
best nozzle for D filtercleaning, getting the grids off.
You can also use it forcartridge filters.
Here it is for you.
It's the Orbit Sunmate Hose End58361N.
That's the Orbit Sunmate 58361N.
It's a tiny little sweepernozzle.
(18:29):
They wear out.
I keep them in my pocket, I keepthem in my glove box in my
truck.
These are great for the Dfilters.
It gives you the added pressurethat a lot of homeowners here in
California, we have like a lotof restrictors on the hose
lines.
They're really annoying becauseyou can't get the full water
pressure, and you can't reallyget the restrictors off either.
They're like really hard to getoff without breaking the hose
(18:51):
spigot.
So this orbit nozzle is greatfor D and cartridge filters, in
my opinion, because it just kindof gives you a lot more pressure
or water pressure.
So pick some of these up.
They're like eight bucks onAmazon.
I used to get them at Walmartfor like two or three dollars
each.
I'd go into the garden sectionand grab a handful of them, but
I don't think Walmart carriesthem anymore.
They may carry them by you, butthis is definitely the best hose
(19:14):
nozzle you can get.
And one more tool I shouldmention before I end here, and
this goes without saying, is themulti-torque socket set.
This is gonna be a great way toget these the clamps off, the
compression nuts and bolts offthe filters very rapidly, and to
get them on very easily.
It saves you a ton of time outthere.
(19:35):
Just go to multi-torque.com,pick up a set, and these are
pretty universal for theHayward, Jandy, and Pentair
filters, and it's gonna save youa tremendous amount of time,
even with those stay rightsystem 3 filters with the
clamps.
It's just that of course thebuilders like to put them right
up against the wall or againstthe house, and you're always
(19:56):
kind of trying to get one clampoff still with your hand, one or
two clamps, but these are agreat way to get that off
rapidly.
So the multi-tour tools aregreat, a great way to speed up
your filter cleanings on yourroute.
Whatever you can do to speed upyour day out there.
And I should mention before Iclose, I also like the cellar
pool low dust diatomaceousearth.
(20:17):
I find this to be easy to add DEwithout the dust going
everywhere.
Plus, the bags are a lot morerobust, it's like a plastic bag,
and you can usually get them atyour supplier if you order them
ahead of time, if they don'thave them in stock.
So it's the cellar pool, the lowdust diatomaceous earth.
To me, that's the best DE to useout there, and it's easy to
manage, easy to carry, and thebag's not going to rip on you.
(20:39):
I mean, invariably you're gonnahave all these bags of DE
ripping in your truck.
One way to prevent this, ofcourse, is just to put a put
them in a 13-gallon trash bagahead of time, and that way if
the bag does rip, you you havethe trash bag protecting your
truck from having all thisdiatomaceous earth all over the
place.
So whenever I get a bag of DE, Iput it directly into a 13-gallon
(21:01):
white trash bag, and thatactually protects it, keeps it
from being torn just by rubbingagainst something in the truck.
And it's just something that'skind of annoying that the
diatomaceous earth is in a bagthat tears so easily.
Looking for other podcasts, youcan find those on my website,
swimmingpulllearning.com.
You go to my website, you'll seea drop down menu of over 1800
(21:23):
podcasts there for you.
And if you're interested in thecoaching program that I offer,
you can learn more atpoolguycoaching.com.
Thanks for listening to thispodcast.
Have you ever seen your week andGod bless.
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