Talking Pools Podcast
If you’ve ever stared at a test kit like it personally insulted your family… welcome home.
Talking Pools Podcast is the pool industry’s “pull up a chair” show—part shop talk, part field manual, part therapy session—built for people who actually live on pool decks: commercial operators, service techs, builders, facility managers, and anyone responsible for water that can’t afford to go sideways. The network was created to level up the pool industry with real-world conversations on water chemistry, filtration, troubleshooting, construction, safety, and the business side of keeping pools open and budgets intact.
Here’s the hook: it’s not theory-first. It’s experience-first—a roster of seasoned pros (with 250+ years of combined “been there, fixed that” wisdom) turning complicated problems into practical moves you can use the same day. And it’s not one voice, one vibe, one corner of the industry: it’s a network of shows designed to reflect how diverse this work really is—different regions, different specialties, different personalities.
Also worth saying out loud: women aren’t “special guests” here—they’re on the mic as hosts, from the beginning, with an intentionally balanced roster. That matters, because the best ideas in this industry don’t come from one lane—they come from the whole road.
If you want a podcast that can make you laugh and make you better at what you do—without pretending the job is easier than it is—Talking Pools is the one you queue up before the first stop, and keep on when the day starts getting weird.
Talking Pools Podcast
The Pool Problem You Don’t See… Until It’s Too Late - Wayne & Steve
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What looks like algae… isn’t always algae.
And what looks like “clear but weird” water? That’s where things get expensive.
In this episode of Talking Pools Thursdays, Steve and Wayne break down one of the most misunderstood issues in pool service: metals in the water—how to identify them, where they come from, and what actually works when you’re dealing with them in the field.
It starts with a simple truth:
👉 Water has no color.
So when it turns green, blue, brown, or something that just feels “off,” something else is driving that change—and metals are often the culprit.
They walk through the key differences between algae vs. metals, including:
- Why algae presents as cloudy, opaque, or “carpeted”
- Why metals (like copper) often show up as clear, tinted water
- A simple field test using your brush to tell the difference instantly
From there, the conversation goes deeper into where metals actually come from, including:
- Source water (especially wells)
- Heater corrosion and heat exchanger failure
- Overuse of copper-based algaecides
- Aging infrastructure and legacy municipal systems
They also cover the thresholds where metals become a real problem:
- Copper above ~0.2 ppm
- Iron above ~0.3 ppm
- And how rising pH (above ~7.6) triggers precipitation, staining, and discoloration
Then comes the part most techs get wrong—treatment strategy.
This episode breaks down the difference between:
- Sequestering agents (hide the metals, prevent staining)
- Chelating agents (bind metals into larger particles for filtration/removal)
- Why most modern products attempt to do both
- And why you’re still often vacuuming to waste or cleaning filters after treatment
They also get real about the operational side:
- Why chelation jobs can take multiple visits
- Why sequestering requires ongoing maintenance dosing
- And why metals are “not a problem… until they’re a problem”
There’s also a candid discussion on:
- The risks and realities of acid washing
- Why vinyl and fiberglass pools present different limitations
- How improper dosing in small bodies of water (like spas) can trigger metal precipitation instantly
- And why no two metal situations ever behave exactly the same
The episode wraps with a broader industry conversation on rising costs—fuel, materials, and equipment—and how those pressures are forcing service companies to rethink pricing, efficiency, and long-term profitability.
Because whether it’s metals in the water or money in your business…
👉 Ignoring the problem doesn’t make it go away.
Thank you so much for listening! You can find us on social media:
Email us: talkingpools@gmail.com
