Unbelievable! We had a customer call us saying their heater didn’t work. We opened it up..and out ran a huge rat! Scared our crew half to death..ever heard a “man scream”??? (kind of sounds like a woman with a lot of testosterone!) Problem is..although it is amusing..the damage it caused is not funny. Rats love to chew on things..even expensive heater wires. In this case, the rat chewed through several wires that connect the display board, some key sensor switches, and the main mother board. Problem is, it actually fried a couple of the boards, so we had to replace $800 worth of parts factor in the $150 in labor and tax..and the customer was left with a $1000 bill. Sometimes heaters get old..and simply need to be replaced at cost of about $2600 plus tax. Other times, they are worth fixing…but who would have thought a stupid rat (or him and his friends) could cause so much damage. If you see rats around your property, get a professional out there ASAP, and if you have a “box” style heater, be sure to have him check inside and eradicate them from the heater before it is too late!
General Info:
Loose Wiring and Conduit..what’s the big deal??
Do you have loose wires or conduit around your pool? What’s the big deal you ask? Well, if it gets filled with water, and finds a way to electrify the puddles of water or one of the switches that you touch when your back near your pool equipment you may be in for “a not-so fun ride” or “lesson on the power of electricity” Or as I like to put it, you may find out what it means to “ride the lightning.” No..it probably won’t kill anyone, but I am not a big fan of having a surge of electricity run through my hand up my arm and down to the soles of my shoes before screaming “Ow….what the __?” If you have ever had this happen to you…you know exactly what I am talking about.
Please remember, this is either 120 volts or 240 volts we are talking about. If you can fix it yourself..by all means, please do..but if you are uncomfortable messing around with this, please call us and we will be happy to come over and repair this for you. Cost??? Probably just a $150 service call and $25-$50 in conduit or fittings. We have the required Texas Electrical Appliance Installer’s License that allows us to make these repairs. (a 4 hour 83 question exam on stuff we will probably never use..but we have it just the same!)
Pump Seal Leaks (do you have water coming from under your pump?)
Do you have a puddle of water under your pump all the time? Can’t figure out where it is coming from?
This is one of the most common repairs we deal with (at least 5 a week). A pump seal leak is caused when the rubber o-rings fail that connect the motor shaft to the impeller (or in other words, between the motor and the pump basket housing). What’s the big deal you ask? Well, remember, it was “just an o-ring” on the fuel tank that failed that caused the space shuttle to explode.
So while the stakes aren’t that high with your pool.. in the long term it will cause the motor to fail but in the short term, you are loosing water every minute of every day that pump is running. And if you have checked your water bill lately, you know what I mean when I say that water is not “free.” So it is costing you money each and every day.
How much does it cost to fix? Usually about $150 for the service call and about $50 in parts. A new pool motor is $325 plus $200 to put it in. So that is a $500 repair you could avoid. If we have to replace the entire pump and motor, that will cost $900. So the $200 to replace the seal when it first starts is a much better investment for you than a $500 or $900 repair.
See the magic!
Again…a $40,000 pond….or a $41,000 pool> Which would you rather have? This was a $1000 transformation..but which would you rather have in your backyard?? A $40,000 pond…or a $41,000 pool? panduan android
Accent Tile: A house of cards!!
We have actually repaired this customer’s tile last year, but unfortuntetly for them, the part that we repaired is still doing fine, but a new place has started to crumble after only being 5 years old. Sometimes either due to the tile grout used, or kids jumping off the ledge etc, things just don’t hold up to the pool owner’s expectation. However, in this case, we came in and did the best we could. To be honest, the best option would have been to tear all the tile out and start over with a 1″ mosaic meshed tile. But since that would cost $2500, and our repair only cost $250, the customer opted to go with the price of $250.00.
We fixed the trouble spot, but we worry the rest of the hot-tub will likely develop other trouble spots, but we will just have to cross that bridge when we get there. But what we wanted to point out is that when we started to try and fix the 10 tiles that were missing, about 10 more had to be removed in order to find a place where the rest of the tiles were firm and still in place. Kind of a “house of cards” scenario..
If you have this problem, we can help!
Above Ground:After
As you can see, a few days later this pool looks ready to dive in! (Now we just have to wait for Mother Nature to warm up the water a bit). This pool had to be drained, cleaned, and refilled at a cost of $800, but at least it is usable again. In this particular case a couple owned the home, and left their son in charge of taking care of the pool. We all love our kids but let’s face it…sometimes they don’t follow through with our expectations. Based on how my son keeps his room…I would never trust him with our pool! So in this case, they hired us to take care of it while they are away. Happy ending for all parties involved!!
Above Ground Pools
Yes, we clean and work on above ground pools. We are one of the few companies that do. Why?? Well, lots of companies think they are a waste of time. Reason: They are delicate and sometimes take much more work and effort than an in-ground pool. That being said, we still need to charge the same price or sometimes even more to do above ground pools.
This often seems cost prohibitive to the owner. But in the end, here is our take on that. If you were to have an in-ground pool installed in your backyard, it will cost you $30,000-$50,000. IF you want to install an above ground pool it will cost you between $1000-$10,000 (depending on the quality). So when your pool is a dirty filthy pond, you either have a $30,000 in-ground pond, or a $5,000 above ground pond. For us to rescue your pool and get you back swimming again it may cost you between $500-$1000. That may seem to high to someone who only spent $5000 on the pool in the first place. But we have our costs, and we have to be profitable regardless of the style of your pool. But if you allow yourself invest that $500-$1000 you will have a $6000 pool back instead of a $5000 pond (and that is cheaper than a $30,000-$50,000 pool right?)
So whether you have an above ground pool or an in-ground pool, we will do our best to help you.download film A Walk in the Woods 2015
Stay tuned for the “after pictures of this project!!
A New Year!!
This month, I wanted to announce/introduce the addition of Chad Setzer and his wife Linda and son Cody to our company. Simply put, I needed some help!! I am not sure if I have told you, but my wife has had cancer off and on for the last 10 years. She recently spent about a month in the hospital at MD Anderson (from Thanksgiving to Christmas). She is now home on hospice care. If any of you want to follow her story we post updates on her condition at www.caringbridge.org/visit/jodieclark (we appreciate all the prayers and support)
My ability to do things in the field over the next few months is going to be very limited. I need to be home with my wife and kids right now. So…. I reached out to Chad and asked him to become a partner in my company. Luckily for all of us, he accepted. Chad has over 20 years of experience in the pool industry, and before joining us was the service manager of a very large pool service company in Houston. He has always wanted to own his own business and have some control over his own destiny in a smaller company. I am giving him that opportunity. Chad and his wife Linda and son Cody live in our area. I have asked him to go by each of your pools over the next few weeks to get familiar with your pools and possibly even meet you if you are home. If there are any issues you are having with your pool (be it major or minor) I promise you…Chad can fix it. I call him the Wizard because if there was ever something I was stumped by..Chad always had the answer. I have posted a picture of he and his family on our website. Linda will also be helping by answering the phone during the day. Please allow them both a little time to get to learn your name and get familiar with my little family company. Joe and Shaun and Chad will each continue to work in the field, and I will handle all of the billing, scheduling etc. I have been very blessed to have such great employees over the last year, (Gordon, Shaun, Joe, Mary, Rachelle) and I promise you will love Chad, Linda and Cody as well.
Lastly, I wanted to tell you how much I have appreciated your business and support. If there is ever anything we can do to for you (or improve) please let us know and we will do our best. I also greatly appreciate the “word of mouth” advertising you are for us. If we can help your friends or neighbors out with their pool needs please pass them our number (281-557-6102) and we will do all we can to help them. My only goal is to provide enough work for all of my people, while trying to remain small enough to deliver the quality of personalized service you expect.Review Android Smartphone
Thank you
Matt Clark
Owner
The Pool Scrubbers
cell: 832-385-3164
Spider Gasket Leaks
First: How do you know if you have a leak?
If there is water leaking from your waste pipe (pictured below) when you pool is running and if you are noticing a drop in water level in your pool, these are indications you have a possible faulty spider gasket.
Second: Where is it and whats happening?
It is located in your multi-valve, in front of your filter. (see picture)
When this gasket fails, it allows water to drain out into your waste pipe of your pool
So what can we do for you?
Upon inspection of your faulty gasket we will do one of two things:
- Replace the faulty gasket (new gasket pictured below)
- Replace the entire multi-valve
In this instance it was beneficial to the customer to replace only the gasket but under different circumstance the labor time/cost it takes to replace only the gasket may be more than what it would take to simply replace the entire muti-valve. Your service technician will be able to tell you what would be most cost effective for your specific situation.
Green and Black Algae Problems?
We’ve got you covered!
This pool was covered in green and black algae on the bottom and the walls.
The pool was drained and cleaned along with the filters. Regular filter cleaning is a key part to good overall pool health.
Within no time we restored it to pristine condition!live streaming film Hitman: Agent 47 2015
Same algae problems in the hot tub as well, along with some tile damage. The hot tub was drained and cleaned along with the pool and the tiles were repaired to look like new.
Like it never happened!
green pool, pool cleaning service, pool repair