Contributor, Author at Aquatic Facility Training and Consultants

Essential Services COVID-19

Post author:Contributor
Post published:April 5, 2020
Post category:COVID-19

Are Pool Companies an Essential Service in Your Area? CISA Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce: Ensuring Community and National Resilience in COVID-19 Response Version 1.0, Page 9. Public…

Hand Sanitizer Recipe – Coronavirus Surface

Post author:Contributor
Post published:March 29, 2020
Post category:COVID-19

Everyone is sold out of hand sanitizer. No worries, as long as we have water, we can make our own. What if our supply is contaminated or the stores are…

How and When to Install Wellpoints

Post author:Contributor
Post published:March 14, 2020
Post category:Builders Drain & Fill

Swimming Pools with High Water Tables? When you think of building pools, you think of dirt. When you think of building pools in the South, you think of clay soil.…

Pool Pro Found Liable

Post author:Contributor
Post published:February 9, 2020
Post category:Pool News

⚖ A Court Ordered Settlement Pool Pro Found Liable Welcome back for the conclusion of our version of Law and Order: The Swimming Pool Industry. Bay-Not Watching Not only do…

Pool Guy Saves Lives with Sewing Machine

Post author:Contributor
Post published:January 20, 2020
Post category:Pool News Swimming Pool Safety

? Stitching for Swimming By Jules Johnson Pool Guy Saves Lives with Sewing Machine ? Every day we get up and check our phones, let the dog out, grab…

LIFEGUARD FAILS

Post author:Contributor
Post published:December 15, 2019
Post category:Employees Pool Safety

by Annette Cohen Pallowick Lifeguard Responsibilities What are the responsibilities of a lifeguard? How do we know if the lifeguard is living up to those responsibilities? Can you identify each…

Teaching Children with Disabilities to Swim

Post author:Contributor
Post published:November 10, 2019
Post category:Pool Safety

The Challenges of Teaching Children with Disabilities to Swim and How to Overcome Them by Nikos Vasilellis Teaching Children with Disabilities to Swim Swimming is one of the most exciting…

Why Test my Pool for Calcium Hardness ❔

Post author:Contributor
Post published:November 3, 2019
Post category:Water Chemistry

By Eric Knight The Benefits of Calcium Hardness in Cold Water ? Calcium is often treated like a four-letter-word by pool service professionals. This negative opinion of calcium comes from…

UF Acquires Talent From UAB & Within

Post author:Contributor
Post published:September 8, 2019
Post category:University Aquatics Pool News Risk Management

PRESS RELEASE ? Making a Splash at The Swamp? UF Acquires Talent From UAB & Within The University of Florida Department of Recreational Sports has welcomed two new faces…

Hiring Gen Z – What to Expect

Post author:Contributor
Post published:August 25, 2019
Post category:Apartment Pool Maintenance Employees Hotel Pool Maintenance Pool Service Tips University Aquatics

. Supervising and Managing Post-Millennials or “Generation Z" …

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.

Ask a question here

In the conclusion of this two-part Mythbusting Wednesday conversation, Natalie Hood sits down with Erik Knight to discuss his move from Watershape University to Pool Brain—and the bigger problems he hopes to help solve.

The pool industry has more education available than ever, but is that actually part of the problem? New technicians are often buried under chemistry, equipment, software, procedures, and safety information before they have enough hands-on experience to understand how it all fits together.

Erik explains how guided workflows and point-of-need education could help technicians produce better results from the beginning while developing a deeper understanding over time. Instead of three days riding shotgun followed by “Here are the keys—try not to turn anything green,” technology can provide structure, consistency, and some desperately needed early wins.

Natalie and Erik discuss:

Why technician turnover is highest at the entry level
Whether the education gap is really an education-overload problem
The weaknesses of traditional pool-company onboarding
Why hands-on learning creates knowledge that actually sticks
Using software to reinforce education instead of replacing it
Pool Brain’s approach to guided workflows and chemistry recommendations
Using historical data to predict future pH and water behavior
Why experience—not intelligence—allows seasoned technicians to anticipate problems
Automation as a force multiplier for pool professionals
How technology can free technicians to develop higher-value skills
Why automation equipment can become a profitable service-company revenue stream
The value of competition among software companies and education providers
Erik’s continued relationship with Watershape University
What attracted him to Pool Brain’s long-term vision
Why professional software requires more than an AI-generated interface
Inflation, rising equipment costs, and the need for greater efficiency
Route optimization, properly stocked trucks, and eliminating costly supply runs

Erik also addresses the fear that technology will eventually replace the pool professional. Automation may handle repeatable tasks, but it cannot change filter sand, clean a DE grid, diagnose complicated equipment problems, or replace the judgment developed through real experience.

Better technology does not eliminate the need for education. It can remove some of the repetitive bullshit, help new technicians succeed sooner, and give experienced professionals more time to solve complicated problems, serve better customers, and operate more profitable routes.

Erik’s goal at Pool Brain is straightforward: simplify what makes the job unnecessarily difficult, help pool professionals deliver safer and more predictable water, and give company owners the tools to become more efficient, profitable, and—God forbid—occasionally get home before dark.

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Email us: talkingpools@gmail.com