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AFT&C news🗞️

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Read more about the article Technical Bulletin Black Algae

Technical Bulletin Black Algae

  • Post author:Rudy
  • Post published:September 12, 2025
  • Post category:Algae

This Technical Bulletin Black Algae is intended for professional pool service technicians. It assumes a workingknowledge of pool water chemistry, algae identification, and treatment practices.Introduction For decades, black algae has…

Continue ReadingTechnical Bulletin Black Algae
Read more about the article Reflect on Patriot Day: The 9/11 Memorial Pools

Reflect on Patriot Day: The 9/11 Memorial Pools

  • Post author:Rudy
  • Post published:September 11, 2025
  • Post category:Swimming Pool News

On a September morning nearly a generation ago, America’s soul was tested. Fire and smoke rose over Manhattan, heartbreak and loss reverberated across the nation, and nearly 3,000 lives—office workers,…

Continue ReadingReflect on Patriot Day: The 9/11 Memorial Pools
Read more about the article Technical Field Guide: Mustard Algae (Diatoms)

Technical Field Guide: Mustard Algae (Diatoms)

  • Post author:Rudy
  • Post published:September 6, 2025
  • Post category:Algae/Pool News

Mustard Algae (Diatoms) – Prevention and Cleanup Responding to the EPA Sodium Bromide Ban For Pool Pro Use Only: This guide is written specifically for professional pool service technicians. It…

Continue ReadingTechnical Field Guide: Mustard Algae (Diatoms)
Read more about the article Laci Davis: The Art of Grit

Laci Davis: The Art of Grit

  • Post author:Rudy
  • Post published:August 31, 2025
  • Post category:Pool News

On the west coast of Florida, in the small community of Hudson, there’s a business with a name that sounds more like a mantra than a company: The Grit Game.…

Continue ReadingLaci Davis: The Art of Grit
Read more about the article Que Hales and the Ripple Effect of Mentorship

Que Hales and the Ripple Effect of Mentorship

  • Post author:Rudy
  • Post published:August 24, 2025
  • Post category:Talking Pools Podcast

Tucson, Arizona isn’t just cactus and sunsets—it’s also home to one of the sharpest and most stubbornly curious minds in swimming pool chemistry. Que Hales, co-founder of OnBalance and longtime…

Continue ReadingQue Hales and the Ripple Effect of Mentorship
Read more about the article Greg Beard – The Poolside Philosopher

Greg Beard – The Poolside Philosopher

  • Post author:Rudy
  • Post published:August 17, 2025
  • Post category:Talking Pools Podcast

In the chlorine-scented world of pool service, where long days blur into hot afternoons and precision matters down to the decimal, a few names carry real weight. One of them…

Continue ReadingGreg Beard – The Poolside Philosopher
Read more about the article Top 10 Finalists Named for 2025 Mentor of the Year Award

Top 10 Finalists Named for 2025 Mentor of the Year Award

  • Post author:Rudy
  • Post published:August 5, 2025
  • Post category:Talking Pools Podcast

Top 10 Finalists Named for Talking Pools Podcast 2025 Mentor of the Year Award 🔍 Behind the Process: How We Chose the Top 10 Mentors of the Year in the…

Continue ReadingTop 10 Finalists Named for 2025 Mentor of the Year Award
Read more about the article 2025 Mentor Awards Finalists and Sponsorship Lineup

2025 Mentor Awards Finalists and Sponsorship Lineup

  • Post author:Rudy
  • Post published:July 19, 2025
  • Post category:Pool News

Talking Pools Podcast Announces 2025 Mentor Awards Finalists and Sponsorship Lineup July 19, 2025 – Gainesville, Florida – The Talking Pools Podcast is proud to announce the 2025 Mentor of…

Continue Reading2025 Mentor Awards Finalists and Sponsorship Lineup
Read more about the article Peeing in Pools: The Chemical Reactions

Peeing in Pools: The Chemical Reactions

  • Post author:Rudy
  • Post published:April 13, 2025
  • Post category:Water Chemistry

When someone decides "Peeing in Pools" is ok and it's time to take a little "bathroom break" (because apparently, that's just fine), a chain of chemical reactions starts to unfold…

Continue ReadingPeeing in Pools: The Chemical Reactions
Read more about the article Preparing Your Pool for a Hurricane

Preparing Your Pool for a Hurricane

  • Post author:Rudy
  • Post published:October 16, 2024
  • Post category:Pool News/Home Owner Pool Care/Pool Operator Talk News/Pool Service Tips

Hurricane Damage courtesy of Hurricane Helene

Continue ReadingPreparing Your Pool for a Hurricane
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Read Rudy's Column in AQUA Magazine
Talking Pools Podcast
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. 

Calcium Nodules, Mentorship, and 50 Years of Pool Industry Wisdom with Jerry Wallace
byRudy Stankowitz

Ask a question here

What does nearly 50 years in the swimming pool industry teach you? According to Jerry Wallace, there are no shortcuts, you never stop learning, and sometimes you need to show up with a rolling suitcase full of textbooks.

Natalie Hood sits down with Jerry Wallace, president of Swim Chem and one of the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast Top Ten Pool Industry Mentors. Jerry shares how he entered the family business as a teenager, the mentors who shaped his career, and why mentoring is about leaving the industry better than you found it.

Then Jerry puts his decades of water chemistry, plaster, and expert-witness experience to work busting some persistent myths about calcium nodules. Are they caused by excessive calcium hardness? Are they simply another form of scale? Can adjusting the water chemistry stop them?

Jerry explains why calcium nodules are typically associated with voids, delamination, pinholes, or cracks beneath the plaster surface, not a pool professional’s failure to maintain the water. His message to service professionals is blunt: educate yourself, document your work, demand an explanation, and stop allowing people to steamroll you.

Jerry also discusses why manufacturers need to listen more closely to service professionals, what younger professionals bring to the industry, and the three groups every successful business must protect before looking at the profit-and-loss statement: family, employees, and customers.

And, because this is Talking Pools, Natalie settles the critically important question of whether pineapple belongs on pizza.

In This Episode

  •  How Jerry entered the pool industry at age 16 
  •  The mentors who helped shape his career 
  •  Why mentorship is about life lessons, not merely technical knowledge 
  •  How to recognize when someone is no longer coachable 
  •  Why there are no shortcuts to long-term success 
  •  The difference between calcium scale and calcium nodules 
  •  Why high calcium hardness does not selectively create isolated nodules 
  •  How voids, delamination, cracks, and pinholes contribute to nodule formation 
  •  Why changing the water chemistry treats the symptom, not the underlying problem 
  •  How service professionals can defend themselves against unsupported blame 
  •  Why pool professionals must become experts in their trade 
  •  What manufacturers misunderstand about real-world equipment retrofits 
  •  Why the industry needs stronger communication between engineers and field professionals 
  •  What younger generations are bringing to the pool industry 
  •  The three priorities Jerry’s father used to measure a successful year 
  •  Jerry’s controversial but unwavering defense of pineapple on pizza 

Jerry’s Message to Pool Professionals

Do not assume a calcium nodule is your fault simply because someone points at the water chemistry. Test the water, investigate the surface, document the evidence, ask for the actual mechanism, and make the person assigning blame show their work.

If you are going to work as a pool service professional, become an expert and stand up for yourself. Nobody else is going to do it for you.

#TalkingPoolsPodcast #PoolIndustry #PoolService #SwimmingPools #PoolChemistry #CalciumNodules #PoolPlaster #Mentorship #PoolProfessionals #WaterChemistry #PoolEducation #SwimChem #JerryWallace #NatalieHood #MythbustingWednesday

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Email us: talkingpools@gmail.com

Calcium Nodules, Mentorship, and 50 Years of Pool Industry Wisdom with Jerry Wallace
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