Everybody into the pool
Welcome to the home chemistry set world of backyard swimming pool care, where pH and chlorine levels are the order of the day. Get it right and you can save hundreds a year on pool maintenance costs. Conor L. Sanchez has the details:
It's hard out there for a pool boy.
The glamorous lifestyle of a Southern California pool cleaner has always been more myth than reality, and this summer it's been anything but a lazy backstroke. Rising transportation and raw-material costs have forced the industry, from manufacturer to pool cleaner, to increase prices. At the same time, sales are diving because pool owners are looking to save a few dollars by holding off on repairs or maintaining the pool themselves.
Danny Wurman services 18 pools a day, driving from his home in Sherman Oaks to the multimillion-dollar mansions of the Hollywood Hills and the suburban sprawl of the San Fernando Valley. He easily racks up more than $600 in gasoline costs every month. This summer Wurman has increased prices 8% to pay for...
The rest of Conor's story is here.
Photo: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times
