Hunter's Pool and Spa
East End London, ON, Canada

How do you know when a liner has lasted as long as possible? When it’s too brittle to cut into pieces to dispose of it, so you just whack it few times to break it up.

It’s a lovely day for a walk! Paul ran into some issues at a large job today, so I am doing my part to help him finish. This is my view as I leave work for a 1 hour walk home. It’s only an 8 minute drive, or an hour and 20 minutes if I want to use city transit, which during a pandemic, I do not!

Paul and our sons have been doing work for Paula and Dan, who surprised my boys with a box of cookies!! They are definitely going to enjoy these!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY- About The Owner The photo is from last weekend, taken by our daughter. Paul and I are grandparents to an energetic young man named Oliver. He’s 2 1/2.... Ollie loves his Papa. He knows how to open his Mama’s phone and touch the picture of Papa to FaceTime him, and he frequently does so. Ollie is really missing his Papa right now, because pool season has started and Papa isn’t always able to answer the phone to chat with him. We still have our bedtime video chats every day, but all winter Papa was usually available to chat whenever Ollie had something important to tell him. Paul has started to FaceTime Ollie when he has a bit of a drive between jobs, or to pick up parts/equipment for a job. The phone stays in its holder on the dashboard, Ollie gets to see his Papa live, and Ollie doesn’t seem to notice that Papa never actually looks at him (because he’s busy driving.) Ollie is just happy his Papa is there to talk to.

Pictured is the first liner Paul did for Hunter’s Pool and Spa, 6 years ago. He’s been doing liners for over 30 years, but he was working for himself for this one. I just snagged this photo from his iPhone pictures. Last fall we picked up a refurbished iPad, and we set it up to duplicate Paul’s iPhone. I have it at work, and on my breaks and lunch I keep track of Paul’s work communication. I schedule his jobs, make a list of questions he needs to answer in the evening onc...e he’s back in the office, and make a list of tasks he needs to do (writing quotes, invoicing, ordering, plotting world domination, etc). Because of the iPad, I can make these lists on his phone notepad, and if he gets a moment during the day he checks the notepad as he may be able to call or reply to people then. But often all of his office work is done in the evening, after supper. Paul gets dozens of texts, pm’s and emails every day. Last night we were still doing office work at 10pm, and he had to make a list of people to respond to today, because he won’t initiate text/messenger conversations after 10pm. I’m not surprised he had trouble keeping on top of this in previous years, and I wish we had figured out this way of me helping him sooner! Note: to our family, I do not open or read your texts and messages to him. I respect his privacy and yours. So if you have a pool and need him to help you out with something, message him through the business page link so I can schedule you in!

There are a lot of changes in the pool industry this year. Previously, Paul could walk into the lobby of any of his local pool suppliers, place his order, and they’d grab the stock from their storage shelving and send him on his way. Now their stock is arriving in daily shipments, and it often doesn’t even get put onto the shelves, it’s unpacked and put with an order. The staff have joked with Paul about getting shirts made that say, No, it’s back ordered. Because of low... stock and covid distancing, orders are now placed via email the day before using each local supplier’s catalogue, but Paul doesn’t find out one of his items is back ordered until he shows up the next day to pick it up. I mentioned last week that aboveground liner vinyl is out of stock until 2022. Another item that is in short supply is pool skimmers. Last week the factory sales rep said the factory is 80,000 units behind in filling orders across North America. Fortunately Paul only needed 3 skimmers for jobs this year, and he was able to find 3. They are each packaged in a 2.5 foot square box, so the stack of 3 is just over 7’ tall and almost reaches the top of my dining room window. Ask me how I know that ...

We hope everyone experienced some joy and happiness during the holidays this year, and we wish you Brightest Blessings for the New Year. Our son Mattryk gifted Paul with this shirt (made by local business Mimfashion). And a long-time friend tagged Paul yesterday when she posted this meme. And it makes sense that she thought of Paul; just look at Mattryk’s grade 8 grad photos! Stay safe tonight and be well!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY- About the Owner Sometimes I go through Paul’s Facebook photo albums to find inspiration for his business page posts. Today what stood out for me is his love of taking pictures of what he is cooking. And that leads to a story ... Many years ago, when we were newlyweds, Paul very excitedly told me he had planned our supper, it was the perfect meal, and he was going to take care of everything. He sat me down in the living room with a crown and diet, and I... was not allowed in the kitchen. When the meal was ready, he led me to the nicely set dining room table, and then he went and got our perfect meal. He then set down a plate before me with a perfectly cooked ribeye steak (his favourite cut). It was a very large steak. It completely filled the plate. There was a second larger steak on his plate. And as a perfect meal, he didn’t ruin it with the addition of any vegetables or salad or grain. As you can see by the photos, he is still very much a carnivore.

Paul made a tool. One of his current jobs is an indoor hot tub, from an uncommon manufacturer. The customers had been renovating the room the tub was in, so the tub had sat empty for quite a while. The seals behind the face plates had disintegrated, so when they filled up the tub, it began leaking into the basement There is a tool available for this jet to remove the faceplates, but trying to order it and have it delivered, when delivery companies are backed up due to covid and christmas, well it seemed like an unnecessary delay. So Paul made one using a piece of aluminum, his drill, and some nuts and bolts.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY- About the Owner Paul’s a loveable nerd. He played D&D many many years ago with his friends, and a couple years ago a lifelong friend of ours (Kim) and her daughter (Abbey) posted that they were looking for players to join them in a D&D game. Paul and I jumped at the chance! Paul played a dwarf named DirkWomple Octaplunk. Players choose their own characters, backgrounds and names, btw. Abbey gave us all little figurines to use, but Paul added hair, cloth...ing and weapons to his. During that campaign, our party got given (or stole) a pig. DirkWomple claimed it as his war pig, bought a pig from somewhere (dollar store? TSC? I can’t recall) and his enabling wife crocheted armour and a saddle for the pig, so DirkWomple could ride it. We are in a new campaign now with a few new players, and we are playing online using Zoom, instead of gathering at Kim’s house for potluck and hijinks. Paul’s new character is Ghlaak. Have you heard a cat try to clear a hairball out of its throat? That’s how you pronounce it. He has us all in giggles with his random actions, much like real life, actually ...

This morning Paul and our eldest son are working on an indoor tub. The equipment is in a crawl space, but we get to lie down and scoot around on creepers!! I can only imagine what the customer is overhearing ...

Last week was a depressing one for us this year. Normally the Pool and Hot Tub Council of Canada has their annual conference and expo in Niagara Falls during the first week of December. This week has been our only vacation for the past 5 years since Paul started the business. Paul attended courses every day, (last year both our sons joined him), and we would all spend the evenings together enjoying the area. They moved the conference to February 2021, and now it’s become ...virtual. Paul really enjoys taking courses about pool and hot tub equipment, especially when it involves new industry technology. We will take a trip to Niagara once it’s safe, to enjoy Brazilian buffet at Brasa, a meal we look forward to every year.

TIP TUESDAY - low flow error Sometimes your hot tub is running and it doesn’t heat up, sometimes you get a low FLO error, but in both cases it may be possible to fix it yourself. Your filter could be too dirty. Turn off your tub, remove the filter, and start the tub again. If everything works as it should, it’s a dirty filter.... Even if the filter looks clean, it can still be saturated with moisturizers, makeup, hair spray, sun tan oil, etc. (Side note: you know how they want you to shower before you swim in a public pool? It’s so you add less contaminants to the pool and so you don’t needlessly use up the chlorine or clog the filtration) One way to tell if the filter is dirty is to float it in your hot tub water. If it sinks, clean it or replace it. There are special cleaners you can buy to soak your filter to clean it. Don’t just try to spray it out with a hose, and never use a pressure washer. Follow the directions on the packaging of the cleaner you purchase.

I looked at Paul’s schedule a moment ago, and saw he has 9 hot tub calls today! Sometimes it’s a leak (as pictured), but more often it’s a problem with the circuit board, pump, heater element, or spa pack. He came up with his tag line before he started the business 6 years:... Let Paul help you get out of trouble, and back into hot water!

Today I remember my Scottish Grandfather, Thomas Torry Anderson Hunter, who died in the battle of Singapore in 1942, and I thank all the past and current members of the Canadian military who signed up in order to protect others, and protect our freedom of religion and freedom of choice.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY - About the Owner Life with Paul is never boring ...

FLASHBACK FRIDAY- About the Owner’s wife Paul is into the less photogenic season of his business. How many times do you want to see a hot tub pump or a new spa pack, seriously? So today it’s a shameless plug for my wee business. When I’m not decontaminating surgical instruments and processing patient care machines at Parkwood Hospital, I’m usually helping Paul with his business social media, scheduling and communication. But when I’m not doing either of those, I’m crocheti...ng. That’s right, Paul’s wife is a hooker. (I use a crochet hook). If you haven’t finished your holiday gift buying yet, consider giving my page a like. My wee business is Head Shoulders Yarn And Toes.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY - About the Owner Sometimes memories on my personal FB page remind me of why Paul decided to start his own business. The memory that appeared today was from 6 years ago, just a few months before Hunter’s Pool and Spa was born. Thank you to all of you for choosing Paul as your pool service technician. He works harder and longer hours now, but his work life is so much better now that he’s his own boss.

HPI Yard Guard is a Canadian company that makes the best pool safety covers, in Paul’s experience. He only sells their safety covers. They’re so good, that after being custom measured by Paul, there has been a bit of a wait to have them made this fall. But they are well worth it! Here is today’s installation in Dorchester.... There will be many more arriving this month to install, and (when Paul remembers to take a photo), I will post them for you.

TIP TUESDAY It’s November 3rd. As a pool company in Ontario, people might question why we would post something like this. But considering recent events, we really felt it was important to say this. I know not everyone will appreciate the 4 letter word I’m about to use, so I apologize in advance. Yesterday we awoke to snow on the ground.... This isn’t just a pool company; Paul also services hot tubs. And hot tub season is here! So for today’s tip, we want you to know how to easily check your tub twice a day to make sure it’s running. Most tubs are set to circulate the tub water every 12 hours. So unless your tub has a built in clock that you need to set, if 7am and 7pm are convenient times for you, turn off your tub at one of those times and then turn it on again. Now the auto circulate will happen at 7 twice a day. Open your back/patio door at 7am and 7pm, and if you hear the pumps working, you know your tub is running. If you don’t hear them running, at least you know it’s been off for less than 12 hours.

Happy Halloween! We hope you have a safe and enjoyable day.

NEW SERVICE If you have a leaf net, you should remove it in the fall, bag the leaves, and put them to the curb during yard waste collection week. Paul recently had a customer contact him about removing his leaf net this fall. Normally people do this for their own pools, but due to health problems our customer needed help this year.... So, Paul wants everyone with a leaf net to be aware that he can remove it in November. For $50, Paul will take care of it for you and fill 5 leaf bags. If more bags are needed and you provide them, great. Otherwise it will cost $3 for each additional bag he provides and fills. There is an extra benefit to having your leaf net removed in late fall, and that is that you will avoid a second cover fee in the spring. Since Paul opened Hunter’s Pool and Spa 6 years ago, he has charged a low flat rate for pool openings, regardless of pool size or cover type. Other professional and experienced companies in London charge up to $400 and $500 for openings and closings, adding extra charges for various tasks. Paul will still provide a low flat rate for his customers, but for pools with a leaf cover full of leaves decomposing since the fall, there will now be a $100 second cover fee. It takes a lot of effort to remove and clean covers in the spring. The leaf net doesn’t stop decomposing leaves from going through to sit on top of the winter cover, so when you have a full leaf net and a winter cover underneath, that’s 2 dirty heavy time consuming jobs in one. It’s only fair that Paul get reimbursed for dealing with a second cover.