Why Pros Install Automatic Cleaners on Every Pool

If you’ve ever hesitated to recommend an automatic pool cleaner because you’re worried the customer will think you’re “not doing enough,” this conversation flips that mindset fast. I walk through why automatic cleaners don’t replace professional pool service, they remove the most time-consuming part of the visit so we can deliver better weekly pool maintenance: tighter chemistry, better brushing, more equipment awareness, and fewer surprises between stops.

We get practical about choosing the right automatic pool cleaner for your market, including when a suction-side cleaner is the best match for fine dirt and dust, when a pressure-side cleaner makes sense for heavier leaf debris, and what to do when a homeowner refuses hoses entirely (robotic pool cleaner options, including cordless). I also share real-world selling points that land with customers: less debris sitting in the water means lower chlorine demand, fewer ugly “dirty floor” moments before swim time, and even less risk of staining after storms and muddy runoff.

Then we cover the day-to-day details that save headaches: what to tell customers when they want to swim, how to handle party weekends, and the big mistake that ruins performance over time (coiling hoses and creating “hose memory”). If you run employees, I also explain how to keep vacuuming standards consistent with quick spot-vac tools while still benefiting from cleaner-equipped pools.

If you found this helpful, subscribe for more pool service business tips, share the episode with a pool pro, and leave a review. What cleaner type are you standardizing on your route right now?

• common objections and why they fall apart
• how automatic cleaners change what you do on site
• suction-side vs pressure-side choices by debris type
• how cleaners can reduce chlorine demand
• preventing stains after rain mud and debris
• using route efficiency to justify stable pricing
• keeping pools swim ready between weekly visits
• what to tell customers about swimming and parties
• why coiling hoses ruins coverage and how to avoid it

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Transcript

Why Every Account Needs A Cleaner

Objections About Value And Hoses

Picking The Right Cleaner By Region

Selling Benefits And Protecting The Pool

Swim Days Parties And Hose Memory

Employee Standards And Spot Vacuum Tools

Robotic Options And Final Mindset

More Resources And Coaching

SPEAKER_00 1:02

And welcome to the Pool Guy Podcast Show. This is something that I preach a lot about, and that is having an automatic pool cleaner at all of your service accounts. And this is something that a lot of companies have implemented in my area. It's something to consider if you haven't implemented this in your service route. Are you a pool service pro looking to take your business to the next level? Join the pool guy coaching program. Get expert advice, business tips, exclusive content, and get direct support from me. I'm a 35-year veteran in the industry. Whether you're starting out or scaling up, I've got the tools to help you succeed. Learn more at Swimmypoollearning.com. And I'll start with a negative here to get this out of the way. And I hear this a lot. Well, if I have if the customer has an automatic cleaner, then I won't be necessary. Or if I have an automatic cleaner in the customer's pool, there's not much for me to do. And therefore, they're going to think that I'm not necessary. I'm not, or why am I charging them so much money for service if there's a cleaner in there? And I would argue that these two statements have some fallacies built into them. The first one is if I have an automatic cleaner at the stop, the customer won't need my services. And there's more that you do at the pool than clean the pool. So I think that argument doesn't really hold a lot of water. You're balancing the chemicals, you're checking the equipment, you're still cleaning the pool, you're just not manually vacuuming it as much, or not not having to have you have to vacuum the entire pool each time you're there. You're going to still spot vacuum the pool. And I'll cover something on that as well. And that is that you could also just spot vacuum the pool every time you're there with maybe the bottom feeder, or if you have another vacuum system, or if you want to put the vacuum head onto the cleaner hose, you can spot vacuum the pool. So that you're actually vacuuming the pool every time you're there. It's just going to be a lot quicker and more effective for your time. And you wouldn't need to again completely vacuum the entire pool. The second argument is that if the cleaner is in there, there's not a lot for you to do at the pool and you won't be able to justify your weight. And that's not true either, because you could still do a lot of things there. You can spend extra time brushing the tile, you can brush the pool twice over if you need to. You can, of course, skim the pool until there's nothing there, check the chemicals. So you can utilize your time in different ways. But yes, you're gonna probably spend less time there because you're not fully vacuuming the pool every time with your manual vacuum hose going back there and vacuuming that pool. And I guess I can throw one more negative that I hear out there that is, well, the customer is not gonna like the pool hoses in their pool. So it's something that I'm not even gonna approach because they like looking at their pool and I like the clean look of not having any hoses. But I would argue that the pool actually looks much cleaner with an automatic cleaner and they're cleaning up the bottom of the pool every week than a pool that you look at the surface and yes, there's no hoses there, granted, but the bottom of the pool has leaf debris on it, and so it's unsightly in that respect. So it's one of those things where the pool hoses really are not an issue that I run into. Now, on occasion I have run into customers that don't like them, but it's not one of those things that's very common. It's more rare to have a customer not like the hose in the pool versus a customer not like the debris on the bottom of their pool, if you know what I'm saying here. So I think those arguments don't really hold a lot of weight to them. And the positive of the automatic cleaner outweighs that. Now, which automatic cleaner should you get for your pools? Well, it depends on your region. Here in Southern California, my area, mostly dirt and very small leaf debris. Of course, there are exceptions where there's larger leaf debris in some pools, but the leaf debris is manageable. When I say small or less light leaf debris, if you had an automatic cleaner with the canister and you're using the small Hayward one, the W530, I believe that's what it is, that wouldn't be fill filled every week with debris because there's just not a lot of leaf debris. But the automatic cleaner does pick up a lot of dirt because we're in a really dusty area, even though I'm not technically in a desert area, there's still a lot of dirt around here and it gets in the pool. So the suction side cleaner would be the primary cleaner in my service area. Now I do have some return side cleaners or pressure side cleaners. On occasion, you're gonna run into those here in Southern California. The Polaris 280 is one that comes to mind. But you don't have too many of those because dirt is more concerned than leaf debris. And then you have, of course, parts of the Midwest where leaf debris is more prevalent, parts of Texas where pressure cleaners are more prevalent because leaf debris is a bigger issue than dirt. And I think that's fine, you have to find your region and find out what cleaner works best. I always default to a suction side cleaner because they do the best with dirt, and I think in any region you're at, dirt is going to be an issue on the bottom of the pool. Now, this is also a good selling point to the customer, and this is one I use a lot, is that with an automatic cleaner picking up the dirt and small leaves that fall into the bottom of the pool, you're going to use a lot less chemicals because the leaf debris is organic and it takes some of the chlorine, it uses up some of the chlorine, and also the dirt that could fall into the pool if it's not vacuumed up right away. Sometimes after a rainstorm, some mud gets washed in there. Sometimes a lot of dirt gets washed in there, especially from the trees. And some of this dirt, especially the one that's in the soil, can have metal ions in there and cause staining. And you let the customer know that with a suction side cleaner, and even with a pressure-side cleaner in some respects, picking up the dirt, it's one of those things where it's not going to stain the pool, and it's kind of a way to safeguard staining of the pool. And if you think this is not true, this is a very true statement because I've had pools that have gotten flooded with rainstorms, the mud running off into the pool that didn't have automatic cleaners in them back then. And after I vacuumed out the pool, even a week later, there is staining on the bottom that is pretty much permanent without an acid wash because it's a plaster pool from the dirt that was sitting in the bottom of the pool that week from the mud getting in there. So this is a real issue that can happen. I also had a pool where they were doing roofing and they dropped little things in the pool, and the automatic cleaner was it actually picked up the small little clippings of the staples and whatever they were doing, and they were inside the canister, and those normally would stain the bottom of the pool if they were left there for some time. So it does prevent staining from leaf debris and dirt, and so it's a great way to sell these to the customer that it does have that benefit so that the pool is not going to have stains from not being vacuumed. You're there once a week vacuuming the pool. If there's no cleaner in there vacuuming it during the week, that is a possibility. Another benefit that I like to highlight is the fact that with an automatic cleaner in there, I save a lot of time on my pool route. Now, this may sound counterintuitive, telling the customer that it makes your job easier and you get through the day quicker, but you can actually flip that around to your benefit by saying that since I can do more accounts and I'm not bogged down by vacuuming the pool for 10 minutes at each account, I'm able to actually keep my rates lower than they normally would be if I had to spend so much time vacuuming each pool out every week. And therefore, my business is more efficient and I have more accounts, and therefore I keep the rates lower. Versus if I had the vacuum every pool in my route, I would have less pools, have to charge more. In fact, some companies will charge ten or twenty dollars more per month for pools with an automatic cleaner. There's some guys here that are pretty spoiled, they won't even take on an account without a cleaner in there. If the customer doesn't want to agree to get one, then they won't even take that service account. I know that's kinda weird, but people will do that in my area. So that is the benefit, let them letting them know that it makes your business more efficient, therefore it affects the rates you charge, which means that rate increases won't come as often or as high as another company or as you would have to do if you didn't have automatic cleaners in the pools on your route. I also explained to the customer that look, I'm here for 20-25 minutes a week. I I'll vacuum the pool and clean it. But so many things happen, you know, 20 minutes out of the whole week is a small fraction of time. And so many things can happen during that week that again, dirt can get in there, leaves can get in there, the gardener could come and blow a lot of stuff into the pool, you know, anything can happen, a small windstorm, and having the automatic cleaner in the pool will be like if I'm there all week long. And so it's something that can really be a great asset to you because your pool will stay swim ready all week long, and it's something that a lot of customers like. You know, if they you know, if you're there on a Wednesday and they're gonna use their pool on the weekend or Friday, you don't have to go back there and vacuum the pool for them on before the party because the automatic cleaners in there cleaning the pool, you wouldn't go back there anyway and vacuum the pool before their party. And it's kind of like you're there and it's the pool is clean, and the customers like having a swim-ready pool. I don't know, something psychological about getting to your pool, getting ready to jump in, and having a bunch of leaves and dirt at the bottom. It just doesn't look inviting or clean. And so I like to tell the customer that if you use your pool often, the automatic cleaner is a great tool for you because you know if the kids want to go in the pool on Friday, they can jump in and you have to worry about dirt being stirred up. Now, yes, there may be some leaves in there, it's not going to be 100% clean all the time, but at least there's not gonna be a lot of dirt they're gonna stir up and get everywhere and make the water cloudy. So, yes, it does benefit those customers that use their pool frequently is something that you know is a good asset to have in the pool. Now, the question I get asked often is, well, what do I do with the cleaner if I'm in the pool? And a lot of times I'll tell them, you know, if you have the cleaner in the pool, I'll teach them how to take it out of the pool. A lot of times I'll tell them just leave it in the pool and the kids can swim around it. If you have the pool's off, just drag it so that the hoses are on one side of the pool, and that's perfectly fine. I don't really like the customers taking out of the pool and coiling it up into a kind of in a circle, like you know, a snake hole coiled up. Because what happens when they do that? It gets kind of in a situation where the hoses get a memory and they can't get, you know, they won't get the full coverage anymore because they're going to be kind of curved all the time. So don't coil it up. If anything, take the cleaner out and lay it out long ways on the pool deck. A lot of customers will do that. They'll take the cleaner out and just lay it on the deck lengthwise so that you know 30-foot hose is just laid out there perfectly fine. I, you know, most people won't take east hose section off and do that. But coiling it up is something you have to tell them not to do. I told the story before, and I think it's really a a funny story because I had a customer that had a party, took the cleaner out. I'm looking all over the yard for it. I couldn't find it on the side, I couldn't find it in. He has a garage that he leaves open, I couldn't find it there. And then finally I had to text him and say, Oh, I'm looking for the automatic cleaner to put back in. Where is it? Because I put it in that box by the pool. I'm like, the box by the pool. So I look over and there's a little like kind of think something you buy at Target to store towels in. It's like one foot by one foot, and it's it's used mainly for towels and like putting things in there, and it's like two feet tall and like one and a half feet wide. And I open it up, and sure enough, the cleaner is in there coiled up. It was a Zodiac Wahoo, actually. It wasn't anything expensive, but it was all coiled up, and the head was stuck in there, and they had the lid closed on it. It actually fit in there. I'm not sure how they got it in there, but it actually fit in there coiled up, and so talk about having a bad memory as far as the hoses go. The it wouldn't I put it in the pool, it was just like impossible to get to go anywhere but a circle. There's like a little trick where you take like a few hose sections and move them around, and so you kind of got like it's straight-ish, kind of, and then it does clean pretty decently, but still never as well. You can also take the hoses off by section and lay them out in the sun on the grass. And if the heats up to like 100 degrees, they may kind of sh get back to their regular shape, they may not. But explain how to take the cleaner out of the pool. I think that's the key if you have automatic cleaners in the pool. If the customer is having a big party over the weekend or something, I usually tell them I'll take the cleaner out for them on my service day, and that's usually something I would do if I'm if I'm afraid they're gonna break it. And if the weather's clear and it's not gonna be windy or anything, it should be perfectly fine at that point. Sometimes I'll actually go to the pool before the party if it's on my route and take it out. Because sometimes I don't like the customer messing with it, especially if it's a Polaris pressure cleaner, they can break off that wall connector pretty easily by not knowing how to remove it. So again, educate the customer how to remove the cleaner so that if they have a party, they can use it. But most people just leave the cleaner in there and swim with it in the pool. It's not a big deal at all. I think if you have employees, you want to make it so that the customer knows that the employee is going to vacuum the pool every time, no matter if you have the cleaner in there or not. And that kind of gives them peace of mind that an employee is gonna actually be doing some work there. So I would, of course, get a vacuum system for your employees, bottom feeder, riptide, and let the let the employee know that each time you're at the stop, drop it in the pool, spend five minutes vacuuming the pool so that you've satisfied that clause, and then do the other stuff you need to do. Because with an automatic cleaner in there, the pool's gonna be pretty clean, and you just have to spot vacuum the pool. You have to vacuum and attach spa out every week. And again, with a vacuum system, especially the bottom feeder of shrimp with a cartridge filter assembly on top, you can use that to vacuum out the spas and spot vacuum any dirt in the pools, and not really have to have a manual vacuum or carry a manual vacuum with a hose on your truck at all anymore. It takes the place of that. You can also use the water tech devices to vacuum out spas. I like using like the you know, the pool blaster max or the volt FX8 is pretty great for that with the sand silt bag. You have to fulfill the vacuuming duties for the spa, of course, and for the step areas and areas where the cleaner doesn't pick up the dirt, you're still responsible to vacuum those areas out, but certainly it's not going to take your employee or you more than a few minutes to spot vacuum a pool. Where if you're manual vacuuming a pool, it would take you a lot longer to set everything up and then vacuum the pool, which is, in my opinion, really unnecessary when you have automatic cleaners out there. And there's really not a lot of objections that people can have to them. They may not like the hoses. In that case, if a customer really is insistent that they don't like the hoses, get them a robotic pool cleaner and either cordless or corded, and have them use that every week as their automatic cleaner. I'm not a big fan of using those on weekly service because the customer has to actually do their part by putting it in. But they are effective if there's no other alternative. The customer is insistent, they don't like the hoses. A cordless robotic pool cleaner definitely would be an option for you. I also like the solar surface cleaners as well, like the beta. And now, of course, you're not going to do anything at the pool if you have a suction cleaner and a solar-powered solar cleaner on top. But the least you can clean while you're there, I think the better for you, because you can do other things and of course get through your day a lot faster. And the pool is going to look really, really nice for the customer all week long, not just on your service day or the day after your service, but really all the rest of the week, it's going to look really good and it's going to really make your service shine, I think, to a level to where the customer's like, man, my pool looks great every day. They don't really think about too much that the cleaner is doing a lot of the work for you at the pool. They just like the fact that the pool looks great every day. You know, they can get in the pool whenever they want. And don't overthink it. Don't think that the customer is standing there analyzing, saying, Well, you know, this cleaner is doing a lot of work, and I don't think I want pool service. That's just not how they think. And besides, most people that hire you for pool service really do need pool service because they don't have time to do it on their own. And I wouldn't feel threatened by an automatic cleaner. And I definitely would recommend having an automatic cleaner in every single pool on your route. That saves you time and money, increases your profitability, and it also increases customer satisfaction as the pool is going to look really nice all week long. If you're looking for other podcasts, you can find those by going to my website, SonyPollearning.com, clicking on the podcast icon at the banner. That'll be a drop down menu over 1900 podcasts. And if you're interested in the coaching program I offer, you can learn more at poolguycoaching.com. Thanks for listening to this podcast. Have a good rest of your week and God bless.