The Best Small Tools for Pool Service

Your pool route doesn’t get easier because you work harder, it gets easier because you work smarter with the right gear on your truck. We walk through the underrated pool service tools that consistently save time in the field, even though most techs don’t think to call them “essential.” If you’ve ever fought a filter clamp, wrestled a stuck pump lid, or lost minutes on a union that won’t turn, this one is built for you.

We start with a high-quality rubber mallet and why it’s a game-changer for filter cleanings and stubborn pump lids, especially if you’re tired of using your palm as a tool. From there, we get specific about extra large channel lock pliers, including how they help with Rainbow chlorinator lids, salt cell unions (with a rag to protect the plastic), and even jammed telescopic poles. The practical angle matters here: leverage, balance, and repeatable techniques that reduce strain and prevent damage.

Then we get into the “weird but brilliant” kit, like keeping a tennis ball for dual-skimmer suction control and for emergency situations when equipment is below the water line and water won’t stop pouring out. We also cover duct tape for temporary, water-resistant fixes, plus the right lubricants for O-rings: Magic Lube where it shines and RV-grade silicone spray when you want a cleaner, faster application. Finally, we talk filter speed tools like a multi-torque socket set, along with simple helpers for drain plugs and clearing impeller debris when flow drops.

If you got value from these pool maintenance tips, subscribe, share this with a pool tech friend, and leave a review so more service pros can find the show. What’s the most underrated tool on your truck?

We share the underrated pool service tools we reach for constantly and explain the real field problems they solve. From faster filter cleanings to stuck lids, tight unions, and tricky suction issues, we lay out a simple kit that saves time and protects your hands.
• Rubber mallet for seating filter clamps and loosening tight pump lids
• Extra large channel locks for Rainbow chlorinator lids and stubborn salt cell unions
• Using two channel locks for leverage and balance on misaligned plumbing
• Tennis ball trick to isolate suction on dual-skimmer pools
• Tennis ball workaround when equipment sits below waterline and valves fail
• Duct tape for short-term emergency patches on cleaner parts and missing bleeders
• Magic Lube for pump lid O-rings and protecting clamp threaded rods
• RV-grade silicone spray for cleaner, longer-lasting filter tank O-rings
• Multi-torque socket set and drill method to speed filter clamp work
• Button hook or long Phillips for drain plugs and clearing clogged impellers
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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Hey, welcome to the Pool Bay Podcast Show. When you think of pool tools, you're thinking maybe a carbon fiber pool or a nice leaf rake or a vacuum system. In this episode, I'm going to go over some tools that are essential, but they may not be on your radar and you may not think them to be essential. And I'll go over their practicality and use out there in the field. 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 swimmingpoollearning.com. The first tool I think that is highly essential is a good rubber mallet. I didn't get these at Harbor Freight,

Welcome And Coaching Invite

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Home Depot, Amazon, but a good quality rubber mallet is something that's really useful out there. There are two reasons or two main purposes that I use the rubber mallet with. One is when I do filter cleanings. When I'm putting the clamp back on, the spring barrel nut, I'll tighten it, and then after I tighten it to where I think it's pretty tight, I'll take the rubber mallet and I'll tap around the clamp. And believe it or not, you're gonna actually get more or be able to tighten it more after doing that. And this is a great way to make sure that that clamp is on there tight. It's also helpful if you're having trouble getting the clamp on and getting the spring barrel

Rubber Mallet For Clamps And Lids

SPEAKER_00 2:35

nut or the knob over the threaded part of the clamp. Just hitting it the rubber mallet gives you more real estate to work with, and you can get the clamp back on pretty easily. The second use, of course, is for the whisper flow lids on the pumps or any pump lids that are pretty tight. Just simply tapping the handle lightly will pretty much loosen that. I used to use the palm of my hand, but then of course you're doing damage to your hands over time. So the rubber mallet is great for that use there. There's other uses out there you're gonna find with a rubber mallet, but those two are the main ones that I use it for, and I highly recommend carrying that rubber mallet with you for those instances and other uses out there. So definitely an essential tool to have out on your pool route. Next up would be the large pair of channel locks. So these are let me see if I can get the product number here. You'll find them at Home Depot. They have a light blue handle, they're by channel lock, and these are called tongue and groove pliers 480, and these are straight jaw teeth, 90 degree teeth, forged steel, 20 to 25 inch, 5.5 inch jaw. So these are probably the largest channel locks you can get out there on the market, and I definitely recommend these. Having two of these is actually better. I'll go over the scenario when you would need two of these, but for one of them, they come in handy for the rainbow chlorinators. Let's say you have a rainbow chlorinator and you can't get the lid off. What I like to do is stick the handle, the channel

Extra Large Channel Locks For Tough Jobs

SPEAKER_00 4:12

locks in there into the little notches, and then with my weight on the channel locks holding it front and back like a lever, you can loosen up that trichlor chlorinator lid pretty easily. They're also great for salt cell unions. Now you definitely want to get a rag and put it over the union so you don't strip it or cut into it with it. And this is the reason why you may want two of them. So I found that sometimes when the salt cell is installed, not quite straight in the plumbing, when you put the unions on or take them off, they're really tight and hard to deal with. And sometimes you try to take it off with your hands, gloves on, and you still can't get it to budge, or putting it on, water leaks out. So I found having two of these is great. So you just you just put a rag over the union, put the channel lock on top of one, and then you can hold the salt cell with the other one, and this gives you a lot more balance and leverage when you're turning it. So it's really great to have two of them for this purpose, and it's an effective way to get those unions off. Now, there's other tools you can use for that. You can use like a oil filter wrench, people have used that before. But I found that these work really well for those unions that are really tight. As long as you put a rag underneath it, you're not going to damage the union. Sometimes, of course, no matter what you do, it's just really hard to get those salt cells on and off. But this comes in handy for those situations. Also, if you have a schemelite doula pole, and you have you accidentally lock it because the skim light poles, they actually the cams actually lock and unlock in both directions. Sometimes you'll over you'll overlock it, and in order to get the pole the claps, you need to get two of these channel locks, one to hold part of the telepole, and the other one to hold the chamber, or actually to spin the chamber. So you clamp onto the chamber, then you clamp onto the pole, and then with the channel lock, you can easily unlock it if it's jammed. So these come in handy for the skim light poles. If you actually overlock it, these will help you unlock that pole. And you can find innumerable uses for these channel locks out on your pool route. So I definitely recommend getting these extra large channel locks and keeping them on your truck. Another essential tool would be a tennis ball. Now, this comes in handy for a couple of reasons. Now, this this is a handy tool to have or a handy accessory. I guess it's not a tool. If you have a pool that has two skimmers, now dual skimmer pools, a lot of times they will not have an easy way to turn one skimmer off. So if you're gonna go vacuum from one skimmer, putting a tennis ball in the other skimmer is a great way to isolate the suction and allow you to utilize one skimmer fully and get the full power from it. So the tennis ball comes in really handy. Also, it comes in handy if you ever open up a pump basket and the plumbing is below the water line. So a lot of times, sometimes you don't know this, or and you may not even know that the water is below, or the equipment I should say, is below the pool

Tennis Ball Tricks For Skimmers

SPEAKER_00 7:19

water line. Sometimes it's like an illusion in the backyard there. But if you ever open up a pump basket or pump lid or go to clean the filter, and then water just keeps pouring out of the system, that's a good indicator that the equipment is below the water line. Sometimes it's of course obvious. You're the pool's up on the hill, the equipment's down 20 feet. So if you ever do this either by accident or sometimes it's weird the builders don't really put in really good ball valves and they break, and so the ball valves don't work anymore. By the way, this is another good use for the channel locks. If you ever get to a pool where there's the ball valves with the red handles and they're broken off and you can't get a grip, the channel locks are a great way to actually put to uh turn these ball valves by gripping onto them and turning them. Just be careful that you don't break them more at that point. But sometimes these are broken, and so the only way to empty the pump basket is to put a tennis ball in the skimmer, and this turn this kind of stops the water from coming back out of the pool. So the the tennis ball is really something that I find to be essential out there, especially for the two-hole skimmers or dual skimmers. I should say not two-hole, but two skimmers on on the deck, or if you need to turn the water off and empty the pump basket out, it's a great quick way to just stick the tennis ball in there and make sure it's in there good. The reason why tennis balls are good as well is they don't get sucked into the skimmer, they're too big and they have some buoyancy because they have air inside, so that it's not you don't have to worry about it getting sucked into the skimmer and and clogging up the system. Something else that you probably would like to carry in your truck, and you may get some pushback, or I've gotten pushback, I should say, when I mentioned duct tape. Now, duct tape is handy for a lot of applications out there. You also want to overdo it, of course, but I've used duct tape on cleaner parts when I didn't have a spare part. I'll just tape it up real quick, and it's actually fairly water resistant over the course of a week or so. I've also used it on filters when the air bleeder assembly is missing, the little thimble is gone, and I need to stop the water. I I'll put some duct tape on it and plug up the line. So you can find a lot of uses for duct tape out there. I say the black duct tape looks pretty professional. I don't know if the silver is not for some reason I feel like the silver duct tape is not as strong as like the gorilla black duct tape. They have a red duct tape, which I think is too flashy, but black duct

Duct Tape For Quick Fixes

SPEAKER_00 10:15

tape looks fairly professional, and you'll find yourself taping things here and there with it, and I find it to be really useful out there to have duct tape. You just can't, of course, rely on it long term, but for those emergency situations where something needs to be taped and held, I find it to be fairly water resistant and pretty effective when you're using it on certain products out there or certain uses out there. So duct tape definitely is something you want to have handy on your truck. You also want to have enough you want to have lube out there for different reasons or different applications, and there are two different lubes that I use. Now I don't use magic lube for a lot of things, but it's good to have that magic lube tube out there. Magic lube is really good for O-rings, even though it's messy, but if you're at a pool and it's not getting fully primed, and you see the the pump wet end or pump pot has air in it. Sometimes just lubing up the O-ring with magic lube, even though it's messy, it's effective in sealing that pretty good. I also like the magic lube when I'll go back to the filter cleanings. When you take the clamp off, the filter, you have the long threaded rod that's attached to the clamp. And a lot of times it starts to strip and get worn out, and then you have to buy a new clamp, which is pretty expensive. So, what I like to do is when I clean the filter,

The Right Lubes For O-Rings

SPEAKER_00 11:39

before I put the spring barrel nut back on, I'll take the magic lube and I'll stick it into the threaded rod, and it actually slides right into the magic lube tube, into the tip of it, and I'll get a nice amount of magic lube on there, and this helps prevent the spring barrel nut from stripping that threaded rod. So it definitely comes in handy for the lid o-rings. Also, I use it on the three-inch chlorinator O-rings that seems to help a little bit with making that lid come off easier. I don't use magic loop on the filter o-ring. So, what I use on the filter o-rings is R V grade silicone spray. Now I used to use the boss silicone spray. So if you watch my videos, you'll see me with a purple can of silicone. That's I don't know what happened to that company, but I can't find it locally. So I just go into AutoZone and I buy RV grade silicone spray. And right now I'm using the blaster silicone spray, it's got like a green, green and yellow bottle or can, and it's fairly it's just very similar to the boss silicone spray. So any R V quality or R V grade silicone spray is great. You go to AutoZone or Pep Boys and they have it there. And I use this on the O-rings because number one, it makes the O-rings last longer. I think it makes it last longer, it makes it lid very easy to get on, and it's not messy. So magic lube can be really messy around the O-rings. It starts to get you start to get this black residue everywhere on your everywhere where it touches your hands, you know, your clothes. So I tend to like to use a silicone spray in the o-rings, and I find it to be highly effective in the filter tank O-rings, much more than magic lube, and much cleaner and a much easier product to apply as well. You just spray it around the O-ring, and you're pretty much done. Speaking of filter cleanings, I think the multi-torque socket set is definitely a must. They have a pack with it where they have sockets for just about every filter out there, from the stairway system 3 to the Pentair and the Jandy filters. Now, Hayward changed their nut a little bit, so you'll have to get the there's like there's the MT, I think it's the MT100H, and that's for the Hayward filter. And so basically, these are great. You just get a good drill. I like the rigid drill from Home Depot. Get a drill with a lot of torque, cordless drill with a lot of torque. Use the multi-torque socket on there. You can get these spring barrel nuts off and on really easily. When I get to the end of the clamp, when I get to the end of putting the clamp on, I'll take my cordless drill and I'll spin it in my hands with the multi-torque socket on there, and then I'll get a rubber mallet, like at the beginning I mentioned, and I'll tap the clamp,

Filter Speed Tools And Impeller Fixes

SPEAKER_00 14:25

and then I'll spin it a few more times. I don't really activate the drill, I'll just take the drill and kind of spin it in my hands with the multi-torque socket attached to it, and that gives it the final three or four turns that makes it really, really locked in. But the multi-torque is a great way to speed getting the clamps, any knobs off. The system three, of course, those really it really helps with those as well. And it's a great tool to have on there, so definitely what you would want to have the multi-torque socket set for filter cleanings. They also make a tool called the button hook. I find this to be great for the tank, the filter tank, drain plugs. It works on the Penthair Cleaning Clear Plus and all the other drain plugs that are on the side. You can also get a screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, and use that to spin the drain plugs loose on your pool on the pool filters. But the button hook is a great tool you can also get for multi-torque or a thin Phillips screwdriver. You can stick it inside the groove in those drains, except for the clean and clear plus filters where the drains under the manifold. Most drains could be taken off with a screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver stuck into that little groove there. So Phillips screwdriver comes in really handy. And the Phillips screwdriver is great for any of the impellers that may be clogged with debris. Sometimes they get to a pool and the filter PSI is like at 5 and it should be at 20. And typically the pump basket isn't full of water, and it sounds like it's struggling. So what I do is I turn off the system. If it's a Penta Whisper Flow, I'll take my rubber mallet and tap the lid off, and then I'll take the pump basket out and I'll stick the Phillips screwdriver. It's good to have a long one. So I'll have one that's like you know 10 or 12 inches long. So carry a long Phillips screwdriver, and then you stick it in the impeller and spin it. And typically that's all it needs is to be spun by the screwdriver. Then you hear it gurgling, and then most of the debris will be cleared. So these little tools definitely come in handy out there. And of course, there's more tools that I didn't mention here, much more tools that you can get out for your pool route. But these are pretty essential, and you're gonna find yourself using these all the time out there. And definitely the multi-torker helpful, the channel locks, the rubber mallet, all these come in super handy out there. So if you don't have these on your truck, definitely go out there and get them. If you go to my website, swimmingpoollearning.com, scrolling down to the bottom, you'll see a tab that says Pool Guy Gear. And I think I do have the channel locks there. Let me see. I'm gonna go here right now just to make sure. I know I have a lot of stuff listed there, my sunglasses, the gloves that I use, and I have I do have the channel locks there on Amazon an Amazon link there, as well as my knee pads. So everything is there for you. So there's definitely a lot more accessories and tools you can use out there. You can find those on my website, swimmingpoollearning.com. At the very bottom, go to pool pool guy tools, and you'll see our pool guy gear and you'll see all those for you. And if you're on my website, if you want to listen to more podcasts, there's a podcast icon on the banner. Click on that, and there'll be over 1900 podcasts for you to download or listen to. And if you're interested in the coaching program that I offer, you can learn more at poolguidecoaching.com. Thanks

Gear Links And Final Takeaways

SPEAKER_00 17:35

for listening to this podcast. Have a great rest of your week and God bless.