How many pools can I service in a day?
It's a challenging question indeed. On average, a pool technician cleans about 16-20 full-service pools daily, though some may clean up to 25. The number depends on the technician's work ethic, the types of pools being cleaned, and the level of automation available to both the technician and the pool owner.
Typically, a pool professional can clean 2 to 4 pools per hour, drive time included. For chemical-only accounts, the number can be much higher. In fact, some technicians manage nearly 50 chemical accounts in a day. Fewer pools are serviced if the accounts are commercial.
Our pool service company operated on a formula:
- 8-hour workday for the technician
- 30-minute break, resulting in 7.5 hours of work
- Average of 15 minutes to clean each pool
- 7-10 minutes of driving time between homes
This resulted in an average of 2.4 pools cleaned per hour, or roughly 18 pools a day.
This formula was our "sweet spot," ensuring excellent service, minimal complaints, manageable workloads for our technicians, and a mutually beneficial situation.
A full-service customer is one whose pool is entirely maintained by the technician, including cleaning and chemical treatments. Conversely, a chemical account is limited to water balancing by the technician, with the owner typically handling cleaning. A chemical account visit can be as brief as five minutes.
Commercial accounts include public pools like those at hotels, motels, parks, apartments, and homeowner associations. These accounts are high maintenance; immediate action is expected for repairs, which can be lucrative but require availability for prompt service.