Water Lab Programs
We operate the industry’s three best pool water programs: Alex by Bioguard, Waterlink by Target/Lamotte, and Clear Link by Baquacil. I believe that Alex is the best program for chlorine and bromine, but not for PHMB. It is complete in its explanations, it can handle pH corrections after it has made total alkalinity changes (not as obvious as it seems: changing total alkalinity changes pH, and also changes the rate at which pH changes), it is thoroughly tested before updates are sent out – it’s always right. For Baquacil users we use the Clear Link program. For Target™ pool chemical users, we use the Lamotte Waterlink program designed for Target brands. It is simple, does less advertising than Alex, and it can handle chemicals (like liquid super shock) that are not available from Biolab.
What does this mean to you? It’s really helpful to know your brand when you get to the lab – it will make your life much easier when you’re at the other end of the store and when you get home. If you have no idea, we will have a default to Target chemicals as they are most likely to be used by people who have no idea what they are using. We can’t tell by looking at what program you’re in. We put all of you in every program during the winters of 1999-2000 and 2002-2003 when we had software crashes and technology changes, to save time for you in May. Our cash registers do not interact with the water lab, so we can’t match what you buy with what you test. We can ask the cashier to look up your purchases, but when was the last time you gave the cashier your name when you bought pool chemicals?
It would be a good idea to check your printout every time you get a new one. Do we have your gallons correctly? That’s a big deal. How about your name? Did we just print out your brother’s pool with your results (sorry, it’s easy to do on a busy day, particularly if your name is Rob and your brother is Ron)? Do we have the correct sanitizer, shock, and algaecide? You could have changed since you were first put into the computer, and if you do not tell us, we’ll never know. You also could have left that blank and we put in a default. Whatever you were using may not have been an option in that program at that time. Let us know, and we’ll get it corrected for you. Sometimes it makes a difference; sometimes it doesn’t. It can’t hurt to get it right, though.
Policy
Please remember that we spend a great deal of time and money doing water tests. It costs us around $10 per test, or close to $80,000 a year. If you don’t want to wait, please give us a call—see if the lab is open, and if there’s a line. If you leave your sample here and you don’t wait, we will do the test when we can—but people waiting in the store always have priority of those who went home. Unlike just about every pool store in the world, we have a Night Deposit, so you can leave your test here even when we’re closed! To see more information on that, link to our Water Test Drop-Off page, or print out our Water Test Drop-Off Sheet and fill it out before you get here. Please understand, though, we cannot read your results over the phone – you can only receive them in writing. It is a safety issue. We’re happy to mail, fax, hold for pick-up, or email.
Once again, it is our pleasure to help you. Learn more at the following pages:
Specialized Pool Water Tests Available
“We love the service we get when we have our pool water analyzed – and best of all – it’s all free! Thanks for all your past help!”
Paula, Mason, NH
“Your free water lab is great for obtaining professional info about the water quality. Your personnel are the best that I have ever had the pleasure of talking with. They are very helpful and concerned about the customer, not just the sale.”
Don
