With Miami in recovery mode after Hurricane Irma, clean up and repair of damage includes a maelstrom of property features near and dear to many homeowners.
At Clearwater Pools & Patio, owner Ken Manheimer has been inundated with repair requests for everything from clean ups, coping and tile damage, and decks and water features damaged by the storm.
The most requested service has been clean ups of debris in pools, said Manheimer.
Time is of the essence to salvage pools, Manheimer said. His expert crew was out on the road the Tuesday after the storm, armed with an arsenal of chemicals to combat corrosives such as tannin from leaves and equipment to service burned out pump systems.
His team worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week in the weeks following Irma.
“We did the best we could to get out there [to save pools]. We put out extra help to help the guys to respond and to handle these things as fast as possible,” said Manheimer, whose company services more than 400 clients.
The extra effort was appreciated. Most people riding out Irma were more concerned with structural and roof damage and not their pools−until the storm passed.
“A lot of people were calling me looking for help because they couldn’t find their guy. It’s always been important for us to have the [service] support level. But it’s a different story when something like this happens. We’ve been getting a ton of calls and emails thanking us. They were supporting our guys with water when the heat was wearing us down. It felt good [to be considered part of the community.]”
Likewise, Clearwater Pools and Patio has always been a strong community participant, promoting swim safety and supporting local high school ‘don’t text and drive’ campaigns.
To that end, Manheimer offered several important tips to pool owners in advance of storms: systems should be shut down and breakers shut off just prior to an approaching storm to avoid clogging and burning out pumps. Also, only a minimal amount of water should be taken out of a pool to minimize the potential for ground swelling. If too much water is removed, there isn’t enough weight to hold the pool down.
“Most pools don’t overflow into the house, so it’s not hurting anything flowing into the yard or deck,” he said.
Some damage is unavoidable, particularly for those pools on waterfront properties.
“There was a lot of salt water and muck in these pools. There’s nothing you could do to prevent that.”
The company’s services and products run the gamut, and include repairs, heat pumps, coping and tile damage, water features, decks and waterways, pool resurfacing, and salt chlorinators.
While residential makes up about 80 percent of its business, the company’s reputation as expert pool renovators extends into the commercial world, where it has worked on several notable local projects thanks to favorable word of mouth referrals.
The historic Vagabond Hotel pool and Belle Towers pool in the Venetian Isles are among the standouts in its commercial portfolio.
“The Belle Tower was the same builder as The Vagabond. They heard about the renovation we did at the Vagabond and decided to have us do it,” said Manheimer. “I was really proud of my team−they really came through.”
The camaraderie at Clearwater Pools and Patios is second to none, and is a big catalyst for worker retention, he said.
“There is no turnover, people like working with us. I was brought up in the industry and it starts with employees. We make sure our employees are appreciated. They have an important voice in our company.”
To help its stay ahead of the competition, the company continues to take on projects big and small, whether it’s fixing broken tile or renovating an entire backyard.
“2008 was really a big push for us,” said Manheimer. “We are now a company that can offer everything. We have a lot of builders that call us for help. There are only a handful of [pool] companies that can do that.”
For more information about Clearwater Pools and Patio call 305-278-9395 or CLICK HERE to visit their website.
