1. Murdock Pool Service

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Murdock Pool Service

4.8 (74 reviews)
Closed • 9:00 am - 4:30 pm

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Response time

2 hours

Response rate

100%

Services - Murdock Pool Service

Pool chemical testing and balancing

Pool draining

Murdock Pool Service Photos

Recommended Reviews - Murdock Pool Service

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Reviews With Photos

I usually clean my own pool, but needed someone to take over after having knee surgery. I saw a lot of offers for around $100-$125/month, but thought they can't be any good. So, I found Murdoch Pool Service who was charging $180, but had great reviews. After speaking with owner, Brett, who assured me that they provide a better service than the cheap guys I signed up. After a couple of cleanings, I noticed they were only spending about 10 minutes on my pool and not leaving it "sparkling clean". I spoke with Brett about this and, after looking at the photo his guy took, he argued that he didn't see a problem with the service. I thought OK ...maybe I'm being OCD because I'm used to cleaning my own pool and spending way more than 10 min on it. Then we had strong Santa Ana winds hit and it left quite a mess of leaves, debris, and dirt in my pool. I was looking forward to Murdock coming to the rescue to clean it all up. They spent a little more time than the average 10 minutes and left my pool looking like it still needed to be cleaned. The photos were taken immediately after they left and you can clearly see that they failed to brush the sides, clean out the strainers baskets completely, etc. I'm pretty sure I could have gotten this level of service from the cheap guys. I was expecting to have them help me out for at least 3 months, until I could heal and get back to cleaning the pool myself, but after 2 months I couldn't continue paying a premium price for a sub-standard service. I found myself hopping around the pool on one leg trying to clean up after they left. I would highly suggest you find someone else to clean your pool.

Here is an example of the report that is sent by email at each visit. They also include a photo of the swimming pool.
Nancy P.

I live in Italy and include weekly pool service for my rental property in La Jolla. Murdock is fantastic because they take a photo of the pool and include details of maintenance that was done with each visit. I also have automatic payment set up so I do not have to worry about getting the invoices paid. Prices are also fair and competitive.

Pool
Wendy K.

Great service, excellent communication, easy billing. Everything I could hope for in a pool service. Highly recommend! My pool has never looked better.

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6 years ago

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7 years ago

Bret is a fantastic person. He has been instrumental in helping me maintain a clean pool. Love them!

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7 years ago

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4 years ago

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8 years ago

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8 years ago

Great and prompt service. He came out to empty my pool and it was done in 5 hours. He loved my solar powered duck.

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5 years ago

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7 years ago

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7 years ago

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8 years ago

Business owner information

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Brett M.

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6 years ago

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7 years ago

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8 years ago

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8 years ago

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9 years ago

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7 years ago

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8 years ago

This pool service is the best in town. Friendly fast service ,dependable and affordable. Don't go anywhere else for your pool and spa needs!

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

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9 years ago

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6 years ago

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7 years ago

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11 years ago

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11 years ago

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7 years ago

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9 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Brett M.

Brett M.

Thanks Walter for the great feedback, we appreciate your business!

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10 years ago

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8 years ago

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9 years ago

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12 years ago

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10 years ago

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10 years ago

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9 years ago

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11 years ago

I would recommend Brett to anyone! He's a great guy and a makes a big effort to accommodate us. He will make your pool sparkle.

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Ask the Community - Murdock Pool Service

Review Highlights - Murdock Pool Service

“No matter what mess my children have made throwing toys in or getting the pool muddy/dirty, when Caleb leaves it is sparkling clean.”

Mentioned in 6 reviews

Read more highlights

McKinney's Pool Service - We specialize in the chemical upkeep and maintenance in newly built or refinished swimming pools.

McKinney's Pool Service

(163 reviews)

Just had our filters and tank cleaned. Roberto Araujo did an excellent job. Mc Kinneys always does…read morequality work! The first time in 30 years I have found a company that I trust and don't have to worry about a thing. I highly recommend them

Update: My review was from service in the past - I wanted to wait until the equipment warranty had…read moreexpired before posting. When I posted the review, they contacted me and tried to make it right. I've already moved on, but I really appreciated how their customer support has changed since I was using them last, and I'm updating my rating accordingly. Initial Review: I hired them for pool service. They started out as a 4 or 5 star, but they turned a corner after about 6 months (and after they had sold me all the equipment I was willing to buy). Suddenly, and with no explanation, I started getting pool reports from La Jolla Pool Service instead of McKinney's. That was weird, but I was busy and didn't do anything right away. Then I had a question about the pool, so I went out to talk to the guy when he came - it wasn't the same guy as usual. In fact, it was a new company! They apparently sold my account to another provider. They eventually notified me after the fact. So here I had done all this research to pick a pool cleaner and finally settled on McKinney's and 6 months later I'm stuck with someone I didn't pick who ended up being a real problem. Also they sold me a leaf catcher for my pool cleaner when there already was one, so that was annoying.

Golden State Pools

Golden State Pools

(70 reviews)

Hillcrest

Vinyl pool owners, beware! I had a horrible experience with…read moreGolden State Pool Service that has prompted me to take legal action. After a routine service visit to my vinyl pool, the pool began losing water rapidly and dropped to less than halfway full within days. A Vinyl Pool Repair company later identified a large puncture in the liner and advised the damage appeared consistent with blunt force. It is in the very bottom corner of the pool on the 8ft side, somewhere a 5 year old child couldn't reach. I checked camera footage to see their technician using his tool in an up and down motion as if he's spearfishing in my pool. Days later - the water dropped less than halfway. Other red flags - they removed my existing vacuum and replaced with a different one without my knowledge or permission. This specific vacuum was not recommended for vinyl from the vinyl EXPERTS that I consulted with. Furthermore, they also charged me on a random day for some type of "annual fee" without disclosing that upfront. Lastly, the last service visit we had (on a rainy day - no clue why the guy still showed up), the employee went behind the camera area and stood under my sundeck on his phone. Is that what you're getting paid for? Service visits under 10 minutes while you stand around. There were multiple red flags I ignored and excused but the damage to the pool was the last straw. Despite the timing of the incident, the severity of the water loss, camera footage, and the findings from ABCO, Golden State declined to take responsibility for the damage or assist with replacement costs. As expected: they responded to dodge accountability by saying the vinyl was in brittle condition - this still doesn't change the fact that you punctured my pool. See you in court.

Good service with Golden State Pools. Anthony is very through in keeping our pool well maintained…read more Staff is easy to work with. They do a great job. We're very happy with our service.

Pool Scrubs - Bi-Weekly Pool Reports

Pool Scrubs

(86 reviews)

Here is why you hire Pool Scrubs:…read more I got a call from my tenant on Tuesday letting me know that a hose was left in the pool while she was at work and it flooded the street below and the neighbors had to come over to shut off the main water valve. Whoops? The instant thought was that the pool company came over, cleaned the pool, filled the pool, and forgot to turn off the water... a rational thought, right? Well, yes, it is. The fact of the matter is that while rational, it's the furthest thing from the truth and Pool Scrubs has receipts! Yes, I do like to see the "we cleaned your pool today" email that comes with a picture attached but never did I think that it would be used to solve a mystery. You see, that picture that was timestamped showed exactly when Pool Scrubs (Justin) was there and that they were not the culprit that caused the great flood of 2024. It showed when they were there, that there was no hose in the pool, and that it was certainly someone else deserving of the blame. Thanks to you Justin and Christine for helping me to piece this all together... you do awesome biz for your customers!

In answer to Pool Scrubs review response- Eucalyptus…read more"Grove"? Running the pump only 2-3 hours daily? Constant complaints about the new vacuum not cleaning the steps that you did not recommend? Air B&B hosting? Only 8 years of service, and Jeff last serviced our pool in 2017, eight years ago? Discontinued my service professionally? You must be thinking of another customer, because NONE of that applies to me. There's a SINGLE eucalyptus tree beyond my back fence owned by the neighbor, that's been there since long before I even bought the house, or hired Jeff - and has been majorly trimmed by its owner, most recently in October. The last time I only ran the pump 3 hours a day was shortly after Jeff started servicing the pool many years ago (during whose tenure it was always beautiful). Granted he asked me to increase it to 4 in the winter and 6 in the summer, which I did, but it was always beautiful the whole time. I assumed the length of time changes had to do with the chemical test results. I've been running the pump 8am-3:45 or 4:00, as my electric bill proves, ever since I was asked to increase it to 8 hours after Jeff stopped coming. Which you've verified many times. I don't understand your failure to believe it runs 7.75 hours daily year-round especially since you've verified it yourself many times. Most recently just a few months ago your tech actually unlocked (using the gates code), opened, and walked into my garage without my permission to check it (and while I was home! Why wouldnt he knock on my door?! What if my pets had been loose in there??!!! What if I had been fumigating? Tons of reasons that was FAR from okay. My caregiver thought he was a burglar.) Every single time you've checked it's been set to 7.75 or 8 hours. The clock time gets out of sync with the actual time due to power outages occasionally (hence 3:45 instead of 4:00-when rates shoot skyward) but it has been set to run at Least 7.75 hours ever since I was first asked to increase it to 8 hours. The new vacuum was literally the exact same model as the old one, which was in fact the one Jeff recommended and installed when he reopened the pool all those years ago and worked well the whole time he did the pool. I wish I had tried to repair it before getting the new one though, would've saved me $$. The repeated steps complaint was because they were always filthy, I really didn't care whether your guy or the vacuum cleaned them I just didn't like how they always had algae on them. Now I'm told that algae is why the plaster is so badly chipped on the stairs, so apparently it was a very valid complaint (that yes, I did make every few weeks, because it never got addressed). It obviously wasn't often enough to get anything done about it though. And I have never been an Air B&B Host. Where on earth would you get that idea? The condition of my pool would've been too embarrassing to rent out the house anyway, lol. You call the way you discontinued my service professional? After all these years with you, an hour after charging my account/leaving my place, (leaving algae on the steps and wall as usual, and refusing to clean my filter as you had previously agreed to during that visit) I got a text that my pool was "too difficult" for you to maintain and you wouldn't be back. Literally no notice at all, no instructions for me how to care for it nor notes about when things had last been done. I paid you timely every month without fail, even when you couldn't get my pool clean for months at a time and even the times you didn't show up, and emailed us pictures of other peoples pools as proof of service. Given that kind of customer loyalty, I think basic professionalism would've warranted giving notice (a month would've been nice, but at least two weeks) and maybe some notes to your [disabled] customer before stopping service. But apparently I have a much more demanding view of professionalism than you do.

Murdock Pool Service - poolcleaners - Updated October 2026

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