I do not recommend The Pool & Spa House for pool maintenance, repair, or product sales. Despite their many retail locations, their knowledge of pool equipment and proper maintenance is extremely limited, and they frequently recommend unnecessary services and expensive replacements.
We used them for years simply because we didn't know better. One of our earliest red flags should have been when we hired them to balance our water. Two days later, the pool was completely cloudy and burned everyone's eyes. I watched the technician pour in gallons of muriatic acid -- something I now know will crash pH to unsafe levels. That was our first clue that they were not the experts they claimed to be.
We continued using them, even replacing an expensive piece of equipment at their recommendation. But the final straw was when our heater stopped working and displayed a "lo flow" error. Hayward heaters can throw that error for many reasons -- up to 13 different causes -- yet the technician didn't even check the heater. He took one quick visual look around and immediately tried to convince me that I needed to replace the sand in our filter, which costs thousands of dollars. When I repeatedly asked him to actually inspect the heater (the actual equipment with the error), he reluctantly opened it, said he "didn't see anything wrong," and then became rude, aggressive, and defensive about his "years of experience."
After he left, we called another company. They found the real issue in minutes: the flow switch simply needed adjustment. If I had listened to the Pool & Spa House tech, I would have spent thousands of dollars and still had a broken heater.
Their retail stores are also extremely predatory. They refuse to sell basic pool chemicals unless you provide your full address and personal information -- something they claim is "policy," even though it's not required by any state or federal regulation. It's simply for tracking and upselling. I still tried to buy from them to support local business, but even when I tried to buy stabilizer they argued with me about the amount I wanted, tried to push additional products I didn't need, and eventually refused to sell to me when I declined to give my address.
People should know: you don't need all the specialized products they push. You can easily maintain your own pool using the Trouble Free Pool method with basic chemicals like borax, muriatic acid, chlorine, and baking soda -- all available at local locations that carry pool supplies like Ace Hardware in Happy Valley and Milwaukie for much less.
What you do need is a company that can diagnose equipment issues correctly and honestly. For that, go to Classic Pool Spa & Hearth. Their technicians actually know what they're doing, they don't upsell, and they've saved us money and unnecessary repairs.
I will say the people who answer the service line at The Pool & Spa House are very kind -- but unfortunately, kindness doesn't make up for poor training, aggressive sales tactics, and inaccurate technical advice. read more