It’s very rare that a pool cleaner is the focus of a big-budget Hollywood film ($100 million budget). While Jamie Foxx is a versatile actor who has played every conceivable role imaginable, he probably never thought that someday he’d be playing a hard-on-his-luck pool guy.

Pool Cleaner By Day, Vampire Hunter By Night

In the Netflix horror film Day Shift, directed by former stuntman J.J. Perry in his directorial debut; Foxx’s character Bud Jablonski is a vampire slayer who is part of a union of hunters that operate behind the scenes keeping society free of the silent scourge of Nosferatu. As a pool cleaner by day, and vampire killer by night, Jablonski spends his time fighting the undead and uses the pool service job as a disguise to blend in. Whatever free time is left after that is spent fighting the occasional green pool.

Best known for his career as a rapper, Snoop Dogg teams up with Foxx for the comedy horror as Big John Elliot, a long-time friend, and legendary vampire hunter in his own right. When things go awry for Jablonski, Big John steps up to vouch for him with the union and help him settle the score.

Film critics so far are mixed on Day Shift, IMDB has it rated at 6.1 while a 56% Rotten Tomatoes score gives it a slightly similar rating. All in all, critics were pretty brutal while viewer scores tended to trend higher. I watched the film myself and I can tell you that although there were some entertaining moments, this is the type of popcorn flick that you probably won’t remember 10 minutes after you watch it. There’s not a lot of world-building or character development going on in Day Shift. The action scenes were fun to watch but after a while, your brain starts searching for a rationalization for why in the world this movie was trending. For what it is, Day Shift is a fun little horror flick that will appeal to fans of the genre but certainly won’t rival any past success Foxx has seen at the box office.

All in all the pool cleaner / Van Helsing shtick gets old almost immediately and is underplayed throughout the remainder of the film. Honestly, I feel like the movie may be a miss with pool pros as well. The image of Foxx cruising around town in an old dilapidated pool truck is a tired cliché we’ve seen played out again and again. We’re eager to discuss movies with pools and pool cleaning professionals on the silver screen. Unfortunately, this isn’t the breakout moment the industry has been waiting for. I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you should put this one on your Halloween movie list. While I’m a fan of pool cleaners and certainly a big fan of horror movies in general, this one probably won’t get a rewatch from me anytime soon.

Featured Photo Credit: Netflix

Officials say water from a chlorinated swimming pool made its way into the storm drains in Arlington County, Virginia, killing about a hundred fish last week.

The dead fish were found in a creek located in Four Mile Run between South Walter Reed Drive and South Taylor Street, and according to a tweet posted by the Arlington Department of Environmental Services on Monday, investigators have determined that “flawed seasonal pool care involving chlorine and overflow” are to blame.

Update: Investigators say flawed seasonal pool care involving chlorine and overflow led to last week’s fish kill in Four Mile Run. Recent rains have now cleared the stream. Reminder: No filters on our storm drains. Please be careful. @ArlingtonVaFD https://t.co/1HhF74Y8HX

— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) September 12, 2022

Department spokesman Peter Golkin said that the investigation led them to a multi-family housing complex where large amounts of chlorine were added to the pool during the off-season. “Investigators say flawed seasonal pool care involving chlorine and overflow led to last week’s fish kill in Four Mile Run,” Golkin told news sources. Both the pool care company and the property management firm have been contacted by the county.

Golkin said an unpleasant “chemical smell” had been detected near a storm drain, suggesting that “would indicate that someone probably poured something not good down there.”

“The owners and their pool service people have been very cooperative with the investigation and in making follow-up improvements so such an incident isn’t repeated,” said Golkin.

He noted that the stream had been cleared by recent rains, but warned that the area’s lack of filters in the storm drains meant that toxic substances could still be harmful to local wildlife.

“Please be careful,” explained Golkin, “All sorts of daily issues, from yard waste falling into curb gutters to pet waste left unbagged to home car-washing and pool maintenance, can add up to a serious collective problem for the watershed.”

“Swimming pool and spa water can have devastating effects on the health of our streams if not disposed of properly,” the Department of Environmental Services says on its website. “The chlorine, bromine, algaecides, cleaning chemicals and low oxygen levels can kill fish and other aquatic life in streams.”

“Only freshwater that is dechlorinated, pH neutral, chemical-free and clean may be slowly discharged into the storm drain system,” the department claims. Otherwise, the water must go into the sewer system.

Golkin said that the county’s regulations regarding pool drainage are “especially timely as this is prime season for closing out pools for the year.”

Additional regulations from Arlington County, VA:

Chapter 26-7 makes it unlawful for any person to discharge directly or indirectly into the storm sewer system or state waters.

ARLINGTONVA.US

If pool or spa water is to be released over-land, the release should be:

• At least 10 feet from the property line
• Monitored and controlled to prevent flooding or erosion of neighboring properties

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Skimmer, the global leader in Pool Service Software (SaaS Platform and App), recently announced it raised an additional $5M to fuel its future growth. Unbundled Capital and existing Skimmer employees funded the entire capital raise.

Pete Freeland, CEO of Unbundled Capital, explained, “We were able to finance this entire investment round from our existing investors in Skimmer.  In fact, we were significantly oversubscribed, which is a testament to how excited our investors are about Skimmer’s growth and potential.”

Skimmer has now raised over $10M since October 2020.  “Our goal is not simply to maintain our market leadership.  Our goal is to redefine the entire category.  And this additional capital will allow us to do so.”

According to Jack Nelson, CEO of Skimmer, Skimmer will invest the funds across three areas: development, customer success, and marketing.  “We have an incredible foundation.  Now we will be able to add even more features, reach more pool and spa service professionals, and find even more ways to support our growing customer base.  We will also be able to attract more talented folks to our development, customer success, and marketing teams.”

Skimmer has recently added three key members to its leadership team.  Jason Moore joined Skimmer as its Director of Product; Donnie Byrd joined as Skimmer’s Head of Payments; and Flavia de la Fuente recently joined as its Director of Operations.  According to Nelson, Skimmer expects to hire another five employees in key roles in engineering and marketing in the upcoming months.  “We recognize that it’s a competitive market, and our goal is to be able to continue to attract top talent across the organization.  Great talent begets great talent.”

About Skimmer
Skimmer’s category-defining Pool Service Software Platform has helped thousands of pool service and repair businesses engage efficiently and professionally with pool & spa owners across the United States, Canada, and in a few other countries. The SaaS platform provides pool service and repair businesses of all sizes access to features that simplify work orders, route optimization, pool tech management, billing and invoicing, customer communication, and payments. Everything you need to run your pool service business, all in one app.™ Learn more at getskimmer.com