Local pool business opens as summer arrives

As Southern Nevada is in the midst of a heat wave, many local residents who own swimming pools are now preparing to dive headlong into the waters.

However, prior to taking the plunge, Joel Oscarson provided some advice on how to properly open their pools, in anticipation of the long, hot summer.

Oscarson, the owner of Desert Pool Supply, which opened last month at 150 S. Highway 160, Ste. #3 in the Albertsons Plaza, said there are a number of things to consider prior to dipping your toes into the water, while noting the country is currently experiencing a chlorine shortage.

Oscarson noted he’s well-stocked on the product.

“Adding chlorine to the pool and then testing the water to make sure it’s balanced properly is going to be integral to basically make sure you have safe, clean water for your family to swim in,” he said. “We do free comprehensive testing for folks, so we can really dial in their water and make sure it’s safe for them.”

Numerous pool products

Regarding pool supplies, Oscarson said his business stocks a wide variety of items for both built-in and above-ground pools.

“As far as a retail swimming pool store, we’re the only one and it’s been good to be able to offer these services to the people in the community,” he said. “We basically have supplies pretty much from A-to-Z, including chlorine, filters, pumps, pool toys and just about everything in between.”

Non-chlorine systems

Oscarson also spoke about the pros and cons of saltwater pools as an alternative to the traditional chlorinated swimming pools, as chlorine can be hazardous to store and can also irritate the skin and the eyes.

“The salt system is a chlorine generator and basically it takes general table salt, and refines it down,” he said. “There’s some precious metal elements in there that separate the sodium from the chloride, and you get pure chlorine into your pool. Out here in the heat it struggles a little bit, but overall, it’s a good system and it’s always important to keep the water circulating because filtration and circulation are essential in keeping up the quality of water in pools.”

Diving in

Oscarson’s experience in maintaining swimming pools spans more than 12 years, when he started a swimming pool service route back in 2008, where he serviced pools at the Mountain Falls community as well as the Spring Mountain Motor Sports Ranch.

“I took care of their lake and I took care of their pools,” he said. “Regarding my own business, I decided that this was the right thing to do at the right time. The community is growing enough to where it can support it. I saw a need for it, learned how to do it, and I was lucky to have had a great, great mentor named Lee Jolley who helped me out with the pool route. So we started a little business and then got after it.”

COVID-19 issues

Though Oscarson said since he opened for business last month, the COVID-19 outbreak has created a few obstacles in terms of allocating his inventory from distributors.

“It was just a little tougher to get all the different parts, including chlorine that people need for their pools, but we’ve managed to pull from different vendors and get over that,” he noted.

Staying afloat

On a final note, Oscarson spoke about how his business will fare, once the weather begins to cool down come late fall and the beginning of the winter season in Southern Nevada.

“The nice thing about Pahrump is that we have warmer months than somewhere like Minnesota because it cools down pretty quickly there,” he said. “Our swim season kind of extends out into October and November. With solar panels, I’ve seen people swimming in their pools all the way into December. Right now, we’re getting very good feedback from the community. It seems like a lot of folks are happy that we’re here, and are able to get some of the things that they need here in town versus having to drive over to Las Vegas.”

Desert Pool Supply is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The business is closed on Sunday.

For additional information call 775-209-7665.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes