STERLING – When the sun’s out and the heat is on, the pools and hot tubs in the Twin Cities are filling up.

Don’t have one? A Sterling business can help you keep your cool with pool installation, maintenance, repair and water balancing; and keep your spa in working order. For nearly 40 years, Poolside Pools and Spas has been helping find the perfect fit for new pool buyers, and keeping pools fit for pool owners. Owners Jim and Cary McCue and their staff are ready for customers who want to take the dive and have their moment in the sun, whether it’s a family looking to put in their first backyard pool or a longtime spa owner who needs a quick repair.

The business offers plans for in- or above-ground pool installation with Hayward equipment, and also carries Regal and Life pool and spa maintenance chemicals, materials and cleaning solutions. Customers also can stop in for testing and advice on how to keep their water crystal-clear all season long.

To help customers feel confident about caring for their pool or spa, the McCues put a strong emphasis on education and guidance.

“With educating the customers, it’s a lot to learn when you’ve never had a pool,” Cary said. “Once you learn the chemistry of water, it’s easier. Then when you close your pool, you aren’t touching it for months, and then you have to relearn it every single year. Some people are good at remembering how to do it again every year, but some forget and can’t remember, so they’ll come in here and ask what they need.”

Jim first dipped his toe into the pool business when he was working on the side while employed at Northwestern Steel and Wire. Then, in 2001, he started McCue Construction, not long after the mill closed. Five years later, he and Cary opened Poolside. Over the years their focus has shifted more to pools and away from working on new homes, Cary said. These days, the construction work is limited to pool installations and repair, which keeps Jim keeps plenty busy. Cary handles sales and customer service, sometimes helping her husband when he’s in a pinch.

Like other businesses that worked on home projects, Poolside saw an increase in customers during the coronavirus pandemic when more people were spending less time away from their home and more money investing in it, Cary said.

Though business increased, so too did prices for materials, and pool businesses took a double hit. Not only were they feeling the economic impact of being squeezed by a tighter supply chain due to the pandemic, but they had to deal with a chlorine shortage, too. While sales have settled back down to pre-pandemic levels, the cost of building materials haven’t. Construction costs for in-ground pools have doubled in the last five years, to as high as six-figures, and the price of spas also has doubled too.

The McCues stopped selling spas this summer due to supply and shipping difficulties, Cary said, but they still service them and sell spa chemicals. While increased costs can make business tough, the McCues persevere by adapting to supply challenges and focusing on long-term relationships that keep pool owners coming back for service and advice.

“Since we’re a backyard industry, and everyone was staying home [during the pandemic], it went from good to very, very good for a few years,” Cary said. “Now with price changes three or four times a year, it’s shipping problems, tariffs, gas prices, demand because you couldn’t get product. Then there were two [chlorine] plants that burned down, and chlorine skyrocketed for a while and hasn’t returned to what it was before. This year, it’s tariffs. There’s always something that’s causing the prices to go up.”

When it comes to pools, preventative maintenance is key. Investing in keeping your pool healthy will pay dividends by avoiding the higher cost of repairs. Being diligent about maintenance routines and following directions is important, Cary said.

Keeping pool water balanced starts with regular testing. Cary recommends checking water at least two or three times a week, since temperature changes, rain, and how often people swim can affects water chemistry. Skipping those checks for too long often leads to algae blooms and green water, which then requires even more work to fix.

New pools are generally the easiest to maintain because they start with fresh water, but as years go by, older water becomes trickier to manage. Fully draining and refilling a pool each season isn’t recommended, since it can damage liners, yet another reason for being consistent with maintenance.

Learning good habits early, like weekly treatments and regular testing, prevents problems from building up over time.

“Buying a pool isn’t just the initial pool cost, you must be prepared,” Cary said, comparing pool ownership to other luxuries. While the enjoyment is worth it, every “toy” comes with responsibilities.

“I’ll tell people – it’s like with extra [luxury] you have, like a motorcycle or a boat — any ‘toy’ you purchase is going to have upkeep and it’s going to be work. Pools especially, they’re only used for so many months of the year. They’ve gotten costly to fix, so the more you maintain it the cheaper it is. It’s going to be work, and for anyone who thinks they’re going to buy a pool and it just runs and you go outside and swim in it and put a couple of chemicals in — that’s not how it works. If you have a problem, you could be out there every day for a month. You have to be prepared for that, and you have to know that there’s going to be costs.”

Hot weather also makes pool care even more challenging. Chlorine becomes less effective once water temperatures climb into the 90s, Cary said, which means owners have to be extra vigilant during heat waves, like the ones the area saw this past summer, and stay on top of testing and adjustments.

Many first-time pool owners rely heavily on professional guidance that first year as they learn how the ropes of pool ownership.

“You’re going to come in here and be my best friend for that first year,” Cary said. “We’ve had regular customers who we’ve become very good friends with. I get to meet a lot of people, and helping them get their pool clear and getting to use it.”

Angie Winchell also works at Poolside, teaming up with Cary on sales and customer service. She said she especially enjoys building personal connections with customers, both new and longtime, by helping them comfortable with their pools.

“Our customers are very friendly and caring, and we really enjoy getting to know them,” Winchell said. “It’s something different every day.”

Owning a pool is about more than just keeping cool, Cary said, there are social benefits too. Pools are a great place to have get-together with friends or enjoy quality time with the family, relaxing and having fun. The McCues installed an in-ground pool of their own 13 years ago, and have enjoy the benefits of having one.

“You can get kids outside and not on their phone or computers, it’s a way to spend time together,” Cary said. “We use ours for socialization, and we don’t even have the kids home anymore, so we spend it with adults and it’s fun for them to hang out most weekends in the summer.”

For the McCues, pools are about more than just profit, they’re about people — building relationships and providing a product that people can enjoy for years to come.

“We service the community and service what we sell,” Cary said. “We’re loyal to our customers and they’re loyal back to us. It’s all about the community. Both of us have been raised here. Jim’s dedicated to doing what he does and is proud of his work. I’m more of a people person, he’s in the field and I’m in here. We’re trying to keep things local so that people can find it.”

Poolside Pools and Spas is located at 1702 Westwood Drive in Sterling. It is open by appointment from November through February. For other months, open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday from April to September; and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday from October to March. Find it on Facebook, to go poolsidepoolsandspas.com, email poolsideps@gmail.com or call 815-626-6120 for more information.