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Talking Pools Podcast | Thursdays with Steve & Wayne
Hosts: Steve Sherwood and Wayne Ivusich
Insurance Interlude Guest: Pat Grignon, California Pool Association
Leslie’s restructuring has the pool industry talking—and Steve and Wayne have plenty to say. From store closures and price matching to homeowner access and supplier relationships, they explore how changes at a major pool retailer could affect businesses throughout the industry.
Wayne shares his perspective from his years at Taylor Technologies, including the enormous orders and private-label partnership that made Leslie’s an important manufacturing customer. Steve discusses his experience buying from local branches and why competition matters to service professionals.
The episode also includes a reading of Leslie’s September 30, 2026 press release, presenting the company’s announced restructuring plan and its commitment to continue serving customers.
Before that conversation, Steve describes an 80,000-gallon camp pool with severely elevated cyanuric acid and little oversight between service visits. His message: hiring a pool company does not eliminate the facility’s responsibility to train staff and monitor its water.
In this week’s Insurance Interlude, Pat Grignon joins Steve to discuss vehicle flooding, battery fires, equipment coverage, and the potentially expensive consequences of a pool-chemical spill.
In This Episode
- Why commercial facilities need trained staff between pool-service visits.
- How chemical costs and service expectations can expose an underpriced contract.
- Vehicle damage versus coverage for the equipment carried inside.
- Chemical spills, hazmat cleanup, and pollution coverage.
- Leslie’s restructuring and the hosts’ concerns about retail access and competition.
- Wayne’s firsthand experience with Leslie’s and Taylor’s manufacturing partnership.
- Leslie’s announced financing, debt reduction, and plans to continue operations.
Chapters
00:00 — Welcome, weather, and seasonal pool operations
00:25 — An 80,000-gallon camp pool: excessive CYA and gaps in daily oversight
09:13 — Talking Pools Podcast Top Ten Mentor recognition
09:51 — LaMotte WaterLink Spin Touch
11:34 — Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code
12:00 — Insurance Interlude: flooding and commercial auto coverage
15:50 — Battery fires, pool-cleaning equipment, and vehicle damage
18:21 — Equipment coverage and chemical-spill liability
28:22 — Leslie’s restructuring: Steve and Wayne’s discussion
33:03 — Homeowner access, local stores, and retail pricing
35:03 — Wayne’s perspective on Leslie’s and Taylor Technologies
39:06 — Competition, consolidation, and possible industry effects
42:31 — PoolBrain
42:45 — Leslie’s breaking-news summary
43:40 — Reading of Leslie’s September 30, 2026 press release
49:03 — Listener feedback and closing remarks
Leslie’s Company Announcement
In the press release read during this episode, Leslie’s announces a restructuring agreement intended to eliminate approximately 90% of its funded debt and secure $150 million in new capital. The company announces 76 store closures and states that its remaining stores and digital platforms continue operating.
The hosts’ discussion includes speculation about additional closures and possible industry outcomes. Those comments should be distinguished from the company announcement read later in the episode.
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How have changes at Leslie’s or other pool retailers affected your business? Share your experiences, questions, and episode ideas at talkingpools@gmail.com.
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