Pool cleaners aren't handymen – don't fall into the "moonlighting trap"

For some reason a lot of your customers will think that a pool cleaner is the same thing as an all-around handyman. From time to time someone will ask you to do an odd job around their house. As tempting as moonlighting might sound, I speak from experience when I say that the results can be disastrous.

"Why not?" I thought to myself. I figured I was pretty handy with a set of tools, and I'd be doing something nice and making a little pocket change in the process. So off I go to Louise's house. Louise wasn't home, but Shelly told me where the hide-a-key was and said I should go on in.

I'm up in the attic playing tightrope walker trying to stay on the beams as I head to the window with the broken latch. Well, I slipped off the beam and my foot went straight through the floor – which was actually her bedroom ceiling. I went downstairs to check out the damage and saw that the hole was in the closet. I decided to patch it up with some Dap. Dap, in case you're not familiar with it, is a white paste-like substance used as an all-purpose sealant.

It was a hot day, a lot hotter than I realized apparently. The Dap started to melt, and it was dripping everywhere. I looked down and saw that it was dripping all over a collection of wigs stacked up on the floor of the closet. Without thinking I picked up a couple of wigs and tried to wipe off the wet Dap. All I succeeded in doing was creating big, sticky clumps of hair and glue.

What was already an awful afternoon only got worse after I found that Louise was a cancer patient. She lost all her hair from chemotherapy, and I had just ruined thousands of dollars worth of wigs. And, of course, the window latch was still broken.

The moral of the story? Don't try to be a hero or a handyman. You're there to clean and repair pools, so just stick to what you know. Or you could find yourself in a sticky situation…