She tested the validity of a viral Internet post that claimed a household cleaning product could keep pools algae-free. She started a Pool Girl Power movement online. And she can catch a five-striped skink with her bare hands.
Andrea Nannini is Pleatco’s 2018 Perfect Pool Gal for good reason. She’s a top-notch professional who is eager to share her knowledge with pool owners and pros online. Nannini founded a Facebook group exclusively for fellow pool gals, which she felt necessary after seeing many women in the industry hesitant to post comments or ask questions in male-dominated forums.
“I’ve seen a few of them make comments about how they’re afraid to post because they don’t want negativity,” Nannini said. “So, I figured I’d make a Facebook group where women would feel comfortable and not talked down to.”
She also moderates an online group for pool owners seeking help with chemistry and troubleshooting. This is how she found herself fielding questions about Magic Eraser. The much ballyhooed “hack” became an online sensation over the summer, leading many homeowners to believe that placing the Mr. Clean product in a skimmer could be a cure for algae. She investigated and found the claims dubious at best.
And she’s an internet personality in her own right. Nannini has cultivated a sizable audience online through her Adventures of the Pool Girl accounts on Facebook and Instagram where her followers can learn about lizards she encounters along her routes. She’s become something of an expert at reptile identification.
“Saving animals out of pools, that’s my big thing,” she said.
Nannini followed her mom into the pool industry – the two even worked together for a time. Now Nannini who has recently been working for a pool firm is striking out on her own. She credits the Pleatco program for giving her the courage to start her pool service business.
“Everyone who voted for me gave me the confidence to realize that I actually know more than I’m giving myself credit for,” Nannini said. “I have a lot of people behind me and that’s reassuring.”
Like her mother before her, she also wants to usher her kids into the industry. Her daughter knows her way around a test kit and her son is expressing interest in the business.
Nannini is looking forward to her career as a one-poler — with the possibility of something larger on the horizon.
“I’m not planning an empire,” she said, “though I wouldn’t rule that out.”
