Specialty Chemicals: Making Chlorine Work Smarter, Not Harder with Jodi O’Grady

Episode Summary

On this Talking Pools episode, host Natalie Hood, Director of Education and Network Development for The Grit Game, sits down with Jodi O’Grady, Director of Commercial Sales for API Water and long-time industry chemist, to unpack one of the most misunderstood topics in pool care: specialty chemicals.

Chlorine gets all the attention, but oxidizers, enzymes, and flocculants quietly decide whether your water is comfortable, clear, and compliant—or a cloudy, smelly headache full of disinfection byproducts and complaints. Jodi draws on decades with Taylor Water Technologies and her work on PHTA’s Technical Advisory Council to bust myths, explain the science in plain language, and show how specialty products can support (not replace) chlorine to keep pools safer and easier to manage.

If you’ve ever wondered whether non-chlorine shock actually does anything, if enzymes are all “basically the same,” or what Flock It Friday is really about, this episode connects the dots.

Jodi is available for follow-up questions and industry conversations via LinkedIn and direct contact (details provided in the episode outro).

Episode Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 11:01 Discussion Continues
• 22:03 Deep Dive
• 33:04 Key Insights