Do your pool contractors ever sound like they are speaking a foreign language? You can use our glossary of common pool terms to help translate.
AIR-RELIEF VALVE
Also called a pressure release valve, this is a manual valve at the top of a filter that is used to release excess air that builds up inside.
ALGAE
A simple, nonflowering, and typically aquatic plant of a large group that includes the seaweeds and many single-celled forms. In pools algae can be colored yellow, green, blue-gren, or black. You don’t want algae in your pool.
ALGAECIDES
Chemicals designed to mange algae through either killing them or preventing them from growing.
AREA
Also surface area, the square footage of flat space the pool covers.
AUTOMATIC POOL CLEANER
A device that clears debris from the bottom of a pool, often through a vacuum system.
BACKFLOW
Water flowing through a pipe in the opposite direction it usually goes.
BACKWASH
Intentionally inducing backflow through a filter for the purposes of cleaning it.
BALANCERS
Chemicals designed to keep a pool’s water non-corrosive. They do this by balancing the pH, calcium hardness, and total alkalinity in your pool’s water.
BEAM
The top of a pool’s perimeter, often has stone or tile.
BROMIDE
A salt of hydrobromic acid consisting of two elements, one of which is bromine, as sodium bromide, NaBr. Used as a disinfectant.
BROMINE
A chemical disinfectant that can be used in swimming pools instead of chlorine. Available as a tablet or salt.
BTU
Short for British Thermal Unit. The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.
CENTRIFUGAL PUMP
A pump that uses an impeller to move water or other fluids.
CHECK VALVE
A device that only permits water or air to flow in one direction.
CHEMICAL FEEDER
A device that slowly adds chemicals to a pool, such as chlorine or bromine.
CHLORINE NEUTRALIZER
A chemical that neutralizes chlorine, either to make testing the water easier or to deal with excess amounts in the pool.
CHLORINE
Refers to a chlorine compound that is used as a disinfectant in a pool.
COPING
The material on top of the beam that a provides a finished edge to the pool. Can be made from a variety of materials such as aluminum or rigid vinyl.
HARD COVER
A rigid pool cover that keeps out debris and prevents evaporation, not a floating cover.
SOLAR COVER
A pool cover that keeps out debris, prevents evaporation, and increases water temperature.
D.E.
Diatomaceous Earth, often used for pool filters.
FILTER
A device that removes unwanted substances from the water, including dissolved and suspended particles.
FINISH
A waterproof material that is applied to the interior surface of a pool. Also called plaster or liner.
GUNITE
A mixture of concrete and sand that is used to form the structure and overall shape of the pool.
HAND SKIMMER
A long, butterfly net like tool used to remove large pieces of debris from a pool.
MAIN DRAIN
The part of the pool that connects to the suction part of a filter, it is usually placed at the deepest part of the pool.
SKIMMER
A device used to draw floating debris to out of the way, usually attached to a suction line of a pump.
STEEL REBAR
Rebar is short for “reinforcement bar”, these rods of steel are used to strengthen the concrete or gunite.