Pool Terms

When you are about to purchase your swimming poolit's good to know what the swimming poolrepresentative is talking about. They may useterms that sound like Greek to you. It's alsogood to be familiar with these after you have your pool and you are going through owner's manuals.

Here are some commonly used pool terms.

Acid This is a chemical that lowers the pH when added to the water.

Acid Demand This is the amount of acidrequired to lower the pH and total alkalinityof pool water to the correct level.

Algae This is microscopic plant life that can grow on pool surfaces or float free in the water. It's harmless, but it can discolor the waterand usually indicates improper sanitation...Checkthe chemicals in your water.

Alkalinity These are chemicals that canincrease the pH in the pool water.

Available Chlorine Free or combined chlorineused to disinfect pool water.

Backwashing This cleans the pool filter by reversing water flow.

Bromine same family as clorine. Used to disinfect pool water.

Cavitation This occurs in the pool pump when the flow of water is restricted. You will hear arumbling noise in the pump.

Chlorine Chlorine used to disinfect the pool.

Cyanuric Acid This is the acid used in the pool to prevent chlorine loss.

Free Chlorine This is basic chlorine that isn't combined with any other chemicals. This allows it to be released immediately for disinfecting. Thisis used to superchlorinate your pool.

Muriatic Acid A dilute solution of hydrochloric acid used to lower alkalinity and pH.

pH This the acid/alkaline balance in the pool water. A pH of 7 is neutral, pH values below7 are acidic, and values above 7 are basic. The recommended pH for pool water is 7.2 to 7.8. Neverallow your pH to drop below 7.0 or to go over 8.0

Phenol Red A chemical reagent used to measure pH.

PPM Parts per million. The accepted measurement of quantity of subatance in water.

Reagent Liquid or Powder chemicals used to test concentrations of specific compounds in water.

Residual The amount of a compound existing in water. Usually expressed as parts per million.

Scale Mineral deposits formed on the pool surfaces, inside the piping and on the filter as a result of high calcium hardness and high pH.

Soda Ash sodium carbonate used to adjust the total alkalinity by increasing the pH.

Superchlorination A heavy dose of chlorine added to the pool water to " burn out/shock" the nitrogen compounds when bacteria, algae or chloramine build up cannot be reduced by normal treatment.. also known as " shocking the pool".

Total Alkalinity The measurement of the alkaline chemicals in the water. The best TA is100-150 ppm.

Total Dissolved Solids This is the total of dissolved materials in the water. High total dissolved solids in the pool water (over 2000 ppm)can cause poor sanitizer efficiency cloudy water and odors.

There may be some pool terms that I missed. These are the most common terms that you will hear. This will help you as you go through the pool manuals and you are trying to understand the pool water conditions.

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