Backwash: The process of thoroughly cleaning the filter medium and/or elements by reversing the flow of water through the filter to waste.

Coping: The capstone on top of the bond beam which finishes the edge around a pool or spa.

Filter Pump: The device that pulls water from the pool and pushes it through the filter on its way back to the pool.

Gunite: A dry mixture of cement and sand mixed with water at the “gun”; hence the name. A gunite operator “shoots” the pool’s rough shape, while finishers trowel after.

Ozone: The molecule containing three atoms of oxygen; known to be a very powerful sanitizer. Ozone producing equipment creates this molecule by UV radiation or corona discharge generators.

WetEdge Technologies^® Finishes: This is the material that goes over the gunite and gives your pool its color and makes it waterproof. It must always be underwater and goes under the pool tile.

pH: The scale of relative acidity or alkalinity, expressed in logarithmic numbers from 0 – 14, with range of 7.4-7.6 being ideal for pools. What’s really being measured is the hydrogen ion concentration. Some would say pH stands for Power of Hydrogen.

Reagent: The chemical indicators used in testing water balance. (All the little bottles or tablets in your test kit).

Re-Bar: Reinforcement bar, used to add strength to a concrete. After excavation of an in ground pool, a steel cage is formed out of re-bar, and the gunite shell is shot over and surrounding it.

Tile: A 6×6” band of tile that runs the entire perimeter of the pool at the water level. It’s the transition from water to air at the top of the pool and is frost-proof to withstand cold weather.

Turnover: The amount of time it takes your pump to move all the water in your pool through the filter and back again. Usually, pools are designed for an eight-hour turnover.

Weir: The device in a skimmer that controls the amount of water coming into the skimmer, and keeps debris inside. That “flapper-gate” thing.