What You Should Know About Swimming Pools

Skimmers: Durable plastic boxy devices built into the wall of the pool to remove floating debris from the surface of the pool. We always install at least two skimmers. They are unobtrusive. The pool water enters the skimmers and is drawn to the pump.

Main Drains: Suction ports at the bottom of the pool, through which water is drawn to the pump and filter. Main drains are essential to good circulation throughout the pool and they help circulate heat around the pool. We always install at least two main drains that are always covered. The dual main drains diffuse the flow of water in order to highly reduce the risk of entrapment.

Vacuum port: A dedicated line from the pool wall to the pump, used to vacuum the pool. When Pools of Perfection provides swimming pool maintenance service, we use our own independent filtration equipment, through which we vacuum your pool. We do not vacuum your pool through your pump and filter.

Wall Returns: Small nozzles built into the wall of the pool through which the filtered water is returned to the pool.

Floor Jets: Small nozzles built into the floor of the pool through which the filtered water is returned to the pool. Ideal for returning heated water to the pool. When Pools of Perfection installs floor jets, we dedicate the heater return water to the floor jets. Wall jets are still necessary for filtration circulation.

Hydrotherapy Jets: Small nozzles built into the wall of the pool or spa through which forceful water is sent to massage your back. Usually hydrotherapy fittings are installed on the steps, a swim out, a pool bench or a spa.

Pump: An electro mechanical machine designed to suck water in an airless environment from one point and return it to another point.

Multiport: A round valve attached to sand and diatomaceous earth filters. The valve has six settings, all of which are important to the pool service person but less important to the pool owner, but there are two settings that you should understand now.

     Filter Mode: Water is pumped in a forward direction through the filter to remove impurities. From the filter the water is sent to the heater and to the sanitation device and returned to the pool.

     Backwash Mode: Water is pumped in a backward direction through the filter to remove collected dirt and impurities. The dirty pool water is ejected from the filter through a waste line to a dry well or some other point. Backwash mode is easy to operate and it cleans the filter.

Sand Filter: A large rounded tank filled with a gravel bed and sand bed, through which water is passed to remove impurities. A sand filter requires very little maintenance and is reliable. It does not filter to as high a level as a Diatomaceous Earth filter. We do not recommend sand filters when there is a raised wall on the pool, an exposed garden on the pool edge, or when the pool is subject to excessive rain water collection because of the surrounding slope. On the other hand, if no maintenance appeals to you and your pool is in a wide open area and you have plenty of room, then a sand filter is excellent.

Diatomaceous Earth Filter: This is a moderately sized vertical tank with many screens inside it. The screens are coated with diatomaceous earth – clay like substance – through which water must pass. A diatomaceous earth (DE) filter requires some easy maintenance throughout the season. It filters to the highest level. However the filter may need to be backwashed every week or every other week. After backwash, the diatomaceous earth powder must be reintroduced into the filter via the skimmer. A person puts about 6 pounds of DE powder into the skimmer, while the pump is circulating. The DE is drawn into the pump and sent to the filter, where it is trapped on the screens inside the DE filter. When Pools of Perfection winterizes a pool with a DE filter, we disassemble the filter and hand wash the screens, reassemble the filter and leave it clean and ready for the spring.

Cartridge Filter: A moderate sized rounded tank that contains plastic type accordion style pleated cartridges through which water must pass. The dirt and impurities are collected on the outside of the cartridge. No multiport is applicable and backwashing is not an option. The only way to clean this filter is to disassemble it and hose wash the cartridges. Our maintenance company handles this procedure for home owners, however a strong home owner can manage it. The advantages of this filter are that it does not discharge water and it requires little maintenance. The filter may need to be cleaned once to three times a season. It does not filter to the level of a DE filter but it does meet or exceed the filtration of a sand filter. The disadvantage of this filter is the occasional need to disassemble it to clean it and the rare expense of replacing the cartridges.

Gas Heaters: Specifically designed for swimming pools, gas heaters are available for natural or L.P. (liquid propane) gases. They heat pools very well but they are expensive to operate. They require either a natural gas line from the meter to the heater or an LP tank. Usually Pools of Perfection recommends a buried 500 gallon tank for LP.

Heat Pump: This is similar to a central air conditioning unit in reverse. Its condenser produces heat that is transferred to the pool. There is no Freon in a heat pump. It utilizes electricity instead of gas. A heat pump is regarded as generally more efficient than a gas heater. However it takes longer to heat a pool and it is much less efficient in the cooler weather of April, May, September and October. On the other hand , they are regarded as most efficient when the weather is warm in June, July and August.

Radiant Floor Heat: This is an ideal method for heating your pool. Concrete will conduct the heat upward into the pool. Once the pool is heated, there is even distribution of heat throughout the pool and there is no geothermal layering of warm and cold spells. The steps and spa shell can be heated for a comfort level that is exceptional. Due to the fact that heat rises, the placement of a “heat blanket” at the bottom of the pool is most efficient. The pool can be heated with or without the operation of the filter system.

Chlorine Generator: Fine salt is added directly to the pool. The salt molecule is then separated into a free chlorine molecule, which is available to sanitize the water. Salt chlorine generators require a salinity level of approximately 3500 ppm. This is not enough salt to taste.

Ozone Generator: Via a corona discharge cell, oxygen (O2) is separated and than rejoined as ozone (O3). Ozone is unstable and anxious to separate again into O2 and the extra oxygen atom combines easily with organic matter or other impurities in the pool to create an oxide which can be removed by the filter system.

Chlorinator: This is a device attached to the return line plumbing at the filter site after the heater, in which chlorine tablets are placed. A chlorinator dispenses chlorine steadily while the pump is operating.

In Floor Cleaning System: This is an excellent system designed to keep the pool clean without an obtrusive robotic instrument running around the pool. An in floor jet system pulsates water along the floor of the pool to a central main drain system that sucks the debris to a central serviceable canister.

Pressurized Automatic Cleaners: These are robotic cleaning devices that drive around the bottom of the pool to keep the pool clean. They are installed during construction. They require a separate booster pump to work and they operate when the filter system is on.

Automatic Cleaners: These are tractor like robotic devices that drive around the bottom of the pool to keep the pool clean. They are electrically charged on deck and dropped into the pool to clean the pool.

Automatic Water Fill: This is an electronic and mechanical device that is installed at the filter site during construction to maintain the water level of the pool. A fresh water line must be attached to the auto fill. It works well and is convenient.

Automatic Control Systems: An attractive electronic display panel is installed in the house, which is connected to a central control panel at the filter site, which may also be connected to a pool or spa side remote. The control panel enables a pool owner to operate and regulate the pool equipment from inside the house, to turn on the heater, the pumps, the lights, the cleaning system, the negative edge, the waterfall etc The temperature desired in the pool can be changed from inside the house without ever visiting the filter site. Huge improvements have been made in this technology and reliability. They offer utter convenience.

Fiber Optic Lighting Fiber optics is composed of glass like strands that transport light. Fiber optic lighting illuminates a pool area without a spot of light. Fiber optics is available as a track light that surrounds the perimeter of the pool and illuminates water features such as fountains and water falls. Fiber optics can also illuminate in various colors. Your pool can change from red to blue to green to white light!

Conventional Pool Lights: These are bright white lights that illuminate the pool well. All lighting is totally safe.

Negative Edge or Vanishing Edge Pools: This is a dramatic feature where a section of pool wall is cut lower than the rest of the pool walls and therefore the water is spilling out into another catch pool. The water is returned via a pump from the catch pool to the principal pool. This feature works well when there is a change in elevation in the property line.

Zero Edge Pool: This is an awesome feature where the pool is filled so high that it gently spills over the coping into a slender joint between the coping and the patio and is circulated back to the pool. A large balancing tank (usually buried underground) is required to maintain the perfect water level.

Automatic Retractable Cover: This is a solid vinyl cover that automatically covers and uncovers the pool. It is ideal for rectangular pools, but with a little ingenuity, it’s possible for many shapes and sizes. It is an excellent safety barrier, second only to the fence. It maintains the heat in the pool and reduces evaporation – the number one cause of heat loss. During the last ten years, it has been improved substantially. It is available in various colors. Our automatic cover has a drain panel at the end of the cover to keep the cover dry.

Winter Safety Cover: This is a trampoline type material that is suspended across the pool and is spring loaded for tension. It covers the pool most attractively and safely. Also, falling leaves usually blow off the cover. Flush retractable anchors are installed in the deck to suspend the cover. When the pool is open, the ¾” anchors are lowered into the deck and are virtually invisible. This is an excellent product.

Winter Solid Cover: A solid tarp is placed over the pool and held in place by water bags. Water and leaves collect on top. They are an inexpensive alternative to a safety cover.

Solar Blankets: This is a plastic bubble wrap material the size of your pool that retains heat in the pool and reduces evaporation – the number one cause of heat loss. Solar blankets work, but they are difficult to get on and off the pool. They inhibit the skimmers from keeping the pool clean and they make a mess of the pool when you remove the cover prior to pool usage. They only last one or two seasons, but they are inexpensive to replace. A reel system is available to assist in the removal and placement of the cover.

Vermiculite: This is a lightweight ore mineral that is mined around the world. When mixed with cement, it is an ideal substrate for the pool bottom. It forms a hard bottom that will maintain its shape, but will be very comfortable to walk on. The construction advantage is that it will allow hydrostatic pressure to pass through it without deforming its shape, and keeping the vinyl liner safe.

Vinyl Liner: This is an immensely strong, heavy, comfortable and attractive material that is placed over the vermiculite bottom and concrete walls to create a swimming pool. Liners are available in many different colors and designs and in all shapes.

Coping: This is a masonry material that caps the walls of the pool. Coping can be a natural stone such as bluestone, or bull nose brick, or a cultured bull nose stone. There are numerous options.

Cantilever Deck: This is a patio made of poured concrete and extended to the pool edge in a decorative and bull nose fashion so that the pool does not have true coping. Then the patio must be separate from the pool walls, so that the two bodies (pool walls and patio) are free to move independently of each other (movement of an 1/8” matters). The separation of the two bodies is achieved by separating the patio from the wall of the pool via a piece of plastic during construction.

Expansion Joint: When there is coping on a pool wall, there must be an expansion joint between the coping and the patio so that the two bodies can move without damaging each other. The expansion joint is approximately ½” thick.