Salt water pools

[doowdniw]

Has anyone had experience with maintaining a salt water pool? Any significant issues I should be aware of beyond the fact that it's corrosive and not good for most plants.? I know they were all the rage a few years ago.

 

[thør]

Shouldn't one use Himalayan slat in said pool?

 

[craiger58]

The salt in a backyard pool (ideally 3,200 ppm) is about 1/100th of the salt in the ocean and is not nearly as corrosive as chlroine or bromine treated water.

At the end of the day, it smells better, feels better and pumps, heaters, liners and bathing suits last longer.

Go for it.

 

[thør]

If you raise the salt to about 23%, you won't have to worry about it freezing unless it get's below -6°F.

 

[chillywilly2]

If you raise the salt to about 23%, you won't have to worry about it freezing unless it get's below -6°F.

Sounds a tad uncomfortable swimming in -5F water...salty or not

 

[thør]

Sounds a tad uncomfortable swimming in -5F water...salty or not

There might be a shrinkage issue.

 

[ryan8558]

Sounds a tad uncomfortable swimming in -5F water...salty or not

There might be a death issue.

 

[Trader5]

When you backwash the filter or otherwise have to drain some of the pool water after a heavy rain know that the pool water will kill grass even though the salt concentration is low.

 

[thør]

There might be a death issue.

Only happens once.

 

[okatty35]

Has anyone had experience with maintaining a salt water pool? Any significant issues I should be aware of beyond the fact that it's corrosive and not good for most plants.? I know they were all the rage a few years ago.

It's the way to go! I have done both chlorine and salt water and I'd go salt water every time. IN fact several of our friends have converted their pools from chl to salt. Dump you salt and good to go.

 

[peekingone]

We have salt water and it is great. You still may need chlorine at times. Depends on the weather and such.

 

[doowdniw]

What about equipment replacement. I've heard the salt can be tough on equipment.

 

[DesEsseintes]

Or go for a natural pool - no chlorine OR salt.

 

[Sunshine]

My friend has one. LOVE it! So much better than chlorine systems.

 

[hashtag45]

My friend has one. LOVE it! So much better than chlorine systems.

I don't quite understand it...
Pools are made for swimming, and chlorine vs. salt in your eyes… (even with goggles)

 

[okatty35]

The water is not salty. The equipment breaks the salt down. The water is great.

 

[BiTodd]

The way i understand it is that the way the equipment works is that the salt naturally chlorinates the water, some indoor salt water pools smell a bit chlorinish. Remember salt is sodium chloride.

 

[Sunshine]

The way i understand it is that the way the equipment works is that the salt naturally chlorinates the water, some indoor salt water pools smell a bit chlorinish. Remember salt is sodium chloride.

There is a bit of chlorine which occurs naturally, but it is such low levels, you can't smell it or taste it. The water is mildly and pleasantly salty.

 

[ishtat]

I have a salt water pool at the end of the garden. It's called Sydney Harbour.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[doowdniw]

I have a salt water pool at the end of the garden. It's called Sydney Harbour.

I have the Gulf of Mexico, but it's about a five-hour drive.

 

[Unattached77]

You still need chlorine in the pool to keep the water clean. I'd recommend non stabilized chlorine as it will burn off (doing its job) and leave the salt behind. It will also keep your water looking good. I manage 2 55K gallon pools and a pair of 1000 gallon hot tubs this way and people think they are salt water even though they are not. They are salty, but its from the Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach aka chlorine) If a pool is maintained correctly, you will never smell chlorine even if the levels are high. When you start getting overpoweringly strong cl2 smells, you are smelling the chloramines. Those are bad. Those are what burn your eyes and cause other issues. To check your chloramine levels, do a total chlorine test, then a free chlorine test. Subtract the free total from the total total and that will be your chloramine count. If you have a reading of 5 free and 5 total, that means you have 0 chloramines, If you have a reading of 5 total and 1 free, you have a reading of 4ppm chloramines. That is bad. Anything above about 0.5 ppm chloramines is too high. You will smell the chloramines above about 1.5ppm

 

[doowdniw]

Thanks for the helpful comments. I'm still talking to people I know around town with pools to try to learn ahead of time what I'd be diving into. There seem to be a lot of pros and cons to both salt water pools and "chlorinated". Whatever I do, it will probably be this winter, so we have it ready to go in the spring.

 

[pollynova]

At the end of the day, it smells better, feels better and pumps, heaters, liners and bathing suits last longer.

How is that a good thing?