Benefits of Salt Water Pools

Salt water pools used to be the exception, but now they are becoming a widely accepted method of water treatment in swimming pools, mainly due to the fact there were a lot of misconceptions that have been cleared up, and technology has come a long way. A lot of builders are now making salt water systems standard on their new pools. Even manufactures of pool equipment have jumped on board the salt system craze by providing automated controls that are "salt system ready" and some have even partnered with manufactures of salt systems to have private labels applied to existing salt systems for the purpose of marketing it as their own.

Why have salt water pools become so popular?

Well, I could probably write for hours on this topic alone but let's just touch on the obvious; here are a couple of scenarios that may have your name on at least one of them.

First: It's Saturday morning, you just fixed your first cup of coffee when the kids come running by in swimsuits, goggles in hand, and inflatable duck around their waist. You're thinking how great of an investment it was when you decided {admit it, it was the wife's idea} to get a pool for the simple fact that the kids can now spend hours in the pool instead of fighting over which Saturday cartoon they want to watch. Brilliant! You say to yourself as you're about to sit down with the Saturday paper when you hear: "MOM/DAD the pool is GREEN". "Oh shoot!" You say to yourself, did I forget to shock the pool? Did I put enough chlorine tablets in the floating thingamajig? Do I have any yellow jugs left? Off to the pool store you go!

Standing in line with cup of coffee in one hand and pool water sample in the other, waiting your turn to be told how good or bad of a pool steward you have been. While the person in front of you is one of those type of people who absolutely loves the weekly trip to the pool store so they can be told in front of everyone else waiting in line: "Your pool water is perfect as usual, great job!, see you next week!" as he/she turns around makes a little smirk as they make eye contact with you while heading for the door. "Next" you hear from the pool geek, behind the intimidating "lab looking" counter. You hand him your sample while thinking to yourself "there has to be a better way, why is this pool thing so hard?" Why can't I be more like the person with the perfect water?" Why can't I...Sir! Excuse me Sir! I need your pool water sample not your coffee!"... Who knows perhaps your coffee is safer to swim in at this point then your pool water is, do you really want to know?

So comes the lecture from some school kid with the chemistry lab who makes you feel dumb because he/she is rambling off words to you like "total dissolved solids" and "free chlorine", "cyanauric acid" all of which make your eyes glaze over as you unknowingly nod your head in a up and down direction as to suggest you understand Then he/she hands you a list that drags the floor as they point you to the check-out counter. "The List" a computer print-out of chemicals and step by step instructions you must follow in order to restore your pool to a swimmable condition. After all they do know what they're talking about, right? Cha-Ching, Cha- Ching sings the cash register as you get your wallet out; you might even need the deed to your home. Ok! Yes I am exaggerating just a little bit but, it does get expensive especially when you're in this type of maintenance mode.

After taking a huge hit to your wallet and ego, you're off with your trunk load of chemicals and step by step instructions on how to get rid of the green monster. Time to hunker down as the rest of the weekend is going to be spent cleaning your filter, vacuuming your pool and don't forget to "brush' brush' brush."

Here is another scenario:

You yourself may have experienced this: Your pool is a brilliant blue, clear, crisp and sparkling like a Diamond. Your chest swelling with pride as you admire and appreciate your obvious skills in which you've mastered. If only the neighbors could see you now. In fact it looks so good you decide to take a dip, reward thyself for such hard work. After your attempt at a graceful dive that turned into a belly flop {good thing the neighbors can't see you now} you complete a couple of laps, surface in the shallow end, prop yourself on the edge of the deck only to succumb to the potent smell of chlorine and a burning of the eyes sensation. "No wonder my pool looks so good" as you think to yourself, "I probably have too much chlorine in the water" Not so my dear friend, not so!

What you just experienced is the exact opposite of what you believed. The odor that seemed to be the result of over chlorinating is actually the lack of enough chlorine. The culprit; chloramines: Undesirable, foul-smelling, body-irritating compounds formed when insufficient levels of free available chlorine react with ammonia and other nitrogen-containing compounds (swimmer and bather waste, fertilizer, perspiration, urine, etc.). Chloramines are still disinfectants, but they are a much weaker, and stink!

"Foul smelling, swimmer and bather waste", Yuck! Maybe you should have filled your pool with coffee! Decaf of course. Last thing we need out there is a Wired, broke, belly-flopping pool owner with a recently crushed ego who works at the post office and owns a hand gun! Always wondered where the term "don't go postal on me" came from, huh, now I know.

How does it Work? (The Salt System that is, still with me right?)

In a nut shell: It converts salt that was added to your pool to chlorine, the chlorine is consumed doing what it does best, yet leaving the salt behind to be converted back to chlorine over and over again. Kind of like the Energizer Bunny it keeps going and going never getting tired. I will get a little more technical about this later, but for right now let's keep this simple.

What is the benefit of a salt water pool?

Are you kidding me? Do you really have to ask this one? Or, should I take you back to the pool store for another scolding?

Answer: to avoid all of the above.

Seriously, most people invest in a salt system for several different reasons each having their own idea of what was the actual deciding factor was for them. Some people calculate what they are spending monthly on conventional chlorine products, compare that to the average cost of a salt system and usually come up with a 24 - 30 month return for the system to pay for itself. That's based on someone spending about $40.00 to 50.00 per month.

However what I think you need to do (do you really care what I think?) is calculate the "true cost". What I mean by true cost is the additional expenses and hazards involved I.E:

1) Time spent going to the pool store.

2) Time spent at the pool store.

3) Fuel cost for your car round trip.

4) Wear and tear on your vehicle (especially avoiding a spill in the trunk or bed).

5) Storing of chemicals at your home.

6) Time spent adding chemicals to pool, filling the thingamajig with tablets.

7) Exposure to hazardous chemicals when transporting and handling.

Factor in all of the above and I think you will agree you can come up with a much faster return on investment.

The other side of the coin is back to that nasty thing called "chloramines" YUCK! This benefit in my opinion outweighs all the rest by far. A salt system can and will provide a more consistent level of chlorine, free available chlorine (FAC): The amount of free chlorine in the pool water that is available to sanitize or disinfect the water. Also known as residual or available chlorine. (I told you the technical stuff was coming!)

In addition to the elimination of chloramines that a salt system provides, most people will purchase a salt system for the benefit of swimmer comfort. Bathers who have done a belly flop or two will experience a softer landing, will notice the absence of a chlorine odor, will notice a difference in how their hair and skin feel when exiting the pool, no burning eye sensation no embarrassing red belly flop mark.

One last thing:

Consider this, when purchasing a pool your investment could range anywhere from $20,000.00 to $40,000.00 or higher. When remodeling an existing pool your investment could range anywhere from $5,000.00 to $20,000.00 or higher, depending on all the bells and whistles you can choose from. Doesn't it make sense that a salt system should be one of those bells or whistles. (Average cost of a salt system about $1200.00 to $1500.00) After all were talking about the most important feature of your pool, THE WATER.

The quality of the water should not be compromised as this is where you will spend most of your time. Who cares how good you pool looks, if the water is irritating and/or unpleasant to swim in why did you even bother.

In closing...

All salt systems are not created equal, in other words please do your due diligence! You want to provide yourself with enough information so that your decision on which system to purchase will be an educated one. Do not let someone else tell you what you should purchase unless you know that person to be well versed in their knowledge and have your best interests at heart.

Happy Swimming!