Saltwater Pool Misconceptions
The benefits of saltwater systems are strong enough to convince pool owners to convert their pool to a saltwater pool. However, saltwater pools are perhaps the most misunderstood concept in the pool industry.
A saltwater pool uses a salt system also known as a chlorine generator. The system consists of a cell with metal blades inside. This cell carries a low voltage current from a power source. As the water passes through the cell, an electrolysis process occurs and hypochlorous acid, a sanitizer similar to chlorine, is the byproduct.
Common Misconceptions of Saltwater Pools:
- A salt pool is a chemical free and chlorine free pool.
False. Salt water alone is not capable of providing any sanitation for a pool without electrolysis. A salt pool is in fact a chlorine pool. The only difference is you don’t have to dose the pool with chlorine as you do with traditional chlorine usage pools. You still have to properly balance the other components of water chemistry which include free chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness and cyanuric acid.
- Salt pools are a “set it and forget it” pool that do not require as much maintenance and water balancing.
Quite the opposite in fact. The pool must still be brushed, netted, and vacuumed along with the filter cleaned. Also, the water must still be routinely tested and adjusted to the appropriate balances. Failure to do so could result in damage to the equipment and interior surface.
- All salt is the same.
No, all salt is not the same. There are special salts used for water softeners or melting ice during the winter. These forms should not be used in a swimming pool as these forms are not conducive to balanced water. Other forms of salt may also use iron based anti-caking agents which, when put into a chlorine environment can cause staining of the pool surface and unnatural coloring of the water.
A saltwater pool only requires pure table salt (NaCl). Just in larger quantities than your salt shaker in the kitchen.
- The water in a salt pool will feel better, look better, and taste better.
This may be the case if one compares a salt pool to an improperly maintained traditional chlorine pool; however, when a salt pool is compared to that of a well-maintained pool, there is no noticeable difference in how the water feels, looks, or tastes.
- Swimming in a saltwater pool is like swimming in the ocean.
Not quite. The salinity level of a saltwater pool is about one-tenth that of the ocean. This means that a saltwater pool does not give the same buoyancy as an ocean does.
Blue Diamond Pool Services has been committed to offering unsurpassed value and service while serving the Central Florida community since 2009. Through our tenure, we have the knowledge and understanding of the importance proper pool maintenance, troubleshooting pool equipment and much more.
Contact Blue Diamond Pool Services today and one of our dedicated team members will walk you through the services we offer, schedule a consultation or answer any pool or spa-related questions you may have.