Advantages Of Saltwater Pools
Lower Annual Costs
Comparing chlorine to saltwater, the cost of day-to-day operations is cheaper for a saltwater pool. For a summer supply of salt, The Home Depot estimates the cost to be between $20 to $30, on average while chlorine will run you from $150 to $180 for the same period and size pool.
After the initial setup cost for a saltwater pool, its easier to maintain thus, making it cheaper in the long run.
Saltwater Pools are Gentler
Saltwater pools are more gentle on the skin, eyes, bathing wear, and hair due to the lower chlorine content. They also dont have the traditional heavy chemical smell that many people dislike about chlorine pools.
Be A Pool Owner Worth Your Salt
While a salt water pool will save you money on chlorine, remember that your pool will still need upkeep to maintain clean, crystal clear water. But if youre concerned about the pitfalls of chlorineand youre tired of green hairsalt water conversion may be the perfect solution for you.
Happy Swimming!
Truth #3 It Is Totally Safe To Swim In
Yes, otherwise we wouldnt be endorsing saltwater chlorinators. In fact, saltwater pools are much safer than your traditional chemically-sanitised pools. You can even swim in the pool even while the saltwater chlorinator system is running unlike traditional pools where you have to wait a while for chlorine levels to subside before swimming in the pool.
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Q: Can You Put Chlorine In A Salt Water Pool
A: Yes, it’s completely safe to use chlorine in a salt water pool, and sometimes completely necessary.
Now, you shouldnt be having to use chlorine in it all the time or that would defeat the purpose.
However, you probably still need to be using chlorine shock to treat your pool occasionally just like with a regular pool.
And if you notice a problem with algae or are having trouble keeping your pH levels balanced, you’ll need to use it more often.
How To Take Care Of A Salt Water Pool
Wish you had a salt water pool? Want to learn how to take care of a salt water pool? Youve come to the right place! Hayward is an innovator in salt water sanitization and an expert in salt water pool maintenance.
Haywards industry leading residential and commercial salt water pool systems turn your pool salt into a self-regenerating supply of pure chlorine for clean, clear, and luxuriously soft pool and spa water. Along with easy maintenance, its no wonder so many pool owners are converting their traditional chlorine pools to salt water pools!
Maintaining a Salt Water Pool
To maintain a salt water pool youll need to keep your filter, pump, and skimmer clean and in good operating condition. With salt water pools, you must inspect the salt chlorinator cell and replace it when needed. Test regularly for proper water chemistry to maintain clean, clear pool water.
Salt Water Pool Chemistry Tips
Using a salt water pool test strip, test your water for free chlorine, salt, pH levels, total alkalinity, stabilizer, and total hardness. Use our online Water Chemistry Calculator to help make those adjustments and balance your pool water.
Following severe weather or times where the load is increased such as pool parties, be sure to test again to maintain your pools water chemistry within proper levels. Once you have tested your pool, balance as needed.
Did You Know?
7 Common Salt Water Pool Care Concerns
2. Is a salt water pool easier to maintain?
4. Is a salt water pool, salty?
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Add Salt To Pool To Raise Salt Level
How to raise free chlorine in saltwater pool. A salt pool basically turns salt from its salt cell into chlorine instead of having to add straight chlorine to the water. Raise the free available chlorine in your saltwater pool the same way you would in a pool with a traditional chlorine system: Add water to pool to dilute salt level.
To accurately test and adjust important chemicals such as ph, free chlorine, combined chlorine, total chlorine, total alkalinity, cyanuric acid, and bromine, i use the lamotte colorq pro 11 digital pool water test kit. Salt system) runs just a little differently. This will give the shock time to raise the free chlorine level without it being burned away by the sun.
Sprinkle the shock into the pool at the end of the day. Turn down chlorinator or reduce pump time to lower chlorine level. I have a zodiac tri expert with ph and acl auto adjustments.
In a saltwater pool, an swg or salt water generator converts the salt in the water into chlorine. If you regularly add external chlorine to your pool to help maintain your free chlorine levels then you need to be aware of your stabilizer levels . Actually it probably is in there, just hasn’t totally bloomed yet.
Luckily, we can help you fix that. How to raise free chlorine in pool tutorial. Add the shock to the pool.
Just Like The Ocean Your salt water pool will leave you
How to Raise pH in Pool 12 Steps (with Pictures
Maintaining Your Salt System
Even though these generators are great about maintaining a balanced chlorine level once youve found the right setting, you’ll still want to occasionally check the chemistry just to make sure everything is in balance.
Salt water pools have a tendency to have high pH levels that need to be dealt with to prevent scaling and cloudy water muriatic acid can be added to reduce high pH levels.
Youll also want to keep it as clean as possible. Just like a chlorine pool, your salt water pool needs to be brushed and vacuumed and kept free of visible debris.
Your pump also needs to be maintained to keep water flowing which will maximize your salt cells effectiveness and make it last longer.
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Can You Put Chlorine Tablets In A Saltwater Pool
Yes, you can use chlorine tablets, liquid chlorine or granular chlorine in a salt water pool if required. This is normal when you first start up a salt pool because you may not be able to add the salt until the pool surface has fully cured as with plaster and paint. If ever the saltwater chlorinator has not generated enough chlorine you may need to manually add additional chlorine.
Can You Put Too Much Salt In A Saltwater Pool
Yes, when you fill a saltwater swimming pool you can add too much salt to the pool. This may cause the chlorinator unit to not operate effectively leaving the water unsanitized. If there is too much salt in the pool water you need to dilute the water by draining some of the water and refill the pool.
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Getting More Use Out Of Your Salt Cell
A salt cell will usually last about 3-7 years. Some of them are rather costly to replace, so you will probably want to take steps to make sure you get the most use out of them.
Keeping the pH level balanced will go a long way towards keeping your salt cell healthy. The scaling caused by unbalanced pH levels can lead to deposits and build-up on your generator, causing it to wear out more quickly.
But even when the pH levels are normal, you can still get calcium build-up.
Keep the blades of your salt cell cleaned off brushing and hosing off any visible scaling.
Stubborn build-up can usually be dissolved in a mild acid solution.
S For Winterizing A Salt Water Pool
Never closed a salt water swimming pool before? Not to worry! There are a few key differences compared to closing a regular chlorine pool, but its still a simple process that most pool owners can handle themselves. To prevent algae growth, surface stains and expensive pool damage, weve broken down the process for winterizing a salt water pool into 10 easy steps.
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After Shocking Your Pool Should Be Cloudy Blue
After the shocking process, you would see a cloudy blue pool in the next morning. This is the exact result we want. The dead algae usually lead to the cloudy water, which turns to a light grey when its killed. Then, your filter would do the rest.
Keep your filter running 24 hours a day during the process until the pool is totally clear. You can consider your filter as a best robotic pool cleaner since you only need to use it to know whether any debris stays in your pool without using other machines. Its also safe to swim in your pool if it is cloudy. The movement in the water will help the filter clear the dead algae way.
Why You Should Know How To Winterize Your Salt Water Swimming Pool
Saltwater pools typically use the same filtration systems as regular pools, and they should also have a similar chemical balance. The main difference between saltwater and a regular pool is that a saltwater pool typically has an electrolytic chlorine generator .
This is an electrolysis cell situated on the pressure side of the filtration system. The ECG creates hypochlorous acid so that you dont need to add chlorine to the water.
Once outside temperatures begin to drop during the winter, the ECG starts functioning differently which can affect the pH level of the water. Because of this, its essential to balance the chemicals in the pool before shutting the generator off and putting the cover over the pool.
ECGs typically feature sensors to measure the conductivity of the water, which alerts the person maintaining the pool when more salt needs to be added to the water.
When the outside temperature decreases, the conductivity of the water also decreases. This means the sensors may cause an alert and more salt than whats necessary might be added to the water.
The excessive addition of salt raises the pH level of the water and causes it to become corrosive. This may not be realized until the pool is uncovered in the springtime.
With this information in mind, follow the steps below in order to avoid this issue. Well take you through everything you need to do in order to decommission your saltwater pool before winter.
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What Kind Of Filters Do Salt Water Pools Use
The salt cell in a saltwater pool is not responsible for the filtration. This job belongs to an ordinary pool filter which is connected to the salt generator system. Most types of pool filters can be used with saltwater systems, including sand filters, cartridge filters and diatomaceous earth filters. Each has advantages and disadvantages. One important thing to remember is that the filter will need to run a lot because the pool is only generating chlorine when the filter is on.
Tips For Maintaining A Saltwater Pool
Saltwater pools require the same regular cleaning and maintenance as traditional in-ground pools. However, instead of adding chlorine, you add salt to your water and let the chlorine generator add the chlorine for you.
Be sure to thoroughly clean and vacuum your pool regularly. And also test the waters salt levels, pH, total alkalinity, and calcium hardness, adding salt and chemicals as needed to balance the water.
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Take Precautions For Your Pool Liner
If you have a vinyl liner, youll be happy to know you can use a salt chlorinator system in your pool without taking any extra precautions. The liner will be exposed to lower levels of chlorine, so it may even extend your liners lifespan.
However, many inground pools have galvanized walls behind the liner. If your liner springs a leakeven a small leakallowing salinized water to seep out against the steel wall, the wall will eventually corrode.
Similarly, above ground pools with a lot of metal parts can rust over time due to exposure to salt water. If you have a resin above ground pool, you can make the switch without this concern.
Truth #5 Saltwater Chlorination Is A Natural Disinfection System
Yes, this is true, although not in the sense that many people realize. We have mentioned before that it isnt the salt that is doing the disinfection and santising of your pool but the generated chlorine. Salt, or sodium chloride gets a charge from the salt cells and releases the natural chlorine gas into the pool water for disinfection purposes. This is a lot safer than the pure forms of liquid/granular chlorine that is added to the pool in traditional pool chlorination.
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Winterize The Salt Generator
Its best to remove the salt cell for winter. Start by turning off all circuits to pool equipment, including the pool pump. Unscrew the unions to disconnect the generator cell from the pool lines. You can replace it with a temporary dummy cell to keep the line properly spaced and sealed through the winter.
Check for scaly deposits on the plates inside the salt cell, and clean it well with a high pressure hose. You can also use a plastic or wood tool to very gently scrape away any scale buildup. NEVER use metal to scrape the generator plates, and dont aggressively scrape at deposits. Doing so can damage the coating on the plates and shorten the lifespan of your generator cell. For particularly stubborn scale, you can use diluted muriatic acid to soak the cell. Once dry and clean, store it indoors. If its time to replace your salt cell, make a note to purchase one before spring opening.
Salt Water Pools Are Gentler To Your Body
Switching away from harsh chlorine has to be a positive, right? Sure. But the most important thing to understand is that salt water pools are not actually chlorine free. However, the presence of salt in the water reduces the kind of eye and skin irritation you may experience by swimming in a chlorine pool.
A salt chlorine generator creates the same kind of chlorine used in a chlorine pool. Its imperative to keep chlorine levels stable to inhibit the formation of chloramines.
In a salt water pool, when chlorine levels are stable, and chloramines are not present, the salinity of the water is much closer to the salinity of your natural tear ducts.
This is why it doesnt hurt to open your eyes in a salt water pool, and why your skin and hair wont feel as dry after swimming.
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How Does A Saltwater Pool Work
Saltwater pools need salt in the water and electrodes in the plumbing. When the saltwater passes through the cell, an electrical reaction occurs between the salt and the electrode. This reaction creates chlorine.
Salt cells are also known as saltwater chlorine generators or salt chlorinators.
This chlorine effectively sanitizes the pool water but is not harsh like concentrated chlorine.
Saltwater systems also have a superchlorination feature that shocks the pool.
Saltwater systems have only one-tenth the salinity of seawater, so you wont taste or feel the salt in the pool water. Instead, saltwater pools have softer-feeling water.
The Benefits Of Saltwater Pools
Saltwater pools have numerous benefits over chlorine pools. Here are just a few:
- Less chlorine. Saltwater pools still use chlorine to disinfect the water, but saltwater pools use a natural, salt-based form of chlorine instead of the chemical variety. The salt sanitizes the pool through a process called electrolysis, and is a gentler, more effective form of chlorine.
- Hypoallergenic. Some people are allergic to chemical chlorine, but have no issues with saltwater pools. If you have an itchy throat, irritated eyes, and sniffles when jumping into a pool, it may be time to start thinking about switching to salt.
- Simple maintenance. Saltwater pools still require maintenance, but less so than chemical chlorine setups. A saltwater generator has a salt cell built-in, automatically adding salt to the pool at set intervals. Missing a week or two of pool maintenance is not the end of the world, compared to a chemical chlorine process.
- More cost effective. When you have a saltwater pool, you only need to refill the salt cell once every 2 to 5 years, compared to replacing the chemical chlorine every few months.
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What Kind Of Maintenance Does A Salt Water Pool Require
The main maintenance tasks for salt water pool owners are testing and washing the salt cell. Water testing is still required because chlorine is only one of the parameters that needs to be controlled in order to maintain a healthy pool. If the pH or other parameter is not where it should be, the addition of certain chemicals may be necessary to balance the system.
Cleaning the salt cell is only required if scale is found on it during the regular maintenance check. These are usually done every three months. It is easy to remove the scale, either with a plastic or wooden tool or a quick rinse in dilute acid.
You also need to keep an eye on your salt levels. Use our salt calculator to figure out how much salt to add or water to replace to get into the ideal range.
Build The Pool Of Your Dreams
The convenience of having your own beautiful glimmering oasis of refreshing pool water just a fewsteps from your back door is truly a splendid thing. A pool can be everything froma source of evening relaxation, to a morning fitness spot, to a social status symbol.Your home swimming pool can be anything you want it to be.
Blue Science will work hand in hand with you to design a one-of-a-kind dream pool which perfectly complements your backyard environment. Give us a call today.
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