How hard is it to use a salt system on your pool? Pretty easy. You'll learn how little it takes to operate and control your new system. But what does it boil down to? Adding a salt system to your pool makes things easier.
If you're new to the idea of a saltwater pool, the most important thing to know from the start is that salt systems have become the standard in pool care. A saltwater pool is just a regular pool with a "salt chlorinator" installed on it; a salt system eliminates the need to buy and add chlorine to the pool (saves a lot of money), makes it so you don't have to micromanage your pool chemistry (saves a lot of maintenance), and eliminates the "chlorine smell" and other unhealthy qualities of traditional pools (makes the water a lot nicer).
The basic controls
The controls on a salt pools system are easy, and they don't require constant attention. They are meant to do two things: 1) adjust the system's sanitation level (for seasonal changes), and 2) to confirm that it's working. The controls will have buttons or a dial that let you raise or lower its sanitation power, and status indicator lights that tell you whether everything is fine or if your attention is required for basic maintenance (simple & infrequent)
When to adjust the system
You'll quickly become confident that your pool is consistently staying blue and clear. After big changes in weather, you may need to raise or lower the system's sanitation power level to compensate.
- For example, during the dog days of summer, you might need to turn the system up a notch or two to compensate for the higher chlorine demand caused by the hot weather. After a rain storm or pool party, the system will also have a convenient boost mode that let's you temporarily increase the system's performance and then automatically return the system to its previous performance level.
Check your system's status
Most of the time, you'll see a status light on your salt system that lets you know its working just fine. Eventually, you might need to do some basic ownership tasks to keep everything running smoothly. The good news is that system removes any guesswork and will alert you to the fact. For example:
- If you've received lots of rain over the season, or if you happen to drain your pool, you'll probably get a status light letting you know to replenish your pool's salinity. Your user manual will show you how to know how much salt to pour in the pool.
- Occasionally your salt system's "cell" (its plumbing component) may need to get cleaned. If so, you'll get a status light letting you know its time. It's easy to do, usually taking about 10 minutes. With balanced water chemistry, most people only need to do this one or twice a season.