A salt pool is the modern, efficient, and preferred swimming pool experience.
It's better for maintenance, and it's better for your swimmers. However, at its most basic level, a salt pool (saltwater pool) is a pool using a Salt Chlorine Generator (Salt Chlorinator) to generate chlorine from salt in the pool water in order to chlorinate (sanitize) the water. The idea is really quite simple: you add an electronic device to automatically generate all chlorine from a low level of salinity in the pool water, instead of regularly buying / storing / adding manufactured chlorine manually.
But, if you’re expecting a mini ocean in your yard, then you might be surprised. The saltwater in a pool isn’t nearly that salty - in fact the salt level is so low that it is far beneath the typical threshold of taste and it's safe for equipment and surfaces. With typical salt levels of 3-3,500 ppm, a salt pool is what the US Geological Survey would classify as “Slightly to Moderately Saline Water.” The ocean, on the other hand, averages about 10 times that level of salinity (35,000 ppm).
If you’re wondering about if the pool would taste salty, well, for the average person it doesn’t - the typical threshold for the human tongue tasting salt is about 4,500 ppm. On the other hand, human tears at 2½ times the salt level of a pool, will taste salty. What about crocodile tears? Well, that’s a trick question because crocodiles don’t actually produce tears.
That’s a quick overview of the question of what is a salt water swimming pool. We’ll go into more depth with a number of common, related questions below.
You add an electronic device to automatically generate all chlorine from a low level of salinity in the pool water.
What is Needed For a Salt Water Pool?
First, you simply need to procure a properly-sized salt chlorine generator. The next step is installation of your new equipment in the pool’s circulation system. But, have no fear, this is a step that can routinely be accomplished in under an hour and, for some models, as quickly as 15 minutes. Add the correct amount of salt added to the pool and you’re ready to generate chlorine and sanitize your pool.
What is The Purpose of a Salt Water Pool?
The point of a salt water pool is to make ownership easier and less expensive, and to make the water nicer. A saltwater pool will eliminate the need to regularly buy and add chlorine and shock. It will also reduce pool maintenance costs and the amount of work involved in maintaining a pool.
Beyond the more practical purposes, a salt water pool will also give you a more pleasant and enjoyable swimming experience without the red eyes, skin irritation, bleached hair and swimwear, and without that unpleasant “chlorine smell.”
What is a Salt Water Pool Like?
A saltwater pool is a low maintenance low expenditure pool. It’s also reliable; consistently staying blue and clear. The best way to know what a salt pool is like is by actually getting in it! A salt pool is also a luxurious swimming experience, feeling much more like being a natural body of water. It feels nicer on your skin, you can open your eyes underwater with them becoming irritated, hair and swimsuits don’t get bleached, you don’t smell like chlorine, or experience the harsh effects that are commonly associated with a traditional swimming pool.
Is a Salt Water Pool Right For You?
We can answer this with a series of questions, the first one being; would you like to stop regularly buying and adding chlorine? While a salt chlorine generator can achieve this and typically costs only cents per day to operate*, the chlorine it produces isn’t really free since the equipment had to be purchased. But, after the initial investment, and even the eventual salt cell replacement, chlorine produced by a salt chlorinator can typically cut the chlorination costs on a pool by up to 50% or more over the life of your pool.
Would you like improved water quality, with a silky, soft feel to the pool water? How do you feel about eliminating chloramines and the notorious “chlorine smell” from your pool?
Are you tired of red eyes, itchy skin, and bleached swimwear? Do you or any of your family have sensitive skin? Are you tired of buying, storing, handling and adding chlorine to your pool?
It’s hard to imagine that you wouldn't answer "yes" to most or all of these questions.
A saltwater pool will eliminate the need to regularly buy and add chlorine and shock.
Is This Magic, Or What?
Well, no, it’s not magic, just science in action. How does a salt water pool work? Once you have your salt chlorinator installed and sufficient salt in your pool water, the (magic of) science can begin.
Salt, as you may know, is a compound comprising pairs of bonded Sodium and Chlorine atoms. The Salt Chlorinator directs a small electrical current to metal plates inside the Salt Cell. On these plates, the process of electrolysis breaks the bonds of the salt releasing a pure form of chlorine into the water.
As the chlorine sanitizes the pool water, it then reunites with the sodium back into salt. That salt then becomes available to continually repeat this rather elegant, if not magical, process.
So, What is a Salt Water Pool?
A salt pool is a way to save money over your years of pool ownership. It is also a way to significantly cut back on regular maintenance and avoid the hassle of buying and handling chlorine. In addition, salt pools have improved water quality that lacks the harsh chlorine smell and that won’t irritate or redden eyes and skin.
That’s why a salt pool is the modern, efficient, and preferred swimming experience.