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saltwater vs chlorine pools?
Posted: Apr 11, 2012
I live in the south and the pools at my apartment complex open in a few weeks. I asked about it today and was told they would open as soon as the conversion to saltwater is completed. huh? Does anyone know why salt water is preferred over chlorine? Maybe less maintenance/upkeep? Can you swim in it without wearing goggles? On the way home, I ran into my neighbor and told her about it. She said salt water is supposed to be better on your skin and hair. I'm just wondering about my kid's eyes getting burned and how much Visine I should invest in!
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Saltwater would be less caustic to the eyes than chlorine. - nm
[ In Reply To ..].
We have a saltwater pool... - sm
[ In Reply To ..]It is easier on hair, skin, and eyes than traditional chlorine, but the salt actually turns into chlorine via a generator. It's different than traditional, but still a form of chlorine. A huge advantage is that you don't ever have to buy chlorine. We put in several bags of salt (depending on need) at the beginning of the season, and it generates chlorine all summer long. Unless the generator is broken, which unfortunately for us happens to be the case with ours! :( Still cheaper than chlorine, though. And if your kids swim with their eyes open, they'll still need goggles.
Sorry so long!
I guess that is what they were trying to explain to me - New to saltwater pools
[ In Reply To ..]She kept saying the "pump has to change over" and I didn't understand that, but you explained it better. With it generating chlorine all season, that would answer the question as to why they made the switch (to save money on buying chlorine). My little girl has a tiny head and it's hard to find goggles that fit. I think there may be a swim shop at a local mall. Maybe I can go there and get her custom fitted.
Thank you for the reply!
We use chlorine in our pool and ... (sm) - WaterGirl
[ In Reply To ..]were thinking about changing from chlorine to salt water last year. When we talked to a couple of "pool people" within our area, it was explained to us that there is something that has to be kept outside (cannot remember what it was called now, go figure) and that in our area (Georgia) we run the risk of it being struck by lightning frequently, which quickly becomes very expensive. I am not sure if it was the generator that you were talking about or not, wish I could remember because we were really interested just for the sake of saving a little money. Thankfully, and not sure how or why, but we do not use "that" much in chemicals over the summer. We swim in our pool daily, have family in it every weekend and our levels are almost always perfect. I would "guesstimate" that we generally spend around $300 a summer in chemicals and that is from March until sometimes late September.
lightning strikes? Yikes! - New To saltwter pools
[ In Reply To ..]We are in a neighboring state to you so we have the same weather, lots of electrical storms and tornados. I would never have thought about a connection to increased lightning strikes! My plan was to spend more whole days out at the pool this year because I have lost work 2 days a week from lack of business. I may have to reconsider it. The Y is offering to let me sign back up for free (just monthly dues) and I may need to think about doing that. Another option is a lake at a nearby state park, but there is no lifeguard there and at least one person a year drowns there, so I guess really, that is not an option.
There are two things that I think prompted the property management to switch to salt water. First, two of the pools are next to a large lake. Lots of times people will drop things over into the lake, retrieve it and then put it back in the pool without rinsing it off. That brings algae into the pool and messes up the chemical balance.
The next thing is directly related to the first. Because of so much personnel expense and chemicals it takes to keep algae growth down, it ruins the pools liners. They replaced one last year and the second a couple of months ago, but the liners wear out quickly because of so many chemical challenges each season. The main lake pool is big, can probably hold 50 people at any given time. Switching to salt water will save them from daily grooming by personnel and make the liners last longer.
Funny you should mention that... - We have a saltwater pool
[ In Reply To ..]Our pool guy said it looked like our generator had been hit by lightning!!! We live in Indiana, so very midwest-style weather, storms, tornados, etc. What stinks is that it's on the side of the house that the weather is usually moving in from. Wonder if there's any kind of protection for it that can prevent this in the future?
Salt Water vs Chlorine - Live in FL
[ In Reply To ..]We live in SW Florida and have chlorine. Our friends in the same area have salt. IMHO, salt is easier on the skin and hair, but for some reason (and I can't substantiate this scientifically), my bathing suits seem to deteriorate quicker in the salt terms of latex. My swimsuit deteriorated really fast when we started using their pool vs our pool more, stretched out, basically lost elasticity. Not sure what to say about that. Maybe I got lax about rinsing it out or something.
As far as cost, the salt is more expensive to initiate, but cheaper in the long run in terms of keeping the water nice...BUT when things wear out they are more expensive to replace. Could come back to bite the renters in the long-run with unexpected costs, hard to know.
I didn't even think about ITO replacement suits - New to saltwater pools
[ In Reply To ..]That you have a chlorine pool in SW FL is remarkable. I'm okay with replacing my dau's suits as I buy her multiple suits at consignment sales every spring and they are really inexpensive. Mine, though, costs a pretty penny (yards of material costs more than a girls size 6 haha). I usually go through one suit a year because we are in the pool at least 3-4 days a week. Is your use higher than that on average do you think? I was planning on more days in the pool this year as NJA has reduced my schedule to 3 days a week instead of working 5/5 days a week; I thought why not have a relaxed summer, ya know?
That is something I have noticed... - We have a saltwater pool
[ In Reply To ..]My suits seem to wear out very quickly, sometimes even before the summer is over, but I just attributed it to the fact that I swim way more than I used to since we have our own pool. I've just been buying cheaper suits from Target, etc., but now I wonder if it really is because of the salt?
I remember my grandparents had lightning rods - New to saltwater pools
[ In Reply To ..]on top of their house that were grounded. They lived in a flat house on a large flat open piece of land with metal barb wire fencing all around. Once a cow with its calf was struck by lightning, but they were several acres over standing under a lone tree.
We have chlorine---isn't changeover $$$$? - Angie
[ In Reply To ..]My cousin was telling us about her best friend that changed their pool over to saltwater and they hardly ever have to do anything to it...versus us adding chlorine, testing water, adding alkalinity, shock once a week, etc. But I would thnk the cost of changing to saltwater would be atrocious...PLUS, my husband just installed brand new bigger sand pump...don't think we will be changing anytime soon. Good luck to you...But yes, get her good googles!
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