Salt Chlorination FAQs
Does Salt Chlorinate Pool Water?
No. Salt doesn’t sanitize a swimming pool’s water, chlorine does. Salt or minerals in the form of magnesium chloride, potassium chloride or sodium chloride, when dissolved in the pool water, is converted by the salt chlorinator into chlorine. It’s the chlorine that sanitizes pool water.
Will My Water be Salty?
No. The amount of salt or minerals in your swimming pool’s water will be roughly the same as what is in a teardrop. When salt levels of salt water pools are properly maintained, there should be little to no taste. The salt passes through the chlorinator’s electrolytic plates to form chlorine, killing all contaminants that prevent bacteria and algae from forming.
Proper pool water salt range is 2,700 to 3,400 PPM (parts per million)
Salt chlorinators require a low concentration of salt (sodium chloride) – approximately a teaspoon of salt per gallon of pool water. The amount of chlorination required to sanitize a pool properly varies due to the pool size, bather load, rainfall, temperature and the overall pool cleanliness. We recommend using test strips for pool salt testing, as some electronic salt chlorinators do not always provide an accurate reading.
Will I Still Have to Purchase Store-bought Chlorine?
Sin salt water pools that maintain the proper chemistry management, NO.
Swimming pool salt chlorinators can reduce or eliminate the need for purchasing chlorine. Salt chlorinated pools will dramatically improve your swimming experience. The pool water is softer and less irritating to the eyes and skin of swimmers. As a result, many swimmers greatly prefer pools with salt chlorinators to pools using other forms of chlorination.
Are there Salt Chlorinator Cons?
Not all swimming pool structures are ideally suited for salt chlorination. Let’s compare.
Unfortunately, salt chlorinators are not ideal for concrete swimming pools. Salt chlorinators can be up to five times more abrasive than traditional chlorine on concrete surfaces. Although salt chlorinators can still be used with concrete swimming pools, they’ll require more frequent resurfacing — which is a very costly repair.
Vinyl Liner Pools
The metal walls can rust. Vinyl liner pool owners often use salt chlorination, but because of the rust factor it’s not ideally suited to this type of pool structure.
Composite Fiberglass Pools
The boating industry led the way with fiberglass – the most robust material for saltwater. The swimming pool industry followed suit but with significant refinements. The non-porous nature of composite fiberglass makes it ideal for swimming pools – especially those with salt chlorine generation. Their polished surfaces make them soft to the touch, impenetrable to salt, and algae has a tough time adhering to surfaces.
The Ideal Combination
Salt chlorination has become the leader in pool and spa sanitization for five good reasons.
1. Salt is a low-cost solution for keeping swimming pool water sanitized.
2. Salt reduces the time spent maintaining a pool’s water.
3. Salt delivers silky-soft water.
4. Salt won’t turn swimmers’ eyes red.
5. Salt won’t bleach swimsuits and towels.
What a nice solution – particularly when some of these minerals and salts can be so good for your family’s health just by being in the pool water. The result is pure, crystal clear, soft-feeling water and happy, healthy swimmers.
And, composite fiberglass swimming pools are designed and ideally suited for salt chlorination.