Salt Water Pool Maintenance

[NSXLuvr]

Hey guy - we built a house last year with a Salt water pool. My wife had some guy doing the mainetenance on it. He charges $300/month!! I was blown away. I told her I will take care of it this year!

Do you guys have a link or maintenance schedule for Salt water pools - any help appreciated.

[Deltron Zero]

Wow. What a ripoff. I have a guy come once a week and he charges $75/month.

[druby]

I do mine myself, it really isn't that much. I check the salt level and make sure it is between 2700-3400. If it is low I add some 40 pound sacks of pool salt at $6.50 per bag. Never takes more than 1-2 bags and that is if I had to vacuum the pool out and let out lots of water in doing so. Otherwise it is just cleaning out the trash from the slimmers and using the net to keep the floating stuff off the pool. Salt water pools are extrememly easy to take care of.

[Russ]

We have a salt water pool (45K gal, built in '07) that only needs the Polaris robot run once a week, the cartridge filter rinsed twice a season, and salt added maybe once a season. That's all we've ever had to do to keep the pool sparkling clean and we use it pretty heavily.

Salt water pools should be at least 3000ppm salinity, although I like keeping it a little higher, about 5000ppm. Your chlorine generator should have a salinity display that tells you this. You can verify the calibration of your generator with special salt test strips, but this shouldn't be necessary unless you suspect the generator is malfunctioning. Also make sure the basic chemistry is correct, but really, salt water pools pretty much take care of themselves.

Also, stop into your local pool supply store. They often will analyze your water for free and make recommendations for adjusting the chemistry if needed.

[BATMANs]

Salt water anything is $$$$$.

[Acura NsX Pilot]

Is a salt water pool better or just a preference ? What are the pros and cons here.

[SaleenS7Rs]

Is a salt water pool better or just a preference ? What are the pros and cons here.

+1 I was thinking the samething. I dont know anybody with a saltwater pool to ask. I just thought this was a weird rich person thing to do but if there is a benefit to all this Im all about it.

[Deltron Zero]

+1 I was thinking the samething. I dont know anybody with a saltwater pool to ask. I just thought this was a weird rich person thing to do but if there is a benefit to all this Im all about it.

Dude. I just got mine for the baller status. "Yo girl, you taste that??? It's salt baby! Now take dem clothes off!"

[91 X]

+1 I was thinking the samething. I dont know anybody with a saltwater pool to ask. I just thought this was a weird rich person thing to do but if there is a benefit to all this Im all about it.

it is basically a self chlorinating system...a good one will never have a salty taste(yuk) or feel..I have had mine since 2005 when we bought a new house and had it built..I drew up what I wanted and Mission Pools did the rest..I have never had a pool guy, it takes less then 5 minutes a day to maintain it or about 20 minutes once a week...simple shit guys, brush it, check the ph and cL and skim the leaves, jump in....the biggest pain is the twice a year(once every six month) filter cleaning..

[fkong777]

Salt system is pretty easy to care for. It generate its own chlorine with the salt. So you dont have to deal with pucks, chlorine bottle or bleach. The system control box will tell you if you need more salt. Just add 1/4 bag a day until it is OK. you can prob go a week or 2 without doing anything if you are on vacation.

PH level always go up on my pool, so add acid. Cheap at Leslies pool, 2 gallon for 10bucks.

Get a good test kit and test the water at lease twice a week. Brush your pool once a week.

[Russ]

+1 I was thinking the samething. I dont know anybody with a saltwater pool to ask. I just thought this was a weird rich person thing to do but if there is a benefit to all this Im all about it.

Benefits of a Salt Chlorine Generator System:

* Never buy chlorine again
* Soft, Silky feeling water
* No more red eyes
* No more itchy skin
* No more green hair
* No more vacation worries
* No more faded swimwear
* Energy efficient
* Environmentally friendly
* Automatic cell cleaning

Costs about as much as a summer's worth of pool boy. Plumbing installs on the filter return after your heater (or after pump if not heater), electric on the pump circuit:

http://www.aquasuperstore.com/produc...G-36~1127.html

[BATMANs]

Aside from temporarily storing dolphins and other ocean-faring creatures in the salt water pool, I trust the 99.999% sterilizing abilities of Chlorine.

[heySkippy]

Is a salt water pool better or just a preference ? What are the pros and cons here.

For a new install there don't seem to be any cons. The people we know with salt love it and we are giving serious thought to retrofitting our pool.

[druby]

I already posted but I love my salt water pool. The salt water unit was a little bit expensive but it more than makes up for it in the substantial savings in chemicals and hassle thereafter. Salt is cheap and I put maybe a bag a month in there. The only reason I have to do that is I have trees that shed into my pool and we have to vacuum more often than some. But no chemicals, no testing just look at the box and see what the levels are. No smell as others have mentioned and no fading of clothes or red eye either.

[SaleenS7Rs]

it is basically a self chlorinating system...a good one will never have a salty taste(yuk) or feel..I have had mine since 2005 when we bought a new house and had it built..I drew up what I wanted and Mission Pools did the rest..I have never had a pool guy, it takes less then 5 minutes a day to maintain it or about 20 minutes once a week...simple shit guys, brush it, check the ph and cL and skim the leaves, jump in....the biggest pain is the twice a year(once every six month) filter cleaning..

Thats crazy you cant taste the salt. Im glad this thread was started if I ever get a pool I might have to do this.

[Vega$ NSX]

Aside from temporarily storing dolphins and other ocean-faring creatures in the salt water pool, I trust the 99.999% sterilizing abilities of Chlorine.

I'm not sure you understand how a salt water system works. The chemical composition of salt is NaCl (sodium chloride). A salt water system is basically a chlorine generator by using a chemical process to strip the chlorine element out of sodium chloride. Basically it generates it's own chlorine source rather than having to add tablets of chlorine to the water. Once the chlorine is in the water it works pretty much the same regardless if it is generated from salt or is added in tablets. The sometimes salty taste is the byproduct of the sodium that is stripped from the salt (sodium chloride).

[Vega$ NSX]

For a new install there don't seem to be any cons. The people we know with salt love it and we are giving serious thought to retrofitting our pool.

Salt water pools still require maintenance. They are not "no maintenance" systems as some people mistakenly think they are. However, a well set up chlorine system can be just as maintenance friendly as a salt water system in my opinion. I compared a chlorine system next to salt water system and did not find enough pro's to go with the salt water system.

1) First off, as I mentioned above, a salt water system also creates chlorine. Chlorine smells is due to excessive chlorine regardless if they come from tablets or salt. If there is too much chlorine smell it is because the pool is not properly maintained. Public pools are notorious for this as they will ALWAYS error on the side of excessive chlorine then lack of for liability reasons. Burning eyes is a function of imbalanced pH rather than excessive chlorine.
2) The inital cost of a salt system is expensive.
3) A majority of the maintenance is in filter cleaning, skimming, basket cleaning and brushing. This will be the same regardless of if you go chlorine or salt.
4) Chlorine systems can be low maintenance as well. I have a chlorinator which holds about 8 tablets. All I need to do is fill it with tablets about every 3 weeks and it automatically feeds water through the chlorinator when the pump runs and feeds the amount of chlorine I set based on a quick 10 sec test strip water analysis.
5) One major issue is that salt water systems lose effectiveness in cold water conditions. Most places which see a winter, this is not an issue because the pool is covered and not used so it can be set for winter hibernation. However, in year-round pool environments (like Vegas) pools run year-round (not necessarily used). In sub 40 F temperatures salt water systems are ineffective because the chlorine stripping process is not very efficient and cannot keep up with the evaporation rate of the pool. People here in who have salt water systems still need to put chlorine tablet floaties to maintain chlorine levels in the winter.

[Vega$ NSX]

Benefits of a Salt Chlorine Generator System:

* Never buy chlorine again
* Soft, Silky feeling water
* No more red eyes
* No more itchy skin
* No more green hair
* No more vacation worries
* No more faded swimwear
* Energy efficient
* Environmentally friendly
* Automatic cell cleaning

Costs about as much as a summer's worth of pool boy. Plumbing installs on the filter return after your heater (or after pump if not heater), electric on the pump circuit:

http://www.aquasuperstore.com/produc...G-36~1127.html

Sorry but I'll have to disagree with some of those points. IMHO they are biased sales based marketing pitches. My reply to each point:

* Never buy chlorine again (True, salt is cheaper to buy than chlorine but it takes many months of payback on the intial cost of the salt system to realize a savings.)

* Soft, Silky feeling water (Subjective at best. Generally silky feeling water is used to describe soft water. However, water hardness is determined by the number of calcium and magnesium ions in the water. If silky water is what you are after, there is no reason you can't add salt to a chlorine system and get the same effect, though I think it is purely subjective. Does the water in the ocean feel softer and more silky than in your shower?)

* No more red eyes (More of a function of pH balance. Remember, a salt water system generates chlorine as well; see above)

* No more itchy skin (Subjective, case by case basis. Perhaps someone has an reaction with chlorine. I've never had itchy skin as result of chlorine pools. I've had itchy skin because of getting too much sun and not staying hydrated while AT a pool)

* No more green hair (This will only occur if you over-chlorinate a pool SIGNIFICANTLY. But this is indicative of BAD POOL care, then a chlorine pool system.)

* No more vacation worries (Only if you plan on vacations longer than 4 weeks long. Most pool service companies visit monthly. The pool doesn't go to crap in the 4 weeks they are not there.)

* No more faded swimwear (Again, only in over-chlorinated pools. Bad pool care, not the system)

* Energy efficient (As opposed to self dissolving tablets??? Chlorine tablets use ZERO energy. You at least have to plug a salt system in. How can a salt system be more energy efficient???)

* Environmentally friendly (This is one I have most issue with. This is absolutely NOT TRUE. In fact it is the OPPOSITE. Chlorine tablets dissolve into the water which then evaporates into the atmosphere (which is why you need to keep feeding it tablets). Salt systems generate chlorine but does so by stripping the chlorine from sodium chloride (see above). The byproduct of this is sodium added to water. This is somewhat similar/parallel to how a water softener works (sort of). But the main problem (especially in places like Vegas) is that salt in the water supply is VERY hard to get rid of (see desalinazation plants). So as people keep adding salt to a city's water supply system (through water softeners, pools) it pollutes the water supply in a sodium rich water. This goes back to the water treatment plant where it is very hard to get rid of this salt so it can be sent back out to the tap. Salt is a very bad susbtance to add to fresh water. It is way fresh water is so valuable and hard to get, and sea water is not. Just think what it would be like if all the sea water tainted all of our fresh water supply. Well that is what we are doing when we voluntarily add salt to our fresh water and dump it back into our sewers.)

* Automatic cell cleaning (I dont know what that is. I'm assuming it's the cell in the salt system, as that is the only cell in a pool system. A chlorine system doesn't have a cell and therefore doesn't require a cell cleaning system.

[Semnos_NSX]

I recently bought a house with a pool. Being that it was the first pool I had ever owned, I called a pool guy to come and take a look at the entire system to ensure that everything was working properly. After his inspection he said the pool looks good but the salt water system was not working. Curious as to what a salt water system was, I asked him to elaborate. He told me all about the system and basically said salt water systems are nice but are really just a luxury. The only real benefit is that the water will be “softer” and the chlorine levels will be more consistent during days where the pool gets heavy use. The downside to the salt water system is the “salt water cell”. This is the backbone to the system and is what breaks the salt down into chlorine. He said he has been servicing pools for 16 years and has come to realize that the average life span of this cell is approximately 3-4 years before they stop working and need to be replaced. I asked how much does it typically cost to replace and he said anywhere from $500 - $600 installed.

I’m still not sure if I want to replace the cell or just continue to run it the old fashion way with tablets. Regardless, I still would like to have someone come every week to balance all the other chemicals, sweep the sides, skim the top, etc. so I am a bit torn as to what to do.

[Russ]

The level of passion this subject has generated is surprising.

Those items were cut & pasted from the product page linked-to the post. But, based on my experience, the salt systems really work well in that they make your pool virtually maintenence free.

Sorry but I'll have to disagree with some of those points. IMHO they are biased sales based marketing pitches. My reply to each point:

* Never buy chlorine again (True, salt is cheaper to buy than chlorine but it takes many months of payback on the intial cost of the salt system to realize a savings.)

What are folks paying for chlorine/year these days? I don't know since I never buy any for the pool (although I spend $25/year for my 300 gal hot tub). I would imagine the savings would accrue rather quickly.

* Soft, Silky feeling water (Subjective at best. Generally silky feeling water is used to describe soft water...snip)

It's really not so much the water, but how your skin feels after, say, spending the weekend swimming. It's not as dried-out as if you were in chlorine for the same time. My wife has commented this, out of the blue, on a few occasions.

* No more red eyes (More of a function of pH balance. Remember, a salt water system generates chlorine as well; see above)

Personally no experience with red eyes in or out of a chlorine pool.

* No more itchy skin (Subjective, case by case basis. Perhaps someone has an reaction with chlorine. I've never had itchy skin as result of chlorine pools. I've had itchy skin because of getting too much sun and not staying hydrated while AT a pool)

See above re: silkiness.

* No more green hair (This will only occur if you over-chlorinate a pool SIGNIFICANTLY. But this is indicative of BAD POOL care, then a chlorine pool system.)

I never had this problem personally, although I understand it has to do with bleached blondes (seriously.)

* No more vacation worries (Only if you plan on vacations longer than 4 weeks long. Most pool service companies visit monthly. The pool doesn't go to crap in the 4 weeks they are not there.)

You can go away indefinitely with the salt pool and it will take care of itself. If you stopped adding chlorine to your pool, eventually (and sooner rather than later), it will get nasty.

* No more faded swimwear (Again, only in over-chlorinated pools. Bad pool care, not the system)

No personal experience on this.

* Energy efficient (As opposed to self dissolving tablets??? Chlorine tablets use ZERO energy. You at least have to plug a salt system in. How can a salt system be more energy efficient???)

* Environmentally friendly (This is one I have most issue with. This is absolutely NOT TRUE. In fact it is the OPPOSITE. Chlorine tablets dissolve into the water which then evaporates into the atmosphere ...snip

How many trips are you making to the pool store to buy chlorine, or to have it delivered to the house? How much energy is used to manufacture and distribute chlorine verses salt? I honestly have no idea but I'll bet manufacturing chlorine tablets is a lot less environmentally friendly than making salt.

I'll also bet that, compared to the about of salt & sodium added to the environment from road salt thrown by municipalities and from landfill runoff far exceeds, by orders of magnitude, the amount splashed out of swimming pools. In the War On Salt, swimming pools are way, way down the bad guy list.

* Automatic cell cleaning (I dont know what that is. I'm assuming it's the cell in the salt system, as that is the only cell in a pool system. A chlorine system doesn't have a cell and therefore doesn't require a cell cleaning system.

Therefore there's no additional maintenance due to the salt system. In fact, there's much less.

[fkong777]

Name brand Salt system is about $1000 - $2000. it is actually called a Salt Water Chlorine Generator. (SWG)

You can get away with a Intex SWG for $200 bucks but it doesnt have a control unit to tell you the salt level.
http://www.intexcorp.com/saltwater_04.html

Pool man will not want you to get a SWG because you will notice the pool is cleaner with a consistent level of chlorine and you can set it at a lower level. Pool man tends to over dose your pool so it will stay clear longer. thats why u hear this " dont swim today kids, Just added chemicals. "

No more buying Chlorine bleach or Shock.

To be Fair
There are Chlorinator that you can fill with chlorine or pucks and it will slowly introduce chlorine to your pool.


check out this forum for all your possible pool question.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/index.html

My pool built.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/new-p...ay-t13325.html

[heySkippy]

Some of the objections to chlorine simply don't apply to us. My wife does 99% of our pool maintenance and has been doing it over 10 years now.

Our pool never smells of chlorine. She's got a routine that works and when she takes water samples to the pool store, the result is almost always perfect balance. Our water doesn't feel 'hard', our eyes aren't red, and our suits don't fade (but that's mostly because we almost never wear them).

If we went salt, it would be solely so she doesn't have to schlep jugs of chlorine back and forth from the pool store and so we don't have to buy the OMG giant tub of tablets each year.

What our pool could really use right now is a chiller. The water is well over 90 degrees and feels like bath water. We'll be glad when the summer rains start.

[Vega$ NSX]

What our pool could really use right now is a chiller. The water is well over 90 degrees and feels like bath water. We'll be glad when the summer rains start.

Function of your high humidity and depressed evaporation rates. Evaporating water will always "try" to get to wet bulb temperature and unfortunately in Florida, is very high. Here in Vegas, we have the opposite problem. Even when it is 120 F outside, the pool water can be as low as 72 F. It makes getting in and out of the pool quite a "brisk" experience.

Encouraging evaporation can help depress the temperature without the aid of refrigeration. Waterfalls, water fountains, keeping the surface clear of anything impeding evaporation (including chemicals, oils and alcohols), among many other things will help encourage evaporation. The more evaporation, the lower the pool temperature.

[steveny]

Best way to take care of a pool is to fill it in with dirt.

I truly regret putting a pool in my last house and won't be putting one in my current house.

[heySkippy]

The more evaporation, the lower the pool temperature.

That's a double edged sword. The more evaporation, the more water you have to add to the pool.

We had our pool refinished about a month ago. It was pretty cool to watch - amazing how fast they get that done and have it refilling.