There is a lot of misconception about “salt water pools” in the industry. Salt water systems are sold to people as a “maintenance free system”. This not only hurts your pool using that mindset, but it causes problems when your pool service professional sends you the bill for the work that they did.
How does this salt chlorine generator work?
To put it simply, salt is added to the pool when the salt cell (salt chlorine generator) is installed. When water passes through the system, a low-voltage direct current is applied to little nodes inside the cell. This introduces electrolysis, which turns the salt into chlorine gas. That chlorine is distributed back into the pool sanitizing the water. Eventually, it converts back into salt and goes back through the same process.
Yes, this can provide less maintenance needed for the pool, but a few factors still need to be taken into account.
- Other chemicals necessary for properly balanced water
- Typical pool maintenance, vacuuming, cleaning of filter..etc
- Salt cell maintenance
Chlorine isn’t the only chemical needed for your pool. It may be one of the more important factors, but other chemicals are necessary to keep your water happy (we’ll discuss chemicals more in another post).
Your pool is still going to need to be cleaned and maintained beyond the salt chlorine generator. So the “set it and forget it” mentality should not happen.
Salt cells typically last 3-5 years depending on maintenance done to them. Overtime calcium buildup can happen on the inner cell nodes, which can be cleaned using an acid wash. Doing yearly maintenance of the salt cell can greatly increase its lifespan.
Advantages to using a salt chlorine generator include:
- Softer feeling water (As a pool service professional, I can say that the water in our salt chlorine pools does in fact feel nicer that non-salt chlorine pools)
- Less liquid chlorine usage. Yes, you will still need a weekly dose of chlorine, but the pool is going to require less of it.
- Less of a headache for your pool professional. Without a salt chlorine generator, chlorine tabs are used to provide constant sanitizer for the pool. These tabs can be expensive and raise other chemical levels in the pool, which will require more chemicals to negate that.
So if you like to save money and swim in the softest water, then a salt chlorine generator might be for you! Just remember that it doesn’t mean you can neglect other maintenance aspects of your pool.
