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Main => Everything Else => Topic started by: leapinlew on January 26, 2011, 04:34:54 pm

Title: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: leapinlew on January 26, 2011, 04:34:54 pm
Whats your take? Have you swam in a salt water pool? Is it really as nice as they say? I haven't and I'm trying to decide between a salt water pool and a chlorine pool.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: HaRuMaN on January 26, 2011, 04:38:58 pm
Whats your take? Have you swam in a salt water pool? Is it really as nice as they say? I haven't and I'm trying to decide between a salt water pool and a chlorine pool.

I have a chlorine pool and love it... 

I have never swam in a salt water pool, so can't help there.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Firebat138 on January 26, 2011, 04:58:29 pm
my buddy has a salt pool and loves it...  I thought it was cheaper, but of course you still have to buy salt. Better for the clothes they say, but I have a chlorine pool and never had a problem either...  I thought there was another option too... started with a B... 
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Ed_McCarron on January 26, 2011, 05:12:32 pm
my buddy has a salt pool and loves it...  I thought it was cheaper, but of course you still have to buy salt. Better for the clothes they say, but I have a chlorine pool and never had a problem either...  I thought there was another option too... started with a B... 

Bromine.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Samstag on January 26, 2011, 05:49:33 pm
Salt pools don't do nasty things to my eyes or skin the way even a lightly chlorinated pool does.

Edit:  And they don't smell like chlorine.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Donkbaca on January 26, 2011, 06:09:33 pm
lots of pools out here in CA, most new ones are salt; they are easier on the plaster in the pool, they require less energy, they don't smell like chemicals and are easier on the skin and clothes.  Really, can't think of any reason to go chlorine
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: SavannahLion on January 27, 2011, 12:31:10 am
lots of pools out here in CA, most new ones are salt; they are easier on the plaster in the pool, they require less energy, they don't smell like chemicals and are easier on the skin and clothes.  Really, can't think of any reason to go chlorine

OK, not owning a pool it doesn't matter to me. So I just took a peek at an article about the generators and geez. They make it sound like it's just as much work as a chlorinated pool. Only instead of watching your chlorine balances, you're now making sure your salt generator isn't clogging up and you're chasing after salt supplies... If you don't you're pool will fall apart and get swallowed up in a volcano. :dizzy:
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Blanka on January 27, 2011, 01:39:19 am
Bromine.
I may hope not. Bromine is toxic.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: boykster on January 27, 2011, 01:54:23 am
a 1500psi tank of argon
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on January 27, 2011, 09:20:58 am
Bromine.
I may hope not. Bromine is toxic.

And Chlorine isn't?
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: HaRuMaN on January 27, 2011, 10:19:54 am
Salt pools don't do nasty things to my eyes or skin the way even a lightly chlorinated pool does.

Edit:  And they don't smell like chlorine.

Its when urine mixes with chlorine that it creates an irritant.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Samstag on January 27, 2011, 10:55:52 am
Salt pools don't do nasty things to my eyes or skin the way even a lightly chlorinated pool does.

Edit:  And they don't smell like chlorine.

Its when urine mixes with chlorine that it creates an irritant.

Chlorine readily mixes with lots of things and usually produces an unpleasant result.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Ed_McCarron on January 27, 2011, 05:14:52 pm
Bromine.
I may hope not. Bromine is toxic.

Thats kinda the point.  Find the level that kills the bad things in the water, but not the swimmers.

Think of it as pool antibiotics.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Gray_Area on January 27, 2011, 05:33:58 pm
You can eat salt. You can't eat or drink Chlorine.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: AtomSmasher on January 27, 2011, 07:36:37 pm
My dad is a pool man, and I even worked the route for a number of months when he was sick, so you'd think I'd have something useful to contribute to this conversation, but I don't.

Instead I'll tell you what my dad tells his customers when their dogs start swimming in the pools. 
"Dogs are usually loaded with lots of harmful bacteria and when the dogs swim in the pool, that bacteria gets into the pool as well.  Then, when your kids go swimming, that bacteria gets into your children's ears and causes an awful infection.  In most cases the only way to save the their lives is to cut off their heads."

 :)
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: leapinlew on January 28, 2011, 09:22:07 am
My dad is a pool man, and I even worked the route for a number of months when he was sick, so you'd think I'd have something useful to contribute to this conversation, but I don't.

Instead I'll tell you what my dad tells his customers when their dogs start swimming in the pools.  
"Dogs are usually loaded with lots of harmful bacteria and when the dogs swim in the pool, that bacteria gets into the pool as well.  Then, when your kids go swimming, that bacteria gets into your children's ears and causes an awful infection.  In most cases the only way to save the their lives is to cut off their heads."

 :)

Nice! Funny

If our dog was loaded with bacteria, we'd be in a lot of trouble with or without a pool.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: HaRuMaN on January 28, 2011, 09:37:17 am
You can eat salt. You can't eat or drink Chlorine.

Lots of tap water in this country is chlorinated...
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: CCM on January 28, 2011, 11:27:15 am
I would suggest not getting a pool at all.  I don't have one, but I have several friends that do.   They don't use them nearly as much as they thought they would, and all they do is complain about the maintenance.

Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: HaRuMaN on January 28, 2011, 11:40:43 am
I would suggest not getting a pool at all.  I don't have one, but I have several friends that do.   They don't use them nearly as much as they thought they would, and all they do is complain about the maintenance.

Living in AZ, it's sooooo worth it.  :)  Granted, climate of where you live will make a difference.

I do all my yard work in my swim trunks, and just jump in the pool when I start getting overheated.   :cheers:
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Ed_McCarron on January 28, 2011, 12:57:27 pm
You can eat salt. You can't eat or drink Chlorine.

Lots of tap water in this country is chlorinated...

Not only that, you can use plain old bleach (5-6% Cl2) in an emergency to purify drinking water.

http://www.doh.wa.gov/phepr/handbook/purify.htm (http://www.doh.wa.gov/phepr/handbook/purify.htm)
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: garwil on January 29, 2011, 07:41:12 am
Get that stuff that turns purple when you pee in the pool! I don't even know if it's a real thing or not but just hearing about it made me stop peeing in public swimming pools!  >:D
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Gray_Area on January 31, 2011, 04:36:50 pm
You can eat straight salt.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: knave on January 31, 2011, 04:43:50 pm
I've never been one to mind chlorine, but salt seems to be the new in thing. I've been in a few saline pools and I liked it. I wonder which is cheeper?
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Dartful Dodger on January 31, 2011, 05:32:28 pm
You can eat straight salt.

You can also drink it with water and Hepatitis from a saline pool.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on January 31, 2011, 08:24:01 pm
Don't salt pools still primarily work via chlorine anyway? Salt is sodium and chlorine, after all.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Samstag on February 01, 2011, 02:20:35 am
Don't salt pools still primarily work via chlorine anyway? Salt is sodium and chlorine, after all.

The chlorine in salt is pretty much locked up in a tight chemical bond so it can't cause any problems.  Straight chlorine is very chemically active and can do nasty stuff when it combines with other elements/compounds.  It can combine with bodily fluids to make hydrochloric acid, though it isn't very dangerous in small concentrations.  Just really unpleasant.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on February 01, 2011, 05:39:47 am
Don't salt pools still primarily work via chlorine anyway? Salt is sodium and chlorine, after all.

The chlorine in salt is pretty much locked up in a tight chemical bond so it can't cause any problems.  Straight chlorine is very chemically active and can do nasty stuff when it combines with other elements/compounds.  It can combine with bodily fluids to make hydrochloric acid, though it isn't very dangerous in small concentrations.  Just really unpleasant.

I was talking referring to this:
http://www.poolcenter.com/chlorine_generator.htm (http://www.poolcenter.com/chlorine_generator.htm)
Quote
Chlorine Generators

 
One of the first alternative sanitizers introduced to the pool and spa industry was the chlorine generator. Chlorine generators are attractive to pool owners simply because they eliminate the need to store, buy, transport and handle chlorine. They are not an alternative to chlorine, but actually make their own chlorine from regular table salt. The pool water passes through a generator cell that creates the chlorine within the pool water.
 
How Does It Work?
 
As pool water passes through the chlorine generator cell, pumped through by your filter pump, the salt in the water is turned into Hypochlorous acid. Hypochlorous acid is the exact same component that is produced when any chlorine is added to pool water, whether you use sticks, tablets, granular or liquid. As the water returns to the pool, it will introduce the newly produced chlorine, preventing algae, bacteria and killing micro-organisms, creating a safe and sanitary swimming environment.
 
OK?  How does it really work?
 
This mild, pleasant saline water is sanitized through the process of electrolysis, as mentioned above. The electrolytic cell, through the use of a small electric current, breaks down the water into its basic elements, Hydrogen and Oxygen. By adding small quantities of granulated salt (much like household table salt - NaCI), Hypochlorous Acid (common chlorine) is produced. During the process, the Hypochlorous Acid (Chlorine) is ultimately converted back to salt. Thus, the salt does not get "used up". Salt only needs to be "topped off" once or twice a year and only to replace salt lost due to water splash-out, bather drag off or filter backwashing.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Samstag on February 01, 2011, 09:13:15 pm
I was talking referring to this:
http://www.poolcenter.com/chlorine_generator.htm (http://www.poolcenter.com/chlorine_generator.htm)
Quote
Chlorine Generators

My bad.  I had the completely wrong idea about what a "salt pool" really was.  I thought home salt systems were the same thing as you'd get on a cruise ship, which is sanitized sea water.  I don't know how they keep those clean exactly but there's zero cholrine smell.

It looks like the home salt systems aren't going to be any different from chlorine tablets in the actual quality of the water.  It's all about the maintenance time and costs.

Edit: fixed the quotes
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Gray_Area on February 05, 2011, 02:21:03 am
I don't think bacteria or viruses can live in alkaline water.
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Samstag on February 05, 2011, 04:26:53 am
I don't think bacteria or viruses can live in alkaline water.

Some do better at very high ph levels than at neutral.

http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/extreme/alkaline/ (http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/extreme/alkaline/)
Title: Re: Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine
Post by: Gray_Area on February 07, 2011, 08:49:45 pm
I don't think bacteria or viruses can live in alkaline water.

Some do better at very high ph levels than at neutral.

http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/extreme/alkaline/ (http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/extreme/alkaline/)

Neither the page linked, nor the article cited mentions what they are. However, alkalizing is very common in laundry detergence, so does that mean we are walking around with loads of microorganisms that have flourished in the wash water?

Bottom line: poor hygiene and sloppy habits = disease candidate. The lazy way to handle this is to try to kill everything.