Looking for pool advice - salt vs chlorine

[leapinlew]

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.

[HaRuMaN]

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.

[Firebat138]

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... 

[Ed_McCarron]

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.

[Samstag]

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.

[Donkbaca]

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

[SavannahLion]

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.

[Blanka]

Bromine.

I may hope not. Bromine is toxic.

[boykster]

a 1500psi tank of argon

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Bromine.

I may hope not. Bromine is toxic.

And Chlorine isn't?

[HaRuMaN]

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.

[Samstag]

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.

[Ed_McCarron]

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.

[Gray_Area]

You can eat salt. You can't eat or drink Chlorine.

[AtomSmasher]

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."

 

[leapinlew]

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.

[HaRuMaN]

You can eat salt. You can't eat or drink Chlorine.

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

[CCM]

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.

[HaRuMaN]

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.   

[Ed_McCarron]

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

[garwil]

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! 

[Gray_Area]

You can eat straight salt.

[knave]

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?

[Dartful Dodger]

You can eat straight salt.

You can also drink it with water and Hepatitis from a saline pool.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Don't salt pools still primarily work via chlorine anyway? Salt is sodium and chlorine, after all.

[Samstag]

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.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

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

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.

[Samstag]

I was talking referring to this:
http://www.poolcenter.com/chlorine_generator.htm

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

[Gray_Area]

I don't think bacteria or viruses can live in alkaline water.

[Samstag]

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/

[Gray_Area]

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/

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.