Should my swimming pool be salt water?

There are mixed reviews of the salt water pool vs. chlorine pools today.  Well, to get a salt water pool  with the initial salt startup you will spend around $2,000 upfront.  

Let’s look at the benefit’s of the  salt water pool: softer water, easier to maintain than a “blue” pool, chemicals less expensive.  The downsides of salt: can be corrosive to pool equipment, upfront expense, high ph.

Payoff of the salt water pool vs. chlorine: To look from a true cost/payoff of the salt water pool vs. chlorine many companies will tell you that the system will pay for itself in 3 years.  This is a false number because the salt cell, or the unit that actually generates chlorine from the salt, usually will last 3-5 years.

While salt is a lot cheaper than chlorine, you have to figure in the price of acid, or the thing that lowers the high ph.  In saltwater pools the ph continues to rise unlike a chlorine pool.  A true cost/payoff of the salt system will take about 7 years to pay for itself.  

If you ever have any dripping by your equipment on a salt water pool and it is dripping on any metal, such as your pump motor, you need to address this ASAP as the salt can corrode the metal. Also, if you have any kind of stone/flagstone on the pool, the water can eat/pit the stone if the stone is soft enough.  You can address this by sealing the stone with a good commercial sealer.
 
The key thing to remember with a salt water pool is to check the ph weekly as it will rise and address the levels with muratic acid weekly.  The salt systems out there are wonderful but homeowners need to get a true understanding of what the pluses and minuses are of the salt system.  

If you have any questions about anything in today’s pool industry please visit www.nolapools.com.

Contact Information

Kevin Knott

Vice President

Crystal Pools and Spas

kevin@nolapools.com