Salt Pools vs. Traditional Pools

by | Aug 26, 2015 | Swimming Pools and Spas

Swimming in a pool is one of the pleasures of the summer. For some people, it’s a job. For others, it’s not pleasure but exercise. Either way, thousands of people jump into a swimming pool every day. That means they’re familiar with the burning and watery eyes that oftentimes result from long sessions in the pool. They’ve probably felt the skin irritation. Many have just accepted this as the price for swimming in a pool. It doesn’t have to be this way, though. There is an alternative.

Salt pools offer all the fun and enjoyment of a traditional pool without the pain. The alternative sanitization method is employing salt. This results in crystal clear water that does not smell and does not burn. That’s because of the process used. First, you need to understand the traditional process.

Traditional

The standard swimming pool involves water that is recycled through a pump. The manager of the pool monitors chlorine levels. When chlorine levels get too low, he or she dumps chlorine into the pool. The chlorine is cycled through the water when the water is pumped around. This is the way it was done for decades. This system is flawed for several reasons.

For one, the management of chlorine levels is susceptible to human error. Also, the only way to adjust the levels is to add chlorine directly to the water. If the level gets too low, then the pool might need to be “shocked” by dumping five to ten times the normal amount of chlorine into the water.
Perhaps, most importantly, this method results in the red and burning eyes. The smell of chlorine as well as the irritation is caused by chloramines, which are the result of binding chlorine and amines. Amines are introduced to a pool when humans sweat. The only way to keep chloramines low is to outnumber them with more and more chlorine. This, in turn, creates more chloramines.

Salt

Salt pools are typically thought of as chlorine-free. That’s not entirely true. Chlorine is not added to the pool; that much is true. However, they do use chlorine to keep the pool clean. The user adds salt and other natural minerals to the pool. An electrolysis machine then electrocutes the minerals. This separates them into two chemicals that disinfect and clean the pool water. This is particularly effective because the electrolysis also unbinds chlorine and amine. That means these all-natural pools do not give off that typical chlorine smell, nor do they burn the eyes. In fact, the water in one of these systems actually exceeds drinking water standards for cleanliness.

You can swim in crystal clear waters without paying the “price” for swimming. That’s just about an unbeatable deal.

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