A salt water system or “salt water chlorine generator” is used to replace liquid or pellet chlorine with chlorine produced from salt in the water.
Dear Maintenance Men:
I have a pool at my apartment building, and my pool man is suggesting I convert to a salt system for sanitizing the water. Will the salt damage my pool or its equipment? How does a salt system work? Will swimming in the pool feel like an ocean swim?
Rick
Dear Rick:
We are big fans of salt systems for swimming pools. They feel great to swim in and you don’t have that chlorine smell on you when you get out. A salt water system or “salt water chlorine generator” is used to replace liquid or pellet chlorine with chlorine produced from salt in the water. The salt dissolves in the water, separating into sodium and chloride. By passing a low- voltage electrical current between special metal plates and the water, the salt cell will convert the chloride into chlorine in a process called electrolysis. The salt system will create the chlorine to sanitize the water, but without the chlorine smell, taste or feel. Not to mention, you will not need to handle or store a dangerous chemical.
Swimming in a salt pool is not like swimming in the ocean. A salt pool contains 3,000 to 4,000 PPM of salt, while the ocean is approximately 35,000 PPM. A better example is: a salt pool is like one tablespoon of salt in a gallon of water and the ocean is like nine or 10 tablespoons of salt in the same gallon of water. The salt pool is closer to the salinity of your eye’s natural levels. A typical human eye’s salinity level is about 9,000 PPM.
While switching to a salt system pool has many advantages, there are a few downsides.
If the pool if very old, using a salt system may further corrode the pool’s metal skimmer and return pipes faster. Older pool heaters may also be adversely affected. Calcium may build up on the tile work. Newer pools use plastic pipes and pumps; the salt will not cause any damage to these items.