When it comes to sanitizing your pool water home owners now have a more convenient and regulated method available to them. In the past the only way to add chlorine to a pool was to either use a tablet and let it dissolve though a feeder or to manually pour liquid chlorine into the water. These methods are still the most popular but Salt Water Chlorinating systems continue to grow in popularity. Yes saltwaer pools still use chlorine. The difference is that they make the chlorine themselves.

Without getting to technical Salt Water Chlorinators work by using electrolysis to release chlorine gas from the salt in the water. Mill run salt is added to the pool water to achieve a saturation of approximately 3200 parts per million. This is about the same amount of salt found in a human tear. The salt water is then passed though a chlorinator cell that is plumbed into the equipment after the heater. The cell is electronically charged and releases the chlorine gas from the salt. The chlorine gas is mixed with the water to create liquid chlorine and is then delivered back to the pool.

A common myth about pools sanitized with Salt Water Chlorinators is that they are no longer using chlorine. The reason for this myth is that many of the issues related to conventional chlorinating methods are no longer present. With conventional chlorinating it is common for pools to dry swimmers skin or have a strong chlorine smell. Again without getting to technical these issues are caused by Chlorimines. When chlorine is added to the water it only has a set amount of “killing power.” After chlorine kills contaminates in the water more chlorine is need to burn the “dead chlorine,” the chlorimines, out of the water. When a pool stinks of chlorine or leaves swimmers skin overly dry there is most likely a large amount of chlorimines in the water.

With Salt Water Chlorinators chlorimines are less of an issue. Since the systems are constantly producing fresh chlorine, there is always enough free chlorine to kill off the chlorimines. For this reason swimming pools using these systems will have little or no chlorine smell and leave swimmers skin much smoother. When set properly Salt Water Chlorinators as also easier on pool equipment because chlorine levels are kept at a more constant level and there are less spikes in chlorine levels. Not having liquid or dry chlorine around the house for the little ones to get into is also a huge plus.

Salt water Chlorinators are great but there are a few things you will want to be aware of before you buy one. Many pool stores and builders tend to only bring up the pros of these units. Although the pros out-way the cons ten-fold it is still necessary for anyone considering one of these systems to know common problems that can arise and the reason for them so they can avoid unnecessary disappointment with their new investment.

This list will help you recognize some of the most common problems I have seen in my experience  when it comes to Salt Water Chlorinators

1. The pool filter is not running long enough for the unit to create the needed amount of choline.

2. Conditioner (Cyanuric Acid) Levels are too low. 80ppm is ideal. If conditioner levels are too low the choline produced will be burned off by the sun. Conditioner acts as sunscreen for your chlorine.

3. Phosphates present in the water. Many of the stain remover products on the market are loaded with phosphates which act as food for algae. Some will disagree and say they have no effect but I have seen it in my own pool and if phosphate levels are too high your Salt Water Chlorinator will act as though it is not creating chlorine. What happens is when the chlorinator creates the chlorine it immediately has to go fight off the algae that is growing, even it not visible. When this happens your pool can not catch up and build a reserve of chlorine in the water. (1-3ppm)

4. Salt level is too high. When cells start to fail they often give faulty salt reading or say to add salt. If this is done with out double checking the true reading you can over salt the water. Most systems will not work if the salinity of the water is too high or too low.

5. Heavy use. If all the neighborhood kids are using the pool a few times a week and you are only running your pool for 6 hours a day, you are most likely not creating enough chlorine to keep up with demand.

6. PH is out of balance. When your PH and Alkalinity get out of whack your chlorine is less effective. pH should be 7.2-7.8. Chlorinating with a Salt Water Chlorinator is similar to chlorinating with liquid chlorine in the fact that liquid chlorine has a high pH. One common problem is that homeowners tend not to test their pools pH and Alkalinity weekly. The main reason for this is that too many builders and retailers sell the systems as a “set it and forget it” solution. Most people with salt systems will run their pH from 7.8-8.0. This is bad for two reasons. One the pool is in a scaling mode and two the chlorine tends to be less effective the higher the pH gets. It is best to run between 7.4-7.6.

In conclusion, these units may be relatively new to the U.S., but have been very popular for years in Australia. Many hotels and water-parks have already converted to saltwater systems. Saltwater Chlorinators are defiantly a step forward in the fight to create an easy to maintain pool. When used properly and monitored frequently there is currently no better way on the market for a home owner to care for their pool.