Salt systems for swimming pools

Salt treatment systems have become very popular in recent years, especially after being presented as being more environmentally friendly than chlorine treatments. It is important to understand how the salt sanitation system works in order to understand its real results.

The salt chlorine generator

Salt is a chemical compound composed of sodium and chlorine. Thus, salt can generate chlorine. The concept is simple: at the beginning of the season, you must first add salt to the pool water to a concentration of 2800 parts per million. So, you saturate the pool water. The water is then pumped. Using an electric current, the chlorine is extracted from the salt before being redirected into the pool in the form of chloramine. Chloramines are volatile substances that partially escape from the water in the form of gas.

Salt should only be added when there is a water loss. The advantage over chlorine is that there is less handling of chemicals throughout the season but it is important to understand that the process of a salt sanitation system is to transform the latter into chlorine.

The sanitation effect of this system is affected by changes in temperature, the number of bathers, sunshine and rain. When there are changes in any of these factors, it is often necessary to use a shock treatment in addition to prevent the formation of algae.

Harmful effects on our health

So, contrary to what we would have them believe, swimmers do not swim in salty sea water, but in a swimming pool containing chlorine, with once again, all the harmful effects and disadvantages of chlorine on health. Inhaling chloramine fumes can cause burning or irritation of the eyes, throat, temporary coughing, dyspnea, nausea and vomiting, sometimes loss of consciousness. Chloramines are classified as a potentially carcinogenic substance, and are responsible for asthma in high-level swimmers as well as young children. Ultimately, it is not only chlorine that is absorbed by the skin but also sodium and salt.

On the other hand, the ClearBlue ionizer does not bring any of these inconveniences, in addition to offering benefits for the skin and hair as well as a regenerative effect. It is not affected in any way by external changes and the user of the ClearBlue system does not have to do anything different if there are 20 children in his pool.

And the environment?

An average 40,000-litre swimming pool requires 240 kg of salt in the first year, then 100 kg each subsequent year. Each year, 100 kg of salt is therefore sent into the sewers, in the form of salt water that cannot be reprocessed by treatment plants and which tends to contaminate our waterways and the water table. This method is therefore far from being without impact on the environment.

Backwashes from salt-treated swimming pools are harmful to surrounding soils, lawns, landscaping and gardens and can kill wildlife, render soils infertile and inhibit plant growth.

It is for these two main reasons that these salt water treatment systems are already banned in some municipalities in the United States as well as in Australia. Closer to home, the city of Toronto has banned the discharge of salt-treated swimming pool water into sewer systems since 2008.

Expensive, the salt system…

The price of the electrolyser can vary between $1000 and $2500 for the purchase of the device. To this initial investment, you must add $30 to $100 of salt the first year (depending on the volume of water), as well as $15 to $50 of salt each year thereafter. The salt cell must be replaced every 3 to 5 years, at a cost of $400-700.

Additionally, salt systems require an average of 500 watts of AC power for a 20,000 gallon pool. An ionizer uses only about 40 watts of DC power to treat the same amount of water, reducing pump usage to only 8 or 10 hours per day.

Not to mention the additional costs….

The salt chlorine generator is corrosive and can also prematurely damage metal appliances and parts that will need to be replaced. In addition, it is not suitable for steel pools that may rust in the long term. Vinyl liners and covers as well as solar covers can be damaged by chlorine or salt. It can even damage patio furniture, not to mention swimsuits, which will suffer the same fate as in pools treated with traditional chlorine.

Since copper/silver ionization does not require the use of chemical oxidants, all of this expensive equipment is able to maintain a normal lifespan.

Interview

Although chlorine should not be added to pool water manually, salt pools still use chemicals to sanitize the water. Therefore, owners should continue to test the chlorine levels in the water on a regular basis to ensure that the salt cell is generating the necessary amount of chlorine. The pH level should also be tested because if it gets too high or too low, it can damage the salt cell.

All salt chlorine generator cells should be cleaned every 90 days to prevent calcium buildup on the cell which could clump together and need to be replaced.

Finally, salt filtration systems generally have to operate more hours per day than a traditional system to be able to generate enough chlorine to disinfect the pool water. This obviously involves greater electricity consumption and a higher bill...

Here are some customer photos demonstrating the ravages of salt on pool equipment: