What are the advantages and disadvantages of a saltwater swimming pool?

Saltwater swimming pools are becoming a popular choice among people who are installing a pool. Once you have decided on size and type of pool, the next choice is saltwater or freshwater. Saltwater does have many advantages and some disadvantages over traditional freshwater pools.
 
The main advantages of the saltwater pool include:

• A constant delivery of pure chlorine. When you have a saltwater system in place, the chlorine is produced by converting the salt electrically. The process is quite simple and does not take any more energy than a standard swimming pool. With standard pool water you need to constantly manually introduce chlorine into the system.

• The water is softened through the process of chlorination without you having to add a softener to the water.

• People with sensitive skin are much less likely to have a reaction to the saltwater pool. Traditional systems with chlorination can make skin itchy and dry it out. It can ruin hair (especially coloured hair) and it simply smells bad. You won’t have to worry about burning eyes and you certainly won’t need to rush out and spend a great deal of money on pool chemicals.

• Lower chlorine levels – the salt that is converted to chlorine is less harsh.

• Low salt levels – people generally think of a saltwater system as being like ocean water, but you can think of it more like bath salts. The effect on the skin is much like that of good bath salts too, making skin feel softer and smoother.

• You won’t have to store dangerous and corrosive chemicals for your pool (like chlorine). All you need to store is the salt that you need to add to your water (but only when the levels require it).

• Low maintenance – you can go away for a few weeks without having to worry about returning to an algae infested pool.

This all sounds so excellent that you can’t wait to get started with a saltwater system for your own pool. We do have to cover off the disadvantages, and there are a few of them.

• Saltwater systems can break down certain types of stones or pebbles, but most pools that are recommended for saltwater systems do not use those types of stones. A good pool builder will be able to recommend the right stones for a saltwater system so that you won’t have to worry about stone/pebble breakdown.

• Saltwater pools can be much more corrosive to metals than traditional pools.

• The chemical reaction that is required to produce salt in the system causes a substantial rise in pH so you need to manually add acid every week to lower your pH levels if you are maintaining your own pool.

• The learning curve for maintaining a saltwater pool system can take more time to learn how to get your pool water chemistry just right.

• Saltwater pools are more expensive to install but once installed, they cost less in chemicals.

• Saltwater can damage nearby plants from wastewater, splashing or backwash.

Please let us know  if we can provide any advice pertaining to salt water swimming pools.