For pool owners...

[Mamma2004]

Have you ever considered converting to salt water? DS takes lessons over the winter from a wonderful place that has a salt water pool. I love the idea of reducing nasty chemicals! The price to convert is rather hefty, so I am trying to learn more. I have found little info online.

Any thoughts? TIA!

[AshleyAnn]

My parents have a large inground pool. I looked into converting it and was not convienced it was worth it for the cost. We do not have many issues with the chlorine we currently use so we decided to spend the money on other improvements.

[maestramommy]

We haven't, although I vaguely remember Dh mentioning it. Maybe he was talking about some other kind of "greener" pool. I'll have to ask him.

AshleyAnn, how involved is it? Besides draining the pool?

[MommyAllison]

Pools aren't super common here (northern US) but I've never heard of saltwater pools before this board! My parents switched theirs from chlorine to ozone after getting a hot tub that uses ozone. They love it! There is still a tiny bit of chlorine in theirs, but it is like 0.3, compared to 7.0+ of chlorinated pools. We swim there a lot, and it doesn't dry out your skin or hair (or turn blonde hair green), and you can't taste or smell any chlorine. Just another alternative, if you are interested. :)

[Mamma2004]

Pools aren't super common here (northern US) but I've never heard of saltwater pools before this board! My parents switched theirs from chlorine to ozone after getting a hot tub that uses ozone. They love it! There is still a tiny bit of chlorine in theirs, but it is like 0.3, compared to 7.0+ of chlorinated pools. We swim there a lot, and it doesn't dry out your skin or hair (or turn blonde hair green), and you can't taste or smell any chlorine. Just another alternative, if you are interested. :)

I am officially intrigued! Any recommended reading/sources? It sounds like a great alternative!

[AshleyAnn]

We haven't, although I vaguely remember Dh mentioning it. Maybe he was talking about some other kind of "greener" pool. I'll have to ask him.

AshleyAnn, how involved is it? Besides draining the pool?

Its really quite easy to do. Here (http://www.ehow.com/how_2034707_convert-saltwater-pool.html) is a pretty good overview. Draining the pool is not required, you just balance the water then add salt until the proper levels are reached. Some companys suggest adding a couple other chemicales to remove the metal before you add the salt.

But thier pool is very large so the chlorine generator is $1100 and to get started the initial dose of salt required is 1500lbs. After that it is supposed to be pretty easy and cheap to keep up with as long as the pool is kept in balance but keeping the water balanced is not any easier than it is with chlorine. You also have to keep up with calcium building up on the "T-cells" to keep the chlorine generator working. The chlorine generators are also less effective over time. We were told to expect to replace it every 5 years.

Oh and salt is harder on everything around the pool than chlorine. That includes the pool's equipment itself because it is corsive. Decks and furniture would need to be replaced sooner.

It just made sense to stick with what we know. Now that we know how to keep up with our pool we haven't had an algae problem or issues with water balance in YEARS. Maybe my skin/body has just adapted to chlorine but I don't find it uncomfortable so long as the water is balanced. Now I have been in public pools that have had water issues that did make my eyes burn and dried my skin out but thats a care issue.

[Reyadawnbringer]

We don't have a pool of any kind, but if we did we would be doing a salt pool over chlorine. DS is not allowed to swim in or be around chlorine pools because of his asthma. Just something else to keep in mind if that is something that matters.

[sewarsh]

We looked into it and was told the break-even point would be after about 5 years (meaning the money we'd spend to convert would offset the cost of chlorine). Anyways, we did not end up doing it because we have a Frog system that reduces the amount of chlorine the pool uses anyways, so the salt water pool conversion wouldn't have made that much of a difference to make it worth it.

[MommyAllison]

I am officially intrigued! Any recommended reading/sources? It sounds like a great alternative!

I just left a message for my mom, asking her where she got info when they switched. I'll post back when I hear from her. :)

[Mommy_Again]

We have it and love it. It's very popular down here in South Florida. BTW, it's not really "salt water" - it's regular water that you balance with a salt chlorinator instead of chemical chlorines. It's much less harsh on your skin, and you don't get that red eye irritation. If you are in your pool a lot (like we are every single day from April through October), it's worth its weight in gold.

People don't do it to save money, so figuring out when you can recoup your investment isn't really a factor for consideration, IMO. It's a "quality of pool life" purchase. Our pool guy takes care of our maintenance so I am not sure exactly how it works, but you do still have to check the water levels and balance it with salt as needed. And we bought ours from a friend who deals pool equipment so I know our prices wasn't what most others would pay - but as far as I understand they run around $1200-$1500.

DH knows much more about it if you have any questions LMK and I'll ask him.

[bisous]

MIL and SIL have "salt water" pools and they have been great. :) I don't really see any downside. Both recently converted their units from traditional chlorine to salt water and neither mentioned considerable cost or trouble.

[n2ou]

I have one and love it. We do not buy chemicals (although I need to put acid in on occasion) yet have the cost of salt cell replacement. The pool was built in 06 and we replaced the cell in 2010 - for around $400.

I don't think one saves a lot of money (if at all) but it is a very nice swimming experience. Kids get confused when their eyes hurt, skin itches at other pools.

Mommy confession - I sometimes substitute swimming in the pool with bath time ;-) It is very gentle on the skin.

[mackmama]

My family has one-I really like it. It
is so gentle on the skin. My eyes don't get bothered, and my hair doesn't turn green. I'm not sure about the cost to convert.