A salt water pool is a popular and common option for pool builds and for good reason. They tend to require less maintenance than regularly chlorinated pools and less work means more enjoying the pool, right?
But since everything comes with a price, there are some aspects of salt water pool ownership that need to be considered before you buy a home with a pool, build one or convert an existing pool to salt water.
Here are 11 reasons to NOT have a salt water pool based on my personal experience and facts regarding them.
Salt chlorination systems aren’t cheap
A salt chlorination system from Hayward or other top brand typically costs $1,200 – $2,000 or more to install depending on the model. Some chlorinators are hardwired so you might require the assistance of an electrician along with additional work done to lay wiring.
Salt chlorination systems thus also use electricity although the cost is relatively small but it is still powered by electricity that costs you money.
Then you have to replace the salt cell every 3 – 5 years (you might get up to 7 years out of one if you’re lucky) at a cost of $200 – $700 each time. These are all costs that don’t exist with a regular old chlorine pool.
Salt water chlorination systems are more complex than other pool types
A salt water pool is managed by a salt chlorination system which is a computer control box that manages the various functions. A quality salt chlorinator has a number of features that aren’t available on a regular chlorine pool that might just have a pump that gets manually turned on and off.
You need some skill at being able to navigate the menus and to enter the diagnostics mode of salt chlorination systems and while most people can find their way around, others may have difficulty figuring certain things out.
More complex salt chlorination systems measure water temperature, salt level, amperage of the salt cell and newer ones can even measure pH and live chlorine levels.
Salt water pools have extra parts that need troubleshooting and possibly costly repairs
Salt water chlorination systems add three components that you won’t see on other pools: Salt water chlorination system itself (the control unit), salt cell and a water flow sensor.
You do need some troubleshooting skills because occasionally there will be issues with your salt water pool. When water flow gets too low due to a blockage, air leak or other problem, the chlorinator will stop producing chlorine to protect the salt cell until you fix the issue.
If salt levels go too high or too low, the chlorinator will also stop producing chlorine until you rectify the situation and bring the salt level back into range.
You also need to properly store the salt cell during winter especially if you live in a cold weather environment.
Salt cells need replacement every 3 – 5 years
A salt cell has a lifespan of X number of pounds/kilograms of chlorine that it can reasonably produce. Once it hits its limit or thereabouts, it will need to be replaced at a cost to you. Different models have varying levels of total chlorine production capacity and some pools use more chlorine than others.
A salt cell has to be cleaned manually with water and acid to remove scaling that settles on the metal plates unless you have a reverse polarity cleaning feature built into your chlorinator model. Still, even the auto cleaning feature may not get the scale off your cell completely and you might need to clean it yourself as per manufacturer instructions.
When the salt cell dies during the pool season, you need to quickly replace it as no chlorine will be produced until the new one is installed. Until then you will have to manually add chemical chlorine to keep the sanitation of the pool in check.
Salt water is corrosive and can damage equipment
Salt water is corrosive and can damage concrete and metal fittings and other pool parts. While the salt level in a pool is relatively low when kept in line, salt water does have a corrosive effect.
Some pool companies won’t recommend building a concrete pool with a salt water system as a result. They may suggest just using regular chemical chlorine although a salt system with a vinyl liner or fiberglass pool is perfectly fine.
Salt water pools use the same chemicals as other pools
Salt water pools use the same chemicals as other pools do. A good salt chlorination system may help to reduce chemical usage by better balancing water chemistry so you might notice less chemical usage with a salt water pool than with a regularly chlorinated pool. But they do use chemicals nonetheless.
Salt water pools in fact use several chemicals and additives that regular pools don’t:
The most obvious addition is the salt itself. Only a salt water pool uses salt and in a brand new salt water pool, you’ll probably talking about adding 200 lbs or more of crystal salt or pellets to begin with. Then each pool season, you’re most likely adding 1 – 3 bags of salt to maintain salt levels as salt does need to be replaced over time.
Salt water pools also require the addition of a chemical stabilizer called cyanuric acid. It’s basically a sunscreen for chlorine to enable it to survive longer in the water. Chlorine is very fragile and dies quickly when exposed to direct sunlight, often within several hours. Stabilized chlorine products in puck and crystal form include the stabilizer built in. But salt water pools produce regular chlorine that is unstabilized so you need to manually add crystal stabilizer (cyanuric acid) usually once or twice per season.
Salt water pools still use chlorine albeit in a different form
One myth that needs to be shattered is that salt water pools don’t use chlorine which is incorrect. Salt water pools use a chlorination system with a salt cell to convert dissolved salt into liquid chlorine. So salt water pools are chlorine pools.
As such, salt water pools use chlorine but produce it through the salt chlorination system. With regular chlorinated pools, you add the chlorine manually in liquid, crystal or compacted puck form that dissolves slowly in the skimmer.
Salt water pools require shocking with chlorine for various reasons
Salt water pools may require chemical chlorine being added to the system from time to time. Commonly, chemical chlorine in liquid, crystal or puck form gets added to a salt water pool during the following times:
- At pool opening in spring to shock the system and start creating chlorine after the winter downtime.
- During periods of very sunny weather and heavy pool usage in the summer when chlorine use is high.
- To shock the pool – quickly bump up chlorine levels – if algae is forming.
- At pool closing in the autumn to keep chlorine high in the water after the salt chlorination system is shut down to protect against algae in case water temperature goes up with a few sunny fall days.
- If your salt chlorinator breaks or the salt cell dies and it takes days or longer to get things fixed or replaced.
So even though you have a salt water pool, you will need to use chemical chlorine from time to time.
These last three reasons below are applicable to all pool owners and not just those who own a salt water pool.
The novelty can wear off and the pool stops getting used
If you buy a pool for your household and it stops getting used as frequently as when it was new, it can quickly become a waste of money and space. The ongoing upkeep of a pool involves running the pump, keeping chlorine and other chemicals levels in range as well as normal vacuuming and cleaning tasks. It takes time, effort and money.
If you live in the northern part of the northern hemisphere and your pool season is only several months long per year, it’s even more critical that you ensure that owning a pool makes sense for you.
And if you’re buying a home with a pool for your kids, how far away are they from moving out of the house? Once they’re gone, the pool usage might go way down as a result.
Filling in an unused pool can cost up to $4,500 – $5,000 according to Home Advisor if you have it done professionally.
You’ll pay more for home insurance due to the extra risk
Your home insurer will want to know that you have a pool and will adjust your insurance policy slightly upwards as a result of the extra liability. While the extra cost might only be $50 – $75 per year on your premium, it’s still something to consider especially if the insurance rate is much higher than this.
Also ensure you have liability coverage that fits your personal situation so you might need to increase your limit.
Be aware of liability issues that exist if you have a pool party and someone trips and falls near your pool or in terms of accidents or a drowning where you might be held liable.
Safety risks exist that must be accounted for
Any pool owner needs to ensure that they have proper fencing and restricted access to their pool so that children and others can’t sneak in and access the pool, possibly resulting in an accident like a drowning.
You also need to figure out how to securely store any chemicals you have lying around. Salt water pools require many of the same chemicals as other pools plus ones like cyanuric acid and the salt itself that other pools generally won’t need.