Urine, feces, sweat, dirt and other debris. You’ll find all of this floating around your swimming pool water at any given time. Fortunately we have a sanitizing system in place to clean and purify the water so that it is suitable for swimming in. Salt water pools use a salt water chlorinator to electrically convert salt (NaCl) to chlorine to kill all of these nasties and more.
Swimming pools that are not kept clean and sterile can lead to a number of illnesses among swimmers most notably diarrhea as well as other gastrointestinal sickness and infections. The prevalence of contaminants in pool water uses up chlorine and requires your salt water pool to continually produce more chlorine to maintain water cleanliness. The more swimmers you have using the pool, the more hot sunny days you experience that kills chlorine and the more rain water that enters your pool, the more stress your salt water pool system is placed under as it attempts to keep water sanitized.
Pool water chemistry is further negatively impacted when backwashing a pool filter which removes chlorinated water from the pool and replaces it with fresh water.
Salt Water Pool vs Chlorine Health Comparison
Salt water and chlorine pools both sanitize swimming pool water with chlorine. It’s a misnomer to suggest that salt water pools don’t use chlorine because they do. They just use a different form of chlorine called sodium chloride. The chemical name of salt is NaCl where Na stands for sodium and Cl stands for chlorine. A salt water chlorinator system converts NaCl to sodium chloride which doesn’t produce the same strong smell associated with chemical chlorine used in an older style chlorine pool but it is still chlorine.
So while you won’t notice the smell of chlorine on your skin or clothes and your eyes will tend not to get reddened and irritated like with chemical chlorine pools, the chlorine in a salt water pool still keeps the water sanitized the same when the chlorine level is properly maintained.
Salt Water Pool vs Chlorine Pool Process
While salt water and regular chlorine pools both utilize chlorine to keep pool water sanitized, the actual process is slightly different as is the work involved to maintain water chemistry.
| Salt Water Pool | Chlorinated Pool | |
| Sanitizer | Converts salt to chlorine through use of a salt water chlorinator and salt cell. | Uses chemical chlorine that is manually added in liquid, puck or crystal form. |
| Maintenance | Relatively low maintenance when using an automated chlorinator system. | Chemical chlorine gets added manually to the pool typically on a weekly basis. |
| Water chemistry | Generally easier to maintain and some high end salt chlorinators automatically adjust chemistry as required. | Water chemistry may be more difficult to maintain and changing one aspect of chemistry often throws another out of line. |
| Filtration | You can use sand, cartridge and D.E. filters as required. No restriction. | You can use sand, cartridge and D.E. filters as required. No restriction but backwashing a sand or D.E. filter removes water from the pool which when replaced with fresh water, often changes water chemistry. |
Children In Pools
Please don’t pee in our pool. We don’t swim in your toilet.
I recall seeing this sign on the wall outside a childhood friend’s pool when I was about 10 years old. Although it might be funny to think about, the truth is that urine introduced to a pool is an unnecessary and avoidable contaminant that increases the likelihood of dirty and unsafe pool water when you add it to the unavoidable contaminants introduced to pool water like human sweat and other bodily fluids.
If you have a child(ren) using the pool, ensure they go to the bathroom before and during swimming but outside the pool obviously, in the toilet. Children who aren’t yet toilet trained should have swimming diapers on. It should be noted however that they don’t necessarily offer 100% protection and there’s a reason many public pools don’t allow children to wear them while swimming.
Animal Waste In Pool Water
What about bird droppings from birds flying overhead? I didn’t even think about birds when I first owned a pool until I was sitting outside in the backyard one day and suddenly heard something hitting the pool water in a scattered way. I looked up and it was a flock of birds flying overhead who had obviously used our pool as a remote toilet. Occasionally you might come outside and see a bird(s) using your pool as a bird bath which introduces other contaminants into the water.
And if you have a dog that uses your pool to swim in? Well, you get the picture. Animals add contaminants to your pool when they use it either with or without your knowledge.
Other Considerations
- It goes without saying but ensure children aren’t drinking pool water or otherwise gargling it or spitting in each other’s faces for fun.
- People with diarrhea or other gastrointestinal problems should remain out of the pool until they are 100% better.
- Showering before entering the water is a good practice to clean off bodily oils and sweat which will otherwise end up in pool water and in the filter.
- While it’s a good idea of course to wear sunblock when outside in the hot sun, understand that sunblock gets washed off your skin and remains in pool water.
- Always maintain proper water chemistry and check your filter to ensure it is functioning correctly and rinsed/backwashed as necessary. It’s an important part of maintaining water cleanliness.
Key Water Chemistry Levels To Remember
A salt water pool requires several important ranges to be maintained to ensure water cleanliness:
Salt: 2,700 – 3,400 parts per million (ppm) salt level is required to allow the salt water chlorinator to properly produce chlorine. A lower salt level means the chlorinator has to work harder and when the salt level is too high, it can damage pool equipment.
Chlorine: Chlorine levels should be 1 – 3 ppm at all times. When chlorine is too low, pool water can become unsterile and algae may form. When chlorine levels are too high it can irritate eyes and skin and damage pool equipment. Plus, you are overworking the salt cell and decreasing its lifespan for no reason.
pH: pH should be in the range of 7.2 – 7.8 to maintain the water’s ability to kill contaminants. A low pH can sting your eyes and dry your skin and hair. It can also damage pool equipment due to its corrosiveness. A high pH impairs the ability of chlorine to disinfect a pool and can also irritate your eyes and skin.
Conclusion
- A salt water pool offers the same level of water cleanliness as a chemically chlorinated pool.
- Salt water pools also use chlorine so it’s somewhat of a misnomer to distinguish between salt water and chlorine pools since both actually utilize it, albeit in slightly different forms.
- Salt water pools generally require less maintenance than chlorine pools and it’s usually easier to maintain water chemistry with a salt water pool.
- One consideration with water chemistry has nothing to do with whether you own a salt water or chlorine pool but rather the type of pool filtration system you use. A filter that needs to be backwashed (sand and D.E. filters) removes a large amount of water from the pool which disrupts water chemistry and may lower chlorine and other levels significantly.