If you're ready to ditch the particular heavy chlorine containers, you really need to weigh the particular cons of salt water pool systems before making a final choice. Most people hear "salt water" plus immediately picture the maintenance-free oasis where the water seems like silk and the work is non-existent. While there are usually definitely perks to going salt-side, the particular reality is a little more complicated—and a great deal more expensive—than most pool companies let on.
I've seen plenty of homeowners leap into a salt conversion only in order to realize a yr later that they've traded one set of problems intended for an entirely brand-new, often more costly, set of head aches. Let's break lower what actually occurs when you forget the traditional tablets for the salt cellular generator.
That Initial Price Label Is No Scam
The first thing that hits you right in the wallet is the upfront cost. With a traditional chlorine pool, you basically simply require a bucket of tabs and the floating dispenser. In order to go salt, you're looking at a good initial investment that can easily ascend into the hundreds. You have to buy the particular salt chlorine electrical generator (the "cell"), the particular control board, and all the plumbing required to connect it into your existing equipment pad.
Even if you're a handy DIY kind, you're still taking a look at a significant chunk of change just for the equipment. If you employ a pro to install it—which many people should, considering there's high-voltage electrical power and plumbing involved—that labor cost provides another layer of "ouch" to the particular bill. You're basically prepaying for yrs of chlorine in one big lump sum, and that's a tough pill to consume for some finances.
The Salt Cell Doesn't Last Forever
One of the biggest cons of salt water pool setups that product sales reps gloss more than is the lifespan of the salt cell itself. Think of the cellular as a large battery that generates chlorine. Just such as your phone battery pack, it eventually manages to lose its ability to keep a charge—or in this case, its capability to create chlorine through electrolysis.
Most tissue only last about three to 7 years depending on exactly how hard you run them and just how you take care of the water chemistry. When that cell dies, you can't just repair it. You possess to replace it. Depending on the particular brand and dimension of your pool, a replacement cell can cost anywhere from $600 to $1, two hundred. When you aspect that recurring cost into the equation, the "savings" upon buying chlorine buckets begin to disappear quite quickly.
Salt Is Generally Liquid Sandpaper intended for Metal
Here's the thing regarding salt: it loves to eat metal. It's a highly rust substance. If a person have a pool with a lot of metal components—like stainless-steel ladders, light niches, or also certain types of heaters—you're likely to observe some changes. More than time, salt can lead to "galvanic corrosion, " which is basically a fancy method of saying your own metal parts will certainly start to corrode and pit course of action faster than they would in a regular chlorine pool.
I've seen stunning, expensive pool heaters completely ruined in a few months because the salt water ate via the copper high temperature exchanger. To prevent this, you frequently have to install something known as a "zinc positive elektrode, " which is a sacrificial item of metal that the salt eats instead of your own expensive equipment. But even then, it's just one more thing you have to monitor and replace. It's a continuing battle against the chemistry of salt.
It's Not really Actually Chlorine-Free
I can't tell you how many periods I've heard someone say they want a salt pool because they're "allergic in order to chlorine. " I hate to break this to you, but a salt water pool is a chlorine pool. The salt cell uses a process called electrolysis in order to turn the salt (sodium chloride) in to chlorine.
The water seems "softer" in your pores and skin, which is great, but you're nevertheless swimming in chlorinated water. If you're looking for a truly chemical-free expertise, a salt program isn't the solution. A person still have to deal with the particular smell of chloramines if the biochemistry gets out of whack, and you still have to "shock" the pool occasionally if a person have great bather load or perhaps a huge rainstorm.
The pH Fight Is Constant
While you may spend less time dumping in chlorine, you'll likely spend even more time balancing your ph level levels. The procedure of turning salt into chlorine naturally raises the pH of your water. Great pH is an issue because it makes your chlorine less effective and leads to calcium scaling in your pool's surfaces plus inside the salt cell itself.
You'll find yourself constantly adding muriatic acid or pH decreaser to help keep issues in check. In case you get lazy and then let the pH climb way too high, you'll end upward with "snow" (calcium flakes) blowing out of your earnings, or worse, a rough, sandpaper-like consistency on your pool floor. It's a trade-off: less time with chlorine jugs, more time with acidity bottles.
Your Landscaping Might Experience
One of the often-overlooked cons of salt water pool ownership could be the "splash factor. " When children are cannonballing and splashing water out there of the pool, that salty water lands on your grass, your blossom beds, and your deck. Most plants aren't huge fans of salt.
If you possess delicate landscaping best up contrary to the pool edge, don't become surprised if these plants start to appear a bit yellow or sickly after a summer of large use. You furthermore have to be cautious about your pool deck material. Soft stones like travertine or certain forms of flagstone are porous. When salt water soaks into the stone and the water evaporates, the salt crystals grow in the stone's skin pores and can eventually trigger it to flake, crack, or "spall. " Sealing your stone deck becomes a mandatory, expensive task every year or even two.
Electricity Bills Have a Strike
Traditional private pools only need the particular pump to run to circulate water. Having a salt system, the salt cell needs to be powered upward to create chlorine. This means you often have to run your pool pump longer periods—and sometimes at higher speeds—to ensure the cell has good enough flow to function plus produce the required quantity of chlorine.
While modern variable-speed pumps help mitigate this, you're still adding another electric component to your home that's drawing strength for 8 to 12 hours a day. It's not heading to double your own electric bill, yet it's definitely an added monthly expenditure that people don't always account for when they're dreaming of their salt water paradise.
Complex Repairs Often Require a Professional
If something goes wrong using a standard chlorine pool, it's usually pretty straightforward to troubleshoot. If the water turns green, you add more chlorine. When the pump prevents, you check the basket. With salt systems, you're working with circuit planks, sensors, and electronic displays.
Once the "Inspect Cell" or even "Low Salt" lighting starts flashing while you know there's plenty of salt within the water, it may be incredibly frustrating. Sensors go poor, flow switches can fail, as well as the control box can fry during a super storm. These aren't usually things the standard homeowner can fix with a screwdriver. You'll often finish up calling a specialized technician, and their "diagnostic fee" alone could cost even more than a season's worth of chlorine tablets.
The particular Cold Weather Limitation
For all those of all of us residing in places exactly where it actually gets cold, salt tissue have a major some weakness: they don't work in cold water. Most salt chlorine generators turn off once the water heat drops below fifty or 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
This means that during the "shoulder seasons" of springtime and fall, your fancy salt system is essentially a paperweight. You have in order to go back to manually adding liquefied chlorine or tablets to keep the pool from turning straight into a swamp till the sun heats the water backup. It's a small annoyance, but it's another example of the way the "set this and forget it" promise isn't completely true.
Is definitely It Still Worthy of It?
After hearing all these cons of salt water pool setups, you may be wondering exactly why anyone bothers. The truth is, the water does feel amazing. It doesn't dry up your skin or even turn your hair green as quickly as a poorly managed traditional pool might. For several, that "resort feel" will be worth the extra cost and the technical headaches.
But you have in order to get into it with your eyes open. If you're changing to salt due to the fact you think you'll save money or never have to touch your pool again, you're going to be disappointed. It's a luxury upgrade, not really a shortcut. Just become prepared for the particular maintenance, keep close track of your pH, and perhaps maintain a little "emergency fund" tucked apart for the day that salt cell finally provides in the ghost.