Salt Water Pools Versus Low Chlorine Pools – Which is Best?

You probably wouldn’t sit down to dinner without salt on the table.  But can you imagine buying 300 pounds a year? If you choose a salt water pool, the average 18,000 gallon pool can require that much (which is a lot of lugging from the pool store).  Many people believe salt water pools are naturally healthier because you’re not adding chemicals. But the reality is, salt water pools still require the presence of chlorine; a salt water system simply creates chlorine as a by-product in the process of breaking down the salt. So there’s really no way around chlorine in a pool, but we believe the key question is….how much chlorine do you have to use?

We’re doing very few salt water pools these days because technology has advanced to the point where we can use far less chlorine. Salt water pools used to be a top request, because people liked the fact that salt water was easier on the skin and on dyed hair (no more lovely green locks).  Salt water pools were far less caustic and burning eyes were a thing of the past. These benefits offset the typically higher cost of installing a salt water system, which also requires more maintenance throughout the years.

The same great salt that breaks down ice on your driveway during those Dallas ice storms does the same number on your system over time. Salt is a corrosive and damaging to plaster, stone, concrete and metal. The chlorinator cell, a critical component, can become encrusted with calcium and should be cleaned frequently with an acid wash. If you don’t clean it, you can find that the surface of the cell degrades and then you’re facing a very expensive replacement.

We’ve found a better way: the low-chlorine alternative pool. By using a combination of ozone to purify (as water runs through your pipes) and minerals to retard algae, your pool is engineered to be healthy and sparkling clean while consuming far less chlorine.  You’ll still need some, but there’s less chance of eye irritation and no green hair.  Best of all, you’ll save dollars at the outset and continue to save year after year over salt water’s higher maintenance costs.

And it’s not just pools that benefit from the latest technology. In our ponds, we now use a combination of ozone and UV to fight algae and keep your water looking its sunlit best.  Interested? View our pools page for more pictures or contact us to learn more.