The Real Cons of Salt Water Pool Ownership
If you're ready to ditch the heavy chlorine jugs, you need to weigh the particular cons of salt water pool systems before making a final decision. Most people listen to "salt water" and immediately picture a maintenance-free oasis where the water seems like silk as well as the work is non-existent. While there are definitely perks to going salt-side, the particular reality is a little more complicated—and a great deal more expensive—than most pool companies allow on.
I've seen plenty of homeowners leap into a salt conversion only to realize a 12 months later that they've traded one collection of problems with regard to an entirely new, often more expensive, set of head aches. Let's break lower what actually happens when you ditch the traditional tablets to get a salt cellular generator.
That will Initial Price Tag Is No Joke
The very first thing that strikes you right in the wallet is the upfront cost. Using a traditional chlorine pool, you basically just require a bucket of tabs and the floating dispenser. In order to go salt, you're looking at an initial investment that will can easily rise into the thousands. You need to buy the particular salt chlorine generator (the "cell"), the control board, plus all the plumbing required to connect it into your existing equipment cushion.
Actually if you're a handy DIY type, you're still looking at a significant portion of change just for the hardware. If you hire a pro in order to install it—which many people should, taking into consideration there's high-voltage electricity and plumbing involved—that labor cost provides another layer of "ouch" to the bill. You're essentially prepaying for yrs of chlorine in one big lump sum, and that's a tough pill to take for some finances.
The Salt Cell Doesn't Last Forever
A single of the greatest cons of salt water pool setups that product sales reps gloss more than is the lifespan of the salt cell itself. Think that of the cellular as a giant battery that produces chlorine. Just like your phone battery pack, it eventually manages to lose its capability to hold a charge—or within this case, its ability to create chlorine through electrolysis.
Most cells only last about three to 7 years depending on just how hard you operate them and exactly how well you take treatment of the water chemistry. When that will cell dies, you can't just repair it. You possess to replace it. Depending on the brand and size of your pool, an alternative cell may cost between $600 to $1, two hundred. When you factor that recurring price into the formula, the "savings" upon buying chlorine buckets start to disappear quite quickly.
Salt Is Fundamentally Liquid Sandpaper intended for Metal
Here's the thing regarding salt: it loves to eat metal. It's a highly corrosive substance. If you have a pool with a great deal of metal components—like stainless steel ladders, lighting niches, or also certain types of heaters—you're going to observe some changes. Over time, salt can result in "galvanic corrosion, " which is generally a fancy way of saying your metal parts can start to rust and pit course of action faster than they might in a regular chlorine pool.
I've seen beautiful, expensive pool heating units completely ruined within a few seasons because the salt water ate via the copper temperature exchanger. To avoid this, you often have to install something known as a "zinc pluspol, " which is a sacrificial item of metal that the salt consumes instead of your own expensive equipment. But even then, it's just one more thing you have got to monitor plus replace. It's a constant battle against the particular chemistry of salt.
It's Not Actually Chlorine-Free
I can't inform you how many instances I've heard somebody say they desire a salt pool mainly because they're "allergic in order to chlorine. " I actually hate to break this to you, yet a salt water pool is a chlorine pool. The salt cell uses a procedure called electrolysis to turn the salt (sodium chloride) into chlorine.
The water feels "softer" on your epidermis, which is excellent, but you're nevertheless swimming in chlorinated water. If you're looking for a truly chemical-free expertise, a salt system isn't the solution. A person still have in order to deal with the smell of chloramines if the hormone balance gets out of whack, and you still have in order to "shock" the pool occasionally if you have great bather load or a big rainstorm.
The pH Fight Is Constant
While you may spend less period dumping in chlorine, you'll likely spend more time balancing your pH levels. The process of turning salt in to chlorine naturally raises the pH of your water. Great pH is really an issue because it can make your chlorine much less effective and results in calcium scaling in your pool's surfaces and inside the salt cell itself.
You'll find your self constantly adding muriatic acid or ph level decreaser to help keep issues in check. In case you get lazy and let the pH climb way too high, you'll end upward with "snow" (calcium flakes) blowing away of your results, or worse, the rough, sandpaper-like structure on your pool floor. It's a trade-off: less period with chlorine containers, more time with acid solution bottles.
Your Landscaping Might Suffer
One of the often-overlooked cons of salt water pool possession could be the "splash factor. " When kids are cannonballing and splashing water out of the pool, that salty water lands on your own grass, your plant beds, and your terrace. Most plants aren't huge fans of salt.
If you have delicate landscaping best up contrary to the pool edge, don't end up being surprised if those plants start to look a bit yellowish or sickly following a summer of heavy use. You furthermore have to be cautious about your pool deck material. Smooth stones like travertine or certain types of flagstone are porous. When salt water soaks into the stone and the particular water evaporates, the salt crystals grow within the stone's 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.
Electrical power Bills Take a Strike
Traditional private pools only need the pump to run to circulate water. Having a salt system, the salt cell must be powered upward to create chlorine. This means a person often have in order to run your pool pump for longer periods—and sometimes at increased speeds—to ensure the cell has plenty of flow to work and produce the necessary quantity of chlorine.
While modern variable-speed pumps help reduce this, you're still adding another electric component to your house that's drawing power for 8 in order to 12 hours a day. It's not heading to double your own electric bill, yet it's definitely a good added monthly expenditure that people don't always account intended for when they're thinking of their salt water paradise.
Complex Repairs Often Require a Professional
If some thing goes wrong having a standard chlorine pool, it's usually fairly straightforward to troubleshoot. If the water turns green, you add more chlorine. If the pump halts, you check the particular basket. With salt systems, you're coping with circuit planks, sensors, and electronic displays.
When the "Inspect Cell" or even "Low Salt" lighting starts flashing although you know there's plenty of salt within the water, it can be incredibly frustrating. Sensors can go bad, flow switches may fail, and the control box can fry during a super storm. These aren't usually things the regular homeowner can repair with a screwdriver. You'll often finish up calling a specialized technician, plus their "diagnostic fee" alone can 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 cells have a major some weakness: they don't function in cold water. Most salt chlorine generators power down as soon as the water temperatures drops below fifty or 60 levels Fahrenheit.
This means that during the "shoulder seasons" of spring and fall, your own fancy salt system is essentially a paperweight. You have to go back in order to manually adding liquid chlorine or tablets to maintain the pool from turning directly into a swamp until the sun warms the water regress to something easier. It's a small annoyance, but it's another example of the way the "set it and forget it" promise isn't entirely true.
Will be It Still Worth It?
After hearing all these cons of salt water pool setups, you may be wondering why anyone bothers. The fact is, the water does feel incredible. It doesn't dry up your skin or turn your tresses green as effortlessly as a poorly managed traditional pool might. For many, that "resort feel" may be worth the additional cost as well as the technical headaches.
But you have to go into it along with your eyes open up. If you're changing to salt due to the fact you think you'll save money or never have to contact your pool again, you're likely to be disappointed. It's a luxury upgrade, not really a shortcut. Just become prepared for the maintenance, monitor your pH, and maybe maintain a little "emergency fund" tucked aside for the day that salt cell finally gives up the ghost.