Salt Water Chlorination vs. Old Fashioned Chlorine

All pool water needs some form of sanitization.  Without it, the pool would be overridden with algae in a matter of days.  Sanitization can happen in 2 ways: By adding expensive, dangerous chemicals or through a natural salt water chlorination device. You can choose to add nasty, dangerous chemicals such as chlorine, or use an automated salt water system that generates its own sanitizer and makes the water more comfortable.

In 2002, only 15% of new pool installations were salt water. Today, an estimated 70% of all new pools are being built with salt water chlorine generators and the nation has more than 1.3 million salt water pools.   It was introduced to the swimming pool market in the 1970’s in Australia and has been gaining popularity ever since.

Why have salt water pools become so popular?

• Swimmers love the soft, silky feel of salt water.
• There is only about 1 teaspoon of salt added per gallon of water, so it is virtually undetectable.
• Salt water is gentler on eyes and skin compared with traditionally sanitized pools.
• The pool water is constantly “shocked” as it passes the salt water cell, so the need for shocking the pool with harsh chemicals is virtually eliminated.
• The average savings is $80-$100 per month on harsh chemicals such as chlorine and shock.
• Salt water pools are infinitely easier to maintain.

Who doesn’t like salt water chlorination systems?

• Pool retailers, who’s sales of higher-margin chemicals have been replaced by inexpensive, low-margin commodity salt.
• Pool builders who don’t understand the system and haven’t been certified by various salt water chlorination companies like Monogram has.   If a pool builder tries to talk you out of salt water, you really need to question their technical understanding of the system.