Saltwater chlorination is the most commonly used system for pool water purification in Australia. It works by adding salt to the pool water. This is then converted to chlorine using an electrolysis process as water passes through the treatment cell. Clever marketing campaigns have resulted in a lot of users believing that a salt pool is chlorine-free. But it’s not. What you end up with is a chlorinated pool.
The reasons salt chlorinators are so popular, besides the effectiveness of marketing, are that they reduce the costs and handling hassles associated with conventional chlorine treatment. They provide automated chlorination while pool equipment is running, making life a bit easier for the pool owner. But like adding chlorine to your pool, salt chlorination brings with it a variety of problems.
It requires ongoing expensive chemical back up including stabiliser, algaecides, flocculants and all the associated costs of a regular chlorinated pool. It’s difficult to maintain the correct residual chlorine level in extreme conditions of high heat, sunlight and bather load. It only works when the pump is running resulting in lengthy run times and high energy costs.
Salt is corrosive. The higher the salt levels, the more corrosive it can be. This can have a detrimental effect on pool equipment, pipes, and fittings. Then you have to deal with splash outs. Splashing normal tap water onto grass, plants and pool furniture is no cause for concern, but years of splashing salt water can lead to sterile soil and damage to outdoor furniture.
So while the industry does its best to convince you that the salt chlorinator is a safer, greener and easier option to dumping chlorine in the pool, the facts tell us otherwise.
Compare this to the Enviroswim ES3 complete swimming pool water purification system that is easy to maintain and eco-friendly.