Will it cost more or less to operate a salt water pool?

Deciding to use a salt system for your pool involves many considerations. A salt system offers numerous benefits over traditional chlorine products. Based on our 30 years of experience with salt pools, we estimate that you will save roughly 50% by using a salt system.

Considerations

Chlorine is derived from chloride. Over 150 years ago, Michael Faraday discovered that salt water and electricity produce chlorine gas. Today, chlorine is still made in factories using salt, water, electricity, and DC current. These factories face the challenge of delivering chlorine gas to your home. Chlorine tablets granules, or shock treatments are methods for transporting chlorine gas. However, the costs of production, ingredients, cyanuric acid, and slow-dissolving binders in these tablets have doubled and tripled in recent years.

The side effects of chlorine tablets include water hardening within roughly 18 months, leading to a ring around the tub with dissolved tablets lapping up and drying on your waterline tile. The cost of removing this buildup can be significant. Over an 18-month period, the water chemistry often exceeds the 100 ppm limit of cyanuric acid (the root word for cyanide), which is harmful for swimming. Therefore, every 18 months to two years, you will need to drain the pool and have the waterline tiles cleaned to compete with the benefits of salt pools.

Summary

The salt pool system is better for these reasons:

• Hardness remains low, preventing buildup on your waterline tile.
• Conditioner or cyanuric levels stay low and do not exceed the healthy limit of 100 ppm (supplementing with Cyanuric to keep it around 70 ppm is necessary).
• The cost of a 40-pound bag of salt every other month, totaling less than $60 a year, is significantly cheaper than chlorine today, or Any Day.
• You will never need to drain your pool due to the buildup from chlorine tablets. Chlorine tablets are not pure chlorine; they contain trapped gas. Without them, your waterline tiles remain clean.
• You will not need to drain your pool due to cyanuric levels exceeding 100 ppm. High cyanuric levels are carcinogenic and harmful, yet many pools exceed this limit without swimmers knowing.
• Say goodbye to green hair, stiff hair, a chemical feel, and the chlorine smell.
• Why buy chlorine when you can produce it at home using a saltwater chlorinator?
• The electrolysis process in the salt cell produces ozone, giving the water sparkle and clarity while acting as an additional oxidizer to keep the water sanitized. Basically, you’re getting a Tooher, chlorine gas, and ozone in one.

Disclaimer

The only downside of a saltwater system is that you may become a swimming pool snob and not want to swim in anything else.

Bottom Line

A saltwater system will not cost you more to operate; it will cost you less, even after considering the replacement of the cell every four years. A saltwater pool remains soft and does not build up residue on your waterline tile. Dangerous cyanuric levels stay low, allowing you to control them rather than letting them spiral out of control with chlorine tablets.