Salt Water Instead of Chlorine In Our Pools

Except that salt water doesn't kill bacteria and other nasties, which is the whole purpose of chlorine.

Larry Bud wrote in news:1181071163.651737.115570 @p47g2000hsd.googlegroups.com:

I think the OP is talking about sanitizing the pool with a salt generator system. These systems convert the sodium and chloride molecules and create chlorine which is the sanitizer. Over time it recombines with the sodium and continually generates chlorine. I have one of these systems and they are much easier on the skin and eyes and yes, they are sanitary and much cheaper to run. You only need to add salt when you open the pool in the spring, or if you need to top up the pool with fresh water. And the level of the salt is much less than you have in the ocean. You can barely taste it.

Drivel that is not worth reading.

Chickie, here's a hint:

water is toxic

Chlorine kills germs, its supposed to be toxic.

Salt water pools are a festering bacterial soup likely to kill your kids who ingest the water or get it in cuts and scratches.

Doesn't gargling with salt water kill bacteria?

it changes the PH balance in your throat which kills some bacteria. I would imagine the science has discovered that the type of bacteria that gives you a sore throat dies because of gargling. Can't be said about all bacteria

: Chlorine kills germs, its supposed to be toxic.

: Salt water pools are a festering bacterial soup likely : to kill your kids who ingest the water or get it in cuts and scratches.

Co-worker has had a salt water pool for 3 years and neither him, nor family has had any illnesses related to the pool.

These days "Salt water pool" really implies a chlorine generator that sanitizes the water as it passes through the system with chlorine. You don't hold the residual chlorine in the pool itself, you do in the circulation system. I would still be shocking the pool periodically if I had this system but they do seem to work. The salt level is on the order of 5-6 PPT, similar to contact solution, where sea water is in the 36-38 range.

Yikes -- don't get your medical advice here, folks!

Gargling with salt water treats the symptom, not the disease. Some of the pain of a sore throat is due to swelling, and gargling with salt water helps remove water (by osmosis) from the swollen tissue, thereby reducing the swelling and decreasing the pain. But the swelling and the pain return as soon as your body gets more water back into the swollen area.

The saltwater doesn't kill any germs or change the pH of anything.

For the past 6 or so years, I have been using a Nature 2 water purifier in my 18 x 36 inground pool. It has replaced many of the pour in, or spread in, chemicals. Additionally, I use about a quarter of the chlorine tablets that I had to use before installing the purifier, i.e., a 50 pound can of 3" pellets lasted more than 3 years. The purifier costs about $250 (cartridge included) and the replacement cartridges cost between $80 and $100 (depending upon pool size and retail pricing) and they suggest changing them every two years. Cartridges are sold by most pool supply houses and on-line. Company site:

If it's truly salt water (and not the generator spoken of on this thread) it will damage any metal it comes into contact with.

A properly balanced clorine treated pool will not make your eyes burn. And you can use 20 Mule Team Borax to raise pH, and liquid bleach for shocking to save $$

FWIW my statements came from biology class taught by a scientist and from a textbook written by scientists. I guess you can't believe everything you learn in college?

How many hundred of pounds of salt would you put into your pool to have the same concentration as your salt-water gargle?

The sore eyes and skin irritations are not from the chlorine but are usually due to the pH/alkalinity being out of balance.

And the pools with "salt" systems still have chlorine.....it's generated from the salt (NaCl)

What happens to the Na?

TMT

Wait, isn't that why they call it "The Dead Sea"?

It pretty much immediately recombines with the chlorine but during that time all the water in the generator gets shocked, This is a constant process cleaning and santizing the water as it flows through the filter and Cl generator.

Noone would want to swim in a pool with THAT much salt in the water.