About 90% of pools in Texas are set up to use traditional chlorine tabs due to the corrosive nature of saltwater. The idea that saltwater pools is better for eyes and skin is an old wives tale. As others have said, chemistry balance is the key to comfortable swimming and can be achieved with any sanitizer.

Many on here swear by TFP. It's a system that works consistently, so I get the appeal. It definitely isn't the most cost or time effective way to keep a clear pool. Take a look at other methods and find a combination that works best for you.

CYA levels can be managed by rotating liquid chlorine into your maintenance plan during periods of high consumption in the summer.

Maintenance costs between the two systems will be similar.

HoldMyBeer said:

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Another vote for liquid chlorine and the TFP website. Switched from chlorine tablets 3 years ago and bought a Stenner dosing pump connected by my Pentair controller. Maintenance is a breeze, CYA is under control, and haven't seen a trace of algae since the switch. Tablets alone cannot put enough chlorine into a Texas pool in the summer without causing CYA to go extremely high (which basically reduces the chlorine's effectiveness as a sanitizer). .

Also agree that eye irritation is most likely pH out of range. Also that chlorine smell is due to combined chlorine being too high. TFP website is great on explaining how to correctly manage your pool chemistry.

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This is the right answer. You will get eye irritation from a SWG as well if the chemicals are out of balance. It's not like the SWG isn't sanitizing with chlorine. Our pool was salt and we switched to a mix of liquid chlorine and pucks. We run the pool a lot and were replacing the SWG about every three years. When the board went out I switched temporarily and planned to go back to salt but there was no difference in water quality so I've just stuck with it. Also, if you like the feel of salt, you can always add salt in a chlorine pool.

All "salt water" pools are chlorine pools. It's just the way the chlorine is introduced.

Builder in DFW was Venture and we sent with Salt. So much easier on the skin/eyes/hair. We have a travertine deck and zero issues with deposits or erosion of the stone.

Just change to Salt Water system and love it.

BlueSmoke said:

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Builder in DFW was Venture and we sent with Salt. So much easier on the skin/eyes/hair. We have a travertine deck and zero issues with deposits or erosion of the stone.

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.... yet.

I have photos of 10-15 year old pools and the amount of salt erosion of the stone (even travertine) will make your skin crawl.

Went with Chlorine..I use liquid chlorine mostly but sometimes granular chlorine as well. Our builder does 90% chlorine pools but does SW pools for families with skin issues, etc.

I avoid using the pucks to avoid CYA issues. As others have said, it is all about the chemistry and keeping things balanced. I've found so far that where you get in trouble is if you aggressively chase a number be it Ph, free chlorine or whatever else...small adjustments gets things in line pretty quickly..

Friend of mine has a pool that is about 20 years old that was converted from salt water by the previous (original owner). What the salt water did to the natural stone is pretty telling. That said its clear they didn't do any of the preventative maintenance re: washing/sealing.

Knucklesammic said:

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As others have said, it is all about the chemistry and keeping things balanced. I've found so far that where you get in trouble is if you aggressively chase a number be it Ph, free chlorine or whatever else...small adjustments gets things in line pretty quickly..

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This right here is the key to happy pool ownership. After years of trying to chase numbers, I finally realized I was just making matters worse. I reached a stage where all I did was add stabilized chlorine tablets to the skimmer, with occasional shock treatments after huge pool parties. I kept the filters clean and always had crystal clear water, no eye/skin/hair issues at all. A polaris was a huge help in keeping it clean and clear too.

Corps_Ag12 said:

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bhanacik said:

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ag0207 said:

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Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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I heard saltwater pools don't work well down south because the water temp gets too hot.

Any truth to that?

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Nope. As long as you keep your cyanuric acid levels at a reasonable level they handle full Texas sun well. Salt cells don't like cold water. Once the water temp gets down to 55ish degrees they stop generating chlorine. So in the winter you basically run a chlorine pool.

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This has been our experience as well but the maintenance company takes care of it. That usually means they add the chlorine tablets in the skimmers over the winter

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I would find a new company stat then. You have a tablet feeder for a reason. Putting chlorine directly through the pump and filter and heater like that will destroy the insides of your equipment due to the high level of concentration of chlorine. Especially your heater.

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Thanks for replying; I had no idea

bhanacik said:

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Corps_Ag12 said:

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bhanacik said:

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This has been our experience as well but the maintenance company takes care of it. That usually means they add the chlorine tablets in the skimmers over the winter

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I would find a new company stat then. You have a tablet feeder for a reason. Putting chlorine directly through the pump and filter and heater like that will destroy the insides of your equipment due to the high level of concentration of chlorine. Especially your heater.

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Thanks for replying; I had no idea

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That wasn't my experience at all. Adding chlorine tablets didn't adversely affect any of the suction side or the filters on my pool that I had for 34 years. I had two pumps in that time (several motors though.) I also had two filtration systems but the first one's legs finally rusted out after 30 years so I had to replace it. I don't think adding tablets to the skimmer is a reason to summarily drop your pool service.

If you're smelling chlorine your chemicals are not right.

It is absolutely going to damage equipment if you have a heating element in line and throw tabs into the skimmer. Those are the first to go and $4k+ to replace. Won't really do much to the rest of the stuff.

It's not my stuff anymore so it's up to the owner who has a heater. The water in the pool skimmer, pre-pump filter sump and filter system gets extremely hot in the summer when the pump isn't running. I never had issues.

I run liquid chlorine per the TFP method, and have for the past 3 years with much less maintenance than my buddies in the neighborhood that use tablets, due to their CYA levels getting thrown out of whack.

I also think a lot of people who run Chlorine pools would be surprised at the level of salt in their pool unless they are doing partial drains every season. I bought a salt test kit just out of curiosity and I could basically drop in a SWG tomorrow and run a Salt Water Pool. No issues with excessive corrosion that I have noticed. I get tempted to buy one every time I have to go buy bulk chlorine...which for those that live in the Katy area, there is a new guy selling 12% chlorine for $3/gallon, which is a great deal.

Pools are basically a big chemistry set, if you can find your groove to keep things balanced they can run with very little maintenance and without costly trips to the Pool Store for additives and solutions you don't need.

bqce said:

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Knucklesammic said:

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As others have said, it is all about the chemistry and keeping things balanced. I've found so far that where you get in trouble is if you aggressively chase a number be it Ph, free chlorine or whatever else...small adjustments gets things in line pretty quickly..

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This right here is the key to happy pool ownership. After years of trying to chase numbers, I finally realized I was just making matters worse. I reached a stage where all I did was add stabilized chlorine tablets to the skimmer, with occasional shock treatments after huge pool parties. I kept the filters clean and always had crystal clear water, no eye/skin/hair issues at all. A polaris was a huge help in keeping it clean and clear too.

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That was the advice I got from our builder as well. Don't chase the numbers.

I've owned both and have extensive experience with both. I'll never again have a chlorine pool. Much easier to maintain, much easier to keep the chemicals balanced. Get a Waterguru and an 8 yr old can maintain it. Salt water is just easier on the skin, and a no brainer to maintain.

fire09 said:

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It is absolutely going to damage equipment if you have a heating element in line and throw tabs into the skimmer. Those are the first to go and $4k+ to replace. Won't really do much to the rest of the stuff.

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Another down side of adding pucks straight to the skimmer, is residual copper getting introduced to the pool. I experienced that this spring. I couldn't get my chlorine levels up (ended up just needing new filters) so I started putting pucks in the skimmer. After weeks of chasing elusive chlorine levels I replaced the filters and that immediately solved the issue. But the pucks in the skimmer caused a copper build up in the pool.

Umm…who is selling the chlorine at that price and how do I find them? I live in Katy and use the liquid method…been buying at Ace or Leslie's…

BDJ_AG said:

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I run liquid chlorine per the TFP method, and have for the past 3 years with much less maintenance than my buddies in the neighborhood that use tablets, due to their CYA levels getting thrown out of whack.

I also think a lot of people who run Chlorine pools would be surprised at the level of salt in their pool unless they are doing partial drains every season. I bought a salt test kit just out of curiosity and I could basically drop in a SWG tomorrow and run a Salt Water Pool. No issues with excessive corrosion that I have noticed. I get tempted to buy one every time I have to go buy bulk chlorine...which for those that live in the Katy area, there is a new guy selling 12% chlorine for $3/gallon, which is a great deal.

Pools are basically a big chemistry set, if you can find your groove to keep things balanced they can run with very little maintenance and without costly trips to the Pool Store for additives and solutions you don't need.

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Are the bottles unmarked? Are you sure it's 12%? I can barely buy it for $3/gal after taxes, let alone sell it!

Sold my house with a pool. I'm not getting another pool. I will get a hot tub. I live in Ga. and in a heavily wooded area. The leaves were out of control. The maintenance was not worth the benefit, IMHO. Anyway, on topic:

I had chlorine and I'd go salt. I can't tell you the number of times I burned my nostrils with chlorine gas opening the feeder and no matter how careful I was I bleached half my clothes dropping tablets in the feeder.

fire09 said:

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About 90% of pools in Texas are set up to use traditional chlorine tabs due to the corrosive nature of saltwater. The idea that saltwater pools is better for eyes and skin is an old wives tale. As others have said, chemistry balance is the key to comfortable swimming and can be achieved with any sanitizer.

Many on here swear by TFP. It's a system that works consistently, so I get the appeal. It definitely isn't the most cost or time effective way to keep a clear pool. Take a look at other methods and find a combination that works best for you.

CYA levels can be managed by rotating liquid chlorine into your maintenance plan during periods of high consumption in the summer.

Maintenance costs between the two systems will be similar.

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Disagree on the notion that saltwater being better on eyes and skin as being nothing but a wive's tale.

Chlorine is an irritant, and especially so if you have any type of skin condition like psoriasis, feliculitis, etc. It also tends to irritate not only eyes, but mucous membranes as well. Just the facts on that, can't be argued against really.

Salt and mineral based pools have a different water feel - usually a softer feel to it over traditional chlorine simply because of the additional minerals in the water that you typically wont' see with an old school chlorine system.

None are better than the other, all just different.

"Saltwater pools" do not use salt to sanitize. They use salt + water + electricity to generate chlorine.

A properly operated saltwater pool will not be overly salty. It uses chlorine to sanitize, the same as traditional pools.

A properly operated "chlorine" pool will have similar amounts of salt. The only difference is that chlorine needs to be added to the pool by some other means.


People get irritated when in chlorine pools because of other imbalances often associated with excessive stabilizer leading to higher ppm Cl required to sanitize.

The Guys name is Daniel and his company is Patriot Cleaning Supply. Located at Mason and Morton Road. Ive only bought from him once so far, but really nice guy.

I used to drive to Spring and buy in Bulk (30 gallons at a time) from Napco, but they got bought out and no longer sell to schmucks like me. I found this guy a few weeks back and in talking with him he runs a pressure washing business and got tired of not being able to get bleach himself and saw a hole in the market in the Katy area. I am guessing he is getting his bulk tanks filled by Napco or similar and re-selling. He sells primarily to pressure washing guys and to pool owners. Hopefully he can sustain the business.

http://patriotcleaningsupply.com/

Thanks, Awesome! Definitely going to check him out. Prefilled 5 gallon containers sound good, will need to get a big measuring cup thing for dosing/pouring.

CactusThomas said:

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"Saltwater pools" do not use salt to sanitize. They use salt + water + electricity to generate chlorine.

A properly operated saltwater pool will not be overly salty. It uses chlorine to sanitize, the same as traditional pools.

A properly operated "chlorine" pool will have similar amounts of salt. The only difference is that chlorine needs to be added to the pool by some other means.


People get irritated when in chlorine pools because of other imbalances often associated with excessive stabilizer leading to higher ppm Cl required to sanitize.

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I never said nor implied that saltwater pools use salt to sanitize. I don't think anybody here has made that claim.

Chlorine pools generate chloramines, which is the primary agent in the irritation. Saltwater pools still use chlorine through electrolysis, but the chloramines are largely burned off in the electrolysis process. That's why you don't get that "pool" smell.

There is a reason why people say that saltwater pools have less irritiation and the water quality is different/better/softer - because of the process. Sanitation is the same in both, but byproducts are different. And if you go to any pool website, you'll find that they all say that the saltwater pools have less irritation on eyes and skin.

Unless people are regularly adding salt to their chlorine pool, the salinity is usually much lower - typical tapwater is 1000ppm or less (most municipalities shoot for around 500ppm IIRC). Salt pools I think are in the 3000ppm range, give or take (may be wrong on that, but that is what I remember). That's also why you see people talking about salt corrosion with salt water pools and not chlorine pools. If salt content was consistently the same between both....seems that the corrosion/etching/stone degradation issues that are very common with salt based pools would also be equally as common with traditional chlorine based pools, wouldn't it?

My wife and kids are wanting a pool bad. This thread is reinforcing my desire to not have one.

It would. And many SWG users do not see corrosion, erosion associated with poorly run SWGs.

Chlorine pools don't have salt. Pools are love/hate. I don't have kids. Pool maintenance is a PITA. Getting a hot tub. Still have maintenance but I can cover it.

Had a chlorine pool with the ozone system put in a few years ago and love it. Saltwater pool at my previous house and it was more maintenance. #1 favorite thing about my current pool is the "sprinkler heads" at the bottom that eliminate the need for the robot/vacuum. Worth the extra money to me.

Yeah we have the built in pool vacuum ("sprinkler heads" as you say) too and it's great. We also have a polaris/robot cleaner but never use it - don't need it (and we have some mature trees around pool). I'm surprised more people don't have this.

I have a Salt Pool in West Texas. In use for 10 years. Here is what I have learned, When you spend a small fortune on the latest and greatest pool on the planet there are a few things the pool company doesn't tell you. Salt pools do not generate chlorine when the water temp is below 60 deg. Humm Oh really? Chlorine is degraded by sunlight. That's not good. At this point you might think I am against Salt Pools. Well I am not. Once you understand how they work it easy to keep a beautiful clear water pool going. First thing, run your pump at night! Remember sun light kills chlorine. I run mine 4 hours every night. I also run it 3 hours every morning to keep the trash out of the pool so it looks good. I run a 3" chlorine floater in the fall and winter. I know they tell you never run a floater. Well they didn't come and clean my pool in January-March when I had Green or Golden algae. Oops got to go mama has dinner ready. Hope this helps! One last thing Get The Auto Cleaning System. OMG it's amazing!!!