Salt Water Pools – Pool Supply 4 Less

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF A SALT WATER POOL

Wish you had a salt water pool? Want to learn how to take care of a salt water pool? You’ve come to the right place! Hayward is an innovator in salt water sanitization and an expert in salt water pool maintenance.

Hayward’s industry leading residential and commercial salt water pool systems turn your pool salt into a self-regenerating supply of pure chlorine for clean, clear, and luxuriously soft pool and spa water. Along with easy maintenance, it’s no wonder so many pool owners are converting their traditional chlorine pools to salt water pools!

Maintaining a Salt Water Pool

To maintain a salt water pool you’ll need to keep your filter, pump, and skimmer clean and in good operating condition. With salt water pools, you must inspect the salt chlorinator cell and replace it when needed. Test regularly for proper water chemistry to maintain clean, clear pool water.

Salt Water Pool Chemistry Tips

Using a salt water pool test strip, test your water for free chlorine, salt, pH levels, total alkalinity, stabilizer, and total hardness. Use our online Water Chemistry Calculator to help make those adjustments and balance your pool water.

Following severe weather or times where the load is increased such as pool parties, be sure to test again to maintain your pool’s water chemistry within proper levels. Once you have tested your pool, balance as needed.

Did You Know?

The salinity level in ocean water is 31,000 ppm, but the level in a salt water pool is much lower — only 3,000ppm. That’s less than the salinity level of human tears!

7 Common Salt Water Pool Care Concerns

1. What’s the difference between a salt water pool and a traditional chlorinated pool?

In a traditional pool, chlorine is added directly to the pool water. Advancements in the pool industry have led to a simpler and safer alternative. Salt water chlorination is a natural and more convenient sanitization method. Salt is dissolved in the pool and our system converts it into just the right amount of chlorine for clean, clear, and luxuriously soft water.

2. Is a salt water pool easier to maintain?

Yes, a salt water pool is easier to maintain! There’s no need to purchase, store and add chlorine to your pool. Simply add salt and your pool’s salt chlorinator will do all the work of making chlorine. While all pools require chemicals to maintain clean, clear water, salt water pools are more stable than traditional chlorinated pools, so they require fewer chemicals.

3. Is a salt water pool less expensive to maintain?

Yes, a salt water pool has a reduced cost of operation as compared to a traditional chlorinated pool. This cost savings is primarily because chlorine is generated from salt and there is no need to buy chlorine. Additionally, salt water pools require fewer chemicals to keep the water clean and clear.

4. Is a salt water pool, salty?

Not at all! In fact, your pool’s salinity level is about 1/12 of the salinity of the ocean and a drop of water from a salt water pool has less salt than that found in a human tear. In addition, salt water is soft and feels really good on your family’s skin!

5. How much salt does the system require?

Salt Systems work best with approximately 3200 parts per million (ppm) of salt, which is roughly the equivalent to a teaspoon of salt per gallon. However, all Hayward Salt Systems are designed to operate with salt levels anywhere from 2700 ppm to 3400 ppm. When salt levels are outside this range, our various salt systems provide a means (typically an LED light) to alert you to the need to adjust your salt level.

6. What does it mean if my salt water pool is cloudy?

Regardless of pool type, cloudy water is often a sign of a chlorine deficiency or poor filtration and circulation. Be sure to diagnose the issue by checking your pool’s chemistry first and then adjust the chemistry as needed. In a salt water pool, the salt level may be insufficient or there may be a problem with the salt chlorinator. Keep your pool filter clean and run your system so that all the water is turned over once a day.

7. Is it hard to convert a traditional chlorinated pool to a salt water pool?

Not at all! Read our blog How to Convert to a Salt Water Pool for 8 easy steps to a new salt water pool.

Comfort, Convenience, and Cost Savings

Moving from a traditionally chlorinated pool to a luxurious salt water pool has never been easier. Whether you have a small backyard pool or a large commercial swimming pool, you can enjoy the many benefits of salt water swimming pools: comfort, convenience, and cost-savings.

Hayward makes it easy! Visit our Salt Water Pools page for helpful information to get you started and contact your Hayward Dealer for assistance today.

Preparing the Pool for Your Baby’s First Swim

If your baby loves the water; then there is no time to waste. Water babies are not afraid of anything and will swim with the best of them, but if they’ve just started holding their head straight, it’s probably a good idea to make sure that the pool is well-equipped to make your bundle of joy safe and happy for their first swim.

Although your baby is strong enough to withstand the surprise of their first swim and even love it; as a new parent, you need to make sure that your pool is safe and secure for your baby to splash around in. So what are the first things you should look out for when you’re preparing for your child’s first swim?

Firstly, make sure that the water is heated properly. Most people take their babies for their first swim when they’re six months old, but you need to remember that your baby has relatively sensitive skin as compared to older children, which means that their body temperature won’t change gradually like ours, but will have quick fluctuations.

Many people use pool heaters from companies such as Hayward, Pentair, Jandy, Raypak and Sta-Rite to keep the water temperature regulated. If the water is at a proper temperature, than the baby’s body temperature will stay steady, making the water comfortable. Just make sure to keep the water warm, not hot; and with a proper pool heater, the temperature will stay regulated so that your baby doesn’t feel overheated.

Secondly, make sure that your pool is clean. A baby is very sensitive to dust or dirt, and if they haven’t had their complete course of allergy shots yet, they can get a bad reaction. Use a good quality pool filter to pull out all the dust and debris, leaving your pool water clean and pristine. Keep an eye on that pool filter though. If you feel like it isn’t working the way it was before, have it replaced. Nothing is more important than your baby’s health.

Your pool should also be equipped with a good quality pool cleaner from dependable brands such as Kreepy Krauly, SmartPool or Polaris so that it works alongside your pool filters to keep the water clean.

Thirdly, make sure your pool is properly chlorinated. It’s not harmful for your baby to be exposed to chlorine this early so you shouldn’t worry about it. Chlorine is used to keep the water clean because it kills all the bacteria and helps in controlling the algae spread in your pool water. A properly chlorinated pool helps in keeping the walls and the bottom of the pool clean so when you take your baby into the water for the first time, you know they won’t be harmed in any way.

Lastly, make sure you have the necessary safety gear such as a personal flotation device (PFD) which fits your baby perfectly properly and is approved by the U.S. Coast Guard. Make sure the baby has it on at all times so that they can splash around to their heart’s content.

Your baby’s safety and health is your first priority, and with the proper pool equipment, you can make sure that their first swim is a moment you will cherish forever.

Gone Are the Dog Days of Chlorine

If the ocean comes into mind when you hear the word ‘saltwater’, don’t! Salt water chlorination systems are simply saltwater pools that serve as an alternative to the popular chlorination systems most pool owners use today. Since the early 2000’s though, more and more people as well as hotels and water parks are making the switch to saltwater chlorine generators. Salt levels in a standard saltwater pool system are usually 3000 ppm, a rather insignificant amount when compared to the ocean’s average salt level of 35000 ppm.

In traditional swimming pools, free available chlorine (FAC) become chloramines when contact with any human byproduct is made. The chloramines result in the “chlorine smell” in pools when there is not enough FAC, leading to skin and eye irritation and making shock treatment of the pool necessary. However in saltwater pools, a generator consistently supplies the water with FAC greatly reducing chloramines.

Despite removing the hassle of directly adding chlorine, water chemistry still needs to be monitored for low chlorine levels. Several factors can cause this including a failing generator, sun exposure and a lack of salt due to rainwater dilution, splashing that misplaces the pool’s water and backwashing (filter maintenance draining). To prevent the suns UV rays from breaking down the FAC in a saltwater pool, a stabilizer like cyanuric acid is essential. Convenience and less chloramine-related irritations are just some of the benefits salt chlorination systems have to offer.