How do salt water systems work?
- March 10, 2014
- Pool Industry News and Tips, Pool Maintenance and Renovation,
Living in the Phoenix area, you're aware of the benefits that pools can bring you when you invest in them. Due to the weather climate in Arizona, many pools can be maintained and used year-round with the help of your local Phoenix pool service company.
However, after owning your pool for some time, you may begin to consider making some changes to the swimming area. Beyond the aesthetics of the pool itself, you might also want to ponder the benefits of a salt system for your water. Standard chlorine can become cumbersome to manage, and switching to a new water type could have a positive impact on the quality of your pool.
How is traditional sanitation managed?
Unless someone requests it differently, most pool are traditionally sanitized with a chlorine system that's poured directly into the pool water, as stated by Seasonal World. Once or twice a week, pool owners have to fill it with chlorine chemicals, depending on both the pool's size and the amount of use it gets.
How do salt water generators work?
According to Pool Solutions, a common misconception about salt systems is that they don't use chlorine – this is incorrect. Rather than owners physically placing chlorine into the filtration system, the salt generator produces the sanitizing chemical from salt itself.
How it works is salt dissolves in the water, separating its two chemical components – sodium and chloride. Using a low voltage electrical current, passing the salt between a special kind of metal and the water, the generator converts the chloride into chlorine. This process is called electrolysis. Afterward, the new chlorine creates a residual that sanitizes the pool, which converts back to chloride to repeat the process over again once it's used up.
What are the benefits?
Seasonal World discussed the advantages of adopting a salt water chlorine generator, including less interaction with the chlorine chemical altogether. After installation and the system is running, owners typically have little work to do in terms of maintaining the pool water. If necessary, they can call their local Phoenix pool maintenance experts to assist with any necessary fixes or upgrades that are needed.
Pool Solutions stressed the importance of adhering to manufacturer instructions on the correct amount of salt needed.