Thanks Ben.

I'm just a homeowner/pool owner, and am not promoting any products. In another current topic regarding ion sanitization (not specifically Ecosmarte), it was stated that if the manufacturer claimed that they actually sanitized the water, they would be subject to a legal claim. Now, I have no idea about that specific product, and maybe such a claim by the manufacturer would be unsubstantiated.

Ecosmarte, on the other hand, through a claimed process of ionization and oxidation, does specifically claim to disinfect and sanitize pool water. They provide links to studies which purport to validate the claim that this process does in fact kill various bacteria and viruses. They also provide their own "science" section detailing various pathogens which are killed at certain copper levels. In addition, after being concerned about some of the previous posts here, a quick Google search led me to various studies showing confirmation of the effectiveness of copper and oxidation as a sanitizer. Also in fairness, none of these were done in pools, nor specifically on the Ecosmarte system. So I'm not making a claim, either way, as to whether they work or don't. Just stating facts. And again, I'm not associated with any dealer, manufacturer, etc. And I'm not suggesting that anyone buy or not buy any certain product. I'm just a pool owner (I'd insert pictures, but it's asking for a URL).

But speaking of fairness, I also did a Google search of "pool chlorine health danger study" and was surprised to see that there have been numerous studies showing a direct correlation between chlorine in swimming pools and an increase in various diseases, including cancer. So factually, it appears that the only appropriate statement is that chlorinated pools have been proven to be a health risk, and ionized pools could be a health risk. Feel free to do your own research, here's just the first link I found with that search: http://news.discovery.com/human/chlo...ng-cancer.html There are many others.

The other thing I saw posted was that ion systems don't save you money on chemicals. That is blatantly false. We've had our ion system for 4 seasons (25,000 gallon IG pool). We paid somewhere around $1,500 (?) for the system, installed it ourselves, and replaced the copper bars after 3 years for $150. Last year we opened in mid-May. I added about half of a $16 bag of sodium bicarbonate to get our calcium hardness to 400. I vacuumed to waste when opening, then probably vacuumed each of the next 2 days to get everything perfectly clean. I put in 3 lbs of a non-chlorine shock, which cost about $3 per pound. It took a couple weeks for the water to get crystal clear (not sure why, but didn't take any additional chemicals). The water was crystal clear all summer. I added a bag of non-chlorine shock every couple weeks for giggles (someone recommended it, not sure if it really did anything), and vacuumed the minimal debris from the bottom about every 3-4 weeks. That's it, a perfectly clear pool all summer (till 1st week of September), for about $40-$50 of chemicals and 4-5 vacuumings (I think I made up a word) after opening. No chlorine smell (I know, it's not actually the chlorine that smells), no dry skin, no staining, and dramatically less time and cost than our old chlorine pool. I will say that in prior years I have had to add either a $4 gallon of muriatic acid or a $4 container of Borax to adjust the pH (you adjust it once, then leave it all year). I also put a gallon of muriatic acid in the filter when opening. So maybe $75-$100 in chemicals in a "bad" year. That's opening, closing, everything. Our system was recommended and installed by a local dealer with 30+ years of experience installing pools (I've known him almost that long), and many of these systems have been installed in the area. I have not heard of any problems regarding any of those installations. I will say that if you have very light, completely natural blonde hair, it can give just a hint of a light green tinge to it, that's a fact. Luckily my wife is fake blonde, and it doesn't affect that!

So I have seen ion systems "bashed" for stains; we have none, not the slightest. Maybe others do, but if so, I'd suggest it was because they didn't maintain their pool.
I've seen them bashed for not saving money; false. We used to spend $400 a year or more on a chlorine pool.
And then there's the sanitation issue. At a minimum, there are studies proving that chlorine pools are NOT safe. They may (probably) kill bacteria and viruses more quickly than ion/oxidation systems, but come with significant health risks which the ion systems do not have. These are just facts, which I have backed up.

Ben, none of this is meant with the slightest disrespect, you are clearly the pool king. I'm new to this forum and arrived here because it seemed to have the best knowledge available to pool owners anywhere in the world. That's why I have tried to simply present facts. But I clearly expect you to have a go at everything I said, which is fine; that's what a good forum is all about!

I know this would be better posted in a more relevant topic, so will re-post it there, without some of the extra comments. Thanks!

ernieb