New pool owner

[stonepacific]

Hi - I am a newbie who just purchased a home with a built-in pool & spa. I stumbled across this website & am eager to start off on the right foot. Should I use regular chemicals (chlorine, acid) or look into a saltwater system? We are on city water and a septic system. Thanks

[PoolDoc]

A saltwater system IS regular chemicals, like chlorine and acid. Unfortunately, bogus marketing (a standard in the USA) deceives many new SWCG (Salt Water CHLORINE Generator) owners into thinking other wise.

The difference between pool chlorine and salt is 2 electrons: pool chlorine is Cl+ and salt is Cl-, more or less. (Gimme a break, all you chem nuts -- do NOT make this explanation more complicated than it needs to be!)

A salt system simply passes electrical current through salty water, and provides those 2 electrons.

So, SWCG's are NOT chemical-free. But, then neither are any of the OTHER "chemical free systems" -- ozone, copper, etc. The only chemical free (no man-made chemistry, at least) are like the ones in this thread:
Natural-Swimming-Pool-Photo-Gallery

They are truly beautiful, but rather expensive and can require pretty intensive maintenance. You gotta watch who you swim with too, because if your buddy has the 'scuz' and you swim within 48 hours of when he did, you may get the 'scuz', too. But, if you limit access to yourself and your immediate family, the risks are low.