Salt water?

[Tcf370]

Hi, we recently bought a house with a pool. Ever since we bought it it has been one disaster after another. We only have 4 months of good pool weather and half of that time the pool was green. It is no longer green but it is external cloudy and has been for a month. I'm wondering if it makes sense for us to convert it to salt? Because our season is so short I don't want to waste half stressing over a green or cloudy pool. We are not rich people but I figured that I could have probably saved money if we had done the conversion in the first place. Are the salt water pools easier to maintain?

Thanks for your help

[aylad]

Salt water pools and chlorine pools are one and the same...the only difference is that with the typical chlorine pool, the chlorine is manually added, while with a "salt" pool, the chlorine is generated via SWCG from the salt in the water. It sounds like inadequate chlorination has been a problem for you this year. If you'll post a set of test results from your water, taken with a drop-based kit, we'll be happy to try to help.

Welcome to the forum!

[Tcf370]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. It was a chlorine problem. The dispenser quit working once so it went green, the other time the skimmers quit so it went green again. The 2nd time took forever to get blue again. It is still cloudy and we haven't seen the bottom in a month. Would a salt water pool make any difference?

Thanks

[PoolDoc]

An SWCG is just a chlorine dispenser, and won't solve any problems you couldn't solve without it. It does make it easier to chlorinate consistently, but a pool with an SWCG will get just as green as one without it, if you don't maintain the system.

As in almost all cases, you need to get a Taylor testkit, and you need to learn to test and treat your pool with basic chemicals. If you'll read the test kit info page linked in my blue signature block, there's a link to a Canadian retailer for Taylor kits.

And, if you'll complete the Pool Chart, we'll be able to advise you more accurately:

Pool Chart Entry Form

[Tcf370]

Thanks for the help guys.

I'm going to get a water sample this weekend so ill post the results next week. The season here is going to be over soon, I'm wondering if I should drain the pool and start fresh or should I just worry about it next year? Is there any point in closing the pool with good clean water? I don't see any way that this water is going to get clear before the season is over and I don't want to spend 2k converting it to salt only to have it sit until may.

Thanks again

[PoolDoc]

You can't drain in-ground vinyl pools, without destroying the liner . . . . so no, that would not be a good idea. (They can sometimes be drained temporarily, but you have to hold the liner in place using multiple high-suction vacuums to do so.)

There's NO conversion to salt, other than adding salt. But you might spend $500 cleaning up the mess, which you have to do REGARDLESS of treatment method.

You WILL need a testkit. You WILL need a manual vacuum system and tools. You DO need to learn to manage the pool withOUT an SWCG, before you try to use an SWCG. We can help, but right now you're at the steep end of the learning curve.