Tonight I add salt to my non SWG above ground pool

[hulla]

That is because adding salt to your pool DOES NOT soften the water. In a water softener salt is used to charge the ion exhange resin with sodium. When the water flows through it the resin exhanges the sodium for calcium and magnesium in the water. The resin is then recharged with sodium and the calcium and magnisium are washed out to waste so the process can start over. This is what softens the water. Just adding salt to water adds sodium in addtion to the calcium and magnesium already in the water. It has no softening effect whatsoever. The main advantage of adding salt to the pool is to raise the isoelectic point of the water closer to that of the human body. This makes the water less 'irritating".

Aha! So soft water doesn't have high salinity. It has low hardness (low calcium and magnesium). I guess now I finally realize why it is called soft water.

[GraceByDesign]

.................The main advantage of adding salt to the pool is to raise the isoelectic point of the water closer to that of the human body. This makes the water less 'irritating".

Same reason we add bath salts to the bath... while it does not actually soften the water, it makes the water feel good!

Grace

Avid reader of this forum
but alas, no pool... yet!

[brent.roberts]

I put a few bags in our pool mid - season last year and did not tell the wife I had done it. The very first time she went in she commented on how nice the water felt.

This summer we topped up the salt to 2800 ppm and put in the SWG system.

The only negative we've seen so far is that water that gets on top of the *&^%%$$ solar cover and evaporates, leaves a bit of white powered. A few minutes of hosing or a rainfall clears it.

Even at the levels this year that are much higher than we had last year, I still prefer it to straight fresh water.

[cheshamjim]

I want to do this because my wife has been complaining that her skin feels dry since I have started using BBB. Because I have >120 ppm CYA, I maintain a high chlorine level following the Best Guess chart.

Before adding salt, I wanted to know what my starting point was, so I bought the Taylor Salt Water Test Kit (K-1766). It shows that my water is already at 1,000 ppm salt content. That seemed high, so I called them. They confirmed that the kit was O.K. (the test sample didn't act like I thought it should when adding the reagents) and said that since I have been adding so much chlorine it was probable that the chlorine was the sorce of my salt. Incidentally, I was very impressed by Taylor's telephone support. I talked with a very compentent individual and experienced no waiting.

Anyway, after reading Poolsean's post (#56), I'm going to shoot for 3,000 ppm in my non-SWG pool. Can't wait to be a hero to my wife.

[DavidD]

(the test sample didn't act like I thought it should when adding the reagents)

Can you say Bloody Mary? That's the first thing that came to my mind after I did the first test. My salt was around 800 ppm when I tested before adding salt and I've used mainly bleach for a few years. I'm now down to around 3200 ppm (from 3400 ppm) and love it. The kids, and a few other adults say they can taste it slightly but I only get a hint after first jumping in.

Good luck and make a fun time of it spreading the crystals/pellets around.

Dave

P.S-If you have a vinyl pool, I'd recommend the pellets as there are no sharp corners.

[cheshamjim]

"Can you say Bloody Mary? That's the first thing that came to my mind after I did the first test."

My test sample looked more like like cream of tomato soup ...

[Watermom]

Question - I have long since stopped reading this thread since it is so long. Is it still on topic and productive? It is getting ridiculously long. How about if we stop this one and lock it and start a new thread if there is a need. This one is way longer than we like threads to be. I'll wait a day or two for loose ends to be wrapped up in this thread.

Thanks.

[medvampire]

Watermom
I started on in the China Shop. If you want to lock this thread.
Steve

[The Raddish]

Question - I have long since stopped reading this thread since it is so long. Is it still on topic and productive? It is getting ridiculously long. How about if we stop this one and lock it and start a new thread if there is a need. This one is way longer than we like threads to be. I'll wait a day or two for loose ends to be wrapped up in this thread.

Thanks.

I think that this may be one instance where the long thread is actually not a bad idea. It is still on topic and a wealth of information. There is another thread about this in the China Shop though, so I guess it's up to the mods if you want to keep this one around.

There are still discussions here with questions being asked and answered, so closing it might cut those discussions short.

[amyinraleigh]

I thought this was already closed and was bummed because I found it very interesting and was hoping to learn more! I had a question and posted it in the other thread that was started as a continuation of this one, but I'd like to repeat it here in case this thread has any followers who aren't reading the other.

I would love to add salt to my pool and am wondering if anyone knows of any reasons it shouldn't be added to an Intex inflatable ring pool.

Thanks! Amy