Looking for Advice - Possible SWG Convert

[CarlD]

In addition to the benefits mentioned above you also get superior water quality. It eliminates "chlorine skin". When you leave a chlorine pool your skins feels very dry. Whereas when you leave a salt pool your skin will feel rejuvenated.

If you've spent $30,000 or more on building a pool then why wouldn't you want the best and most comfortable water.

Josh

Yeah, I've heard that--it makes a great sales pitch for an expensive add-on. But I've noticed that ocean swimming leaves my skin feeling briney--AND dry. You must keep your salt level between the body's natural salinity level but within the SWG's range for the unit. Too high a salt level and you get sea-water--which IS irritating and drying.

SWGs work at using lower chlorine levels by keeping a very, very constant Free Chlorine level to stay ahead of contaminants. Also, saline is less hospitable to most organics that appear in your pool. But you STILL must do weekly checking of FC and CC levels and shock as necessary.

Chlorine irritation is a myth. Chlorine gets blamed for bad maintenance habits, inadequate testing, and mis-understanding what the 5 basic tests mean (Chlorine FC/CC, pH, Total Alkalinity, Cyanuric Acid/Stabilizer, and Calcium Hardness).

What we seek to do at this forum is help people understand these things, and how to make pool maintenance easy and simple, with no mystery and no magic cures.

I spend 2-5 minutes per day, if that much, on pool maintenance. I run quick OTO test on chlorine and pH. Once a week I run 4 of the 5 tests (since I have a vinyl pool I only check Calcium a few times a season). That takes 15 minutes. But if I find something that is NOT right, I act immediately to counter it.

We never have a problem with "chlorine skin" despite my CONSISTENTLY keeping my FC between 4 and 8ppm. That's because "chlorine skin" is due to high levels of Combined Chloramines, or CCs. Combined Chloramines dry and irritate your skin, burn your eyes, giving you "chlorine eyes". They also smell bad and give the characteristic "chlorine smell". I can have my pool at 8 or even 10ppm and you won't smell chlorine because I have NO Combined Chloramines.

Furthermore, high levels of Combined Chloramines indicates your pool water is fighting something--bacteria, viruses, algae, excess suntan lotion, something. Your Free Chlorine (FC) is being used up metabolizing it, leaving behind irritating CCs, and, whatever is being metabolized may be an irritant as well.

To get rid of those Combined Chloramines you must shock your pool with more chlorine until ALL the CC is gone.

But if you CONSISTENTLY test your water and keep your FC where it belongs the Combined Chloramines will never be a problem. And nobody's skin will be irritated. GENUINE sensitivity to chlorine is a VERY rare condition. Almost all cases that people THINK are chlorine sensitivity are due to improper chemical levels and poor maintenance.

Salt in your water has a HIDDEN problem nobody talks about: People with high blood pressure or other low-sodium diets must be VERY careful not to ingest the water. Even a house-hold water-softener is a risk. My mother-in-law cannot drink our house water because of the softener and must drink salt-free bottled water. I'm not against SWGs--But they are not a cure-all. My maintenance effort is so low I personally won't get much bang for the buck.

Please do not come to this board and tell us that chlorine is responsible for skin irritation. It is not. Poor water maintenance is the cause of that irritation, poor maintenance and ignorance about chlorine. All 4 of the monitors, as well as the board owner use bleach at high levels to keep our pools sweet and sanitary, without problems for any of our swimmers.