Building a new pool and trying to decide whether or not to put in Salt system

[acnwgirl]

Hello! My pool gets installed at the end of this month and I'm trying to decide whether a salt system is worth it. The pool is going just a few feet from my home and I understand salt is corrosive to anything metal around it and overtime, even to wood, concrete, and pool equipment. My pool salesman said he's had one for 5 years and hasn't noticed any of those problems. My pool maintenance guy says he sees backyards where everything within 20 feet of the pool is rusted. I don't want to consider salt if I have to worry about replacing door and window frames that are metal, wearing down the wooden siding on my home, or wearing down the my concrete patio. I'd appreciate any feedback before making this very important decision.

Thanks,
Amy

 

[Pool Tool]

You have come to the wrong place to be steered away from salt. Most users are very happy with the SWG systems. A few users with soft stone (think limestone) coping / pool surround have seen some increased degradation, but that is quite limited. Pool saline concentrations are ~3500 ppm at the high side, about 1/10 that of the ocean @ ~35,000 ppm. Sure oceanside houses have increased maintenance with salt affecting there houses, but that is due to sea spray carried in the wind. Water evaporating from your pool will not carry salt, only splashing will leave any salt left behind. Even then an occasional rinse with the hose would resolve that before damaged ensued.

Railings, ladders, etc. should be fabricated from 316 Stainless steel vs. 304, which has a higher corrosion resistance due to the addition of molybdenum. That and the regular sealing of natural stone and you will be happy with your salt system. Any stories of death within 20' for everything metal is either just wrong or lies to maintain you as a customer.

 

[acnwgirl]

Thanks for the info. The thing is, the stories about death within 20 feet comes from someone who I am not a customer of so there's no reason for him to lie to me. He loves his salt system and speaks highly of it, but he maintains a lot of pools in the San Antonio, TX area and says he has seen people's backyards directly around the pool unless the metal is stainless steel it rusts. He says his pool is far from his home or anything else in his yard so he doesn't have that problem. So I worry about door metal parts, window frames, siding, and many other metals I'm sure I'm not thinking of which are attached to my house. I also have a stained concrete pad close by I worry I will have additional maintenance of sealing it more often. Since there will probably be a lot of splashing and potential spray from the tail of the cleaner, I wanted to ensure I was making the right decision in NOT going with salt. But if enough folks tell me on this forum that they haven't had this issue, and the pool is being built with these considerations, perhaps I should go with salt? By the way, I love the Green Bay Packers! I was born and raised in the Fox Cities. Go PACK!

 

[cowboycasey]

Welcome to TFP Amy

unless your 50 feet from the ocean you are going to be just fine... I have had my salt water pool for 2 years now and a salt water hot tub for 6 years and nothing at all has been damaged

most people say salt water and think of the ocean at 32,000 PPM and a salt water pool is between 3,000 and 4,000 ppm...

 

[Jimrahbe]

Amy,

The only thing I would stay away from is having something metal in direct contact with the water. Other than that, I would not worry for a minute about having a Salt Water pool.

My wife and I love the way the water feels. I have three pools, all saltwater pools, and I've seen no impact to any of them, or the surrounding structures, due to the salt water.

Jim R.

 

[Pool Tool]

But if enough folks tell me on this forum that they haven't had this issue, and the pool is being built with these considerations, perhaps I should go with salt? By the way, I love the Green Bay Packers! I was born and raised in the Fox Cities. Go PACK!

Well clearly Amy, you might be the smartest person on the forum based on that above and I don't how much help we can be Haha, just kidding. Use the search box on top right and you will find many similar discussions. As for the cleaner, you might want to investigate a robot if that is still an option. While I don't have one many people and love them. And they can run independent of the pump unlike more traditional cleaners.

Concrete is porous and should be sealed, but it shouldn't be a problem with salt nor should it have to be sealed more often due to the salt. An occasional rinse of the concrete deck after a few too many cannonballs should prevent any efflorescence.