Don't want chlorine

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teknoge3k

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Feb 10, 2015
4
Rocky Mount, VA
Re: No chlorine in my pool to assist my ionizer nor am I sup

I am going to have my first pool installed this spring and I do NOT want a chlorine based pool. The salesperson at the pool store is recommending permasalt to me, which I believe is an ionization system. Now after reading this thread I know the users on this forum do not like ionizers. I am not for nor against them, as I know nothing about them. My question to you all is, which would you recommend if you don't want an ionizer but wanted to avoid chlorine? What about saltwater? Are there strong opinions on a saltwater system? I don't mind shocking my pool with chlorine to keep the bacteria out but I want the base to be something other than chlorine. Thoughts?
 
Welcome to TFP!

I believe that you will find that whatever you choose, other then chlorine, is going to be far far worse that chlorine. 99% of the objections to chlorine are based on misunderstandings and mis-information.

There are only three choices: chlorine, bromine, and baqua. Those are the only three systems approved by the EPA for pool sanitation. Bromine is very very similar to chlorine but costs more. Baqua gets many many complaints and is far from trouble free. Ionizers do not protect against harmful bacteria/viruses effectively.

Salt systems are wonderful. However, you probably don't realize that they use chlorine, just like any other chlorine pool.

Perhaps you could share your objection to chlorine? If you do we can tell you if it is in the 1% of valid reasons, or if it is based on mis-information or misunderstandings.
 
I always had a pool growing up (mind you, I didn't manage it, my parents did) - We used chlorine and I hated the film feeling it left on you. Plus it was rough on the eyes. I'm very familiar with swimming in a chlorine pool, just not managing it.

I don't mind having a little chlorine in the pool to do its job, but I don't want that nasty chlorine feeling when I get out nor do I want it to be rough on the eyes especially since I have 2 small children.
 
EDIT:

I'll be the first to chime in and tell you that if you manage your pool the way these guys recommend, you will not have any of the "slime" feeling you had previously. Also, opening your eyes underwater is super easy...No burning or stinging if your FC and PH are in check.

Keep reading around this site. You will find TONS of information about how to manage your pool correctly and effortlessly. I was a Non-Believer as well before i found this site. I told my wife I was going to give it one year and try it the TFP way. If it didnt work, i would find another way to take care of our pool. This was the best year of swimming I've ever had. I will never look back.

Also, I have a 5 yr old that can open his eyes and swim underwater across the whole 24' pool. He never once complained about his eyes burning.
 
Neither of those issues are really associated directly with chlorine use. Skin feel is mostly a function of calcium, salt, and borate levels, plus any suntan lotion or organic oils accumulated on the surface of the water. While eyes stinging can be caused by low salt levels, low PH, or combined chlorine. Combined chlorine is a chlorine disinfection byproduct, but should not be present if the pool is properly managed so is more a function of proper pool care than chlorine as such.
 
Ok let me ask this... My pool is going to be directly in the sun at all times with no shade. Would that cause me to have to use more chlorine in the pool?

Also, what's the average cost of chlorine per month? My pool is going to be an 18'x33'x52" above ground.
 
I'll just add this.

It took me about 2 weeks to get the hang of doing it this way. My Ph NEVER moved from 7.2-7.5 all year. And for my 15k gallon pool, I added about 4-4 1/2 cups of Bleach every night. And there were a few times when we didnt swim for 4 or 5 days. On that stretch, I only had to add it every other night. It literally took my less than 5 mins an evening to maintain my pool. And it was crystal clear all year long.

Here is a video showing how clear it was this summer!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ub0-lQQdhc

He ended up ditching the goggles later on in the season.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

If your pool is in direct sunlight, it will lose more chlorine (FC) than a pool in complete shade. Thats where your CYA comes in to play. CYA helps keep the chlorine from getting destroyed by the sun. You will still lose some, but not as much as if you have 0 CYA. A solar cover helps TREMENDOUSLY with chlorine loss.

As far as cost per month....If you have an Ollies nearby, you can buy a gallon of 10% Chlorine for about $2. My pool was 15k gallons and i went through about 2-3 gallons a week. Cost me about $25 a month roughly....Give or take.
Walmart sells 8% for about $2 i think. Its just Great Value Bleach. Bleach = Chlorine. If I would have had to use walmart bleach, my cost would have went up by about $10 I would say. So you can plan on about ~$30-$40 a month for an average size 24' round pool. You will probably use more than me since your pool is a litter bigger. But that is a good ball park. Maybe somebody will chime in and give some more info on that size pool.

Start here.....
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/123-abc-of-pool-water-chemistry

And read through "Pool School". Link at the top of every page. You will start to understand.
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

Unfortunately, sounds like your bias against chlorine is due to experience with a poorly maintained pool.

There is so much you can learn from this forum. How much Pool School have you read? Start with these so we can understand each other:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

The use of CYA (stabilizer) protects the chlorine from the sun as well as buffers the "harshness" of the chlorine. If you have full sun, then you may want to keep the CYA up closer to 50ppm. This higher CYA level will result is less chlorine being lost to the sun, even though you will need to maintain a slightly higher FC level according to the FC/CYA Chart. BUT, even though the FC level is a little higher, the higher CYA level will greatly buffer the chlorine.

FYI, may public pools do not use any CYA in the water and maintain the FC level around 1-2ppm, this results in active chlorine levels that can easily be 10x more harsh to skin, hair, suits than following our recommendations with a CYA of 30-50ppm and a FC of 4-6ppm.
 
With more sunlight you want to use a slightly higher FC level, but will be adding roughly the same total amount of chlorine to maintain that level as you would in a lower sunlight situation since you will be using a slightly higher CYA level.

I get 7600 gallons for a 18' round pool with a 48" water depth (52" wall height). That works out to roughly 6 large (121 oz) jugs of ultra bleach per month. That could cost anywhere from $15 to $30, depending on how carefully you shop.
 

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I've had my first pool for a couple of months now and use the BBB method described here, and it is a brilliant way to run a pool! Hardly any detectable chlorine, zero eye burn, and the water is beautiful to swim in and easy to maintain. One thing I will say is, GET A SALT SYSTEM! I love ours and haven't had to buy a drop of chlorine since installing the pool.

Public pools as mentioned don't use CYA, have generally poor water chemistry, but the worst part is they are full of urine, so therefore chloramines. I was staying at a resort in January which had a magnificent outdoor pool, however there were stains all over the plaster and the pebblecrete cut your feet from the dissolved plaster, I saw the maintenance guy tipping chlorine in and had a chat to him about maintaining this huge pool. Turns out he doesn't, his job is to just tip a drum of chlorine in everyday and that's it! No testing!
 
I agree with what everyone else has said. If the water chemistry is managed properly, there wont be any burning eyes or ugly feeling skin.

I will just add, that a Saltwater system will relieve you of having to remember to manually add liquid chlorine each day. I love the thing!
 
Grew up in the 60s -70s with my Dad maintaining our pool. All they knew to do then was just dump powdered chlorine in everyday. Eyes stung, water was forever cloudy, skin was dry and we smelled of chlorine not to mention all the faded swimsuits. After the first year of trying to manage my pool per the dreaded pool store I switched to TFP method. Crystal clear water, no Smell and eyes don't sting. Best advice GET A GOOD TEST KIT!
 
teknoge3k said:
Thanks for the help everyone. Sorry for the lack of understanding of it all since it's new to me. I'll eventually catch on. You all seem very knowledgeable.
Click to expand...

First, let me say welcome. Second, there is no need to apologize. :cheers:

No one is born knowing this stuff and we are all here to learn and help one another. I hope you stick around and check out what we do. It's rare if ever that people don't enjoy their pools more than they ever have using our methods. Enjoy your time here.
 
+1 for saltwater pool. Easy, no chlorine or bleach to add, except in winter when it stops working because the water is cold. Feels great on the skin too. Nobody knew how to maintain a pool before they got here. Keep reading, it will all make sense once you start to understand it.
 
Re: No chlorine in my pool to assist my ionizer nor am I sup

Before I found this site I was 100% against chlorine because I didn't understand it. I had swam in public pools and my moms indoor pool. My eyes always stung because I don't wear goggles. Hopefully next season my mom will finally listen to me about proper maintenance of her pool. I had a pair of nice red swim shorts that ended up horribly faded after one time swimming. I swam in my pool all season with my eyes open and the only time they ever stung at all was when the ph got around 7.8. Nobody's swimsuits got faded. All my kids were in the pool every day. No itching, rashes, red eyes, nothing. If you read pool school and these threads, you will have a beautiful pool that will be the envy of everyone who sees it. We had some friends over a lot and they said ours was the clearest, cleanest pool they had ever seen. They went to another friends house to swim and the mom said she couldn't make herself get in. The other pool was cloudy and smelled like chlorine. I was proud, but felt bad for the other people who didn't know how to properly maintain their pool. Get the recommended test kit, and have fun with the pool. It isn't rocket science, but it is science. You can learn as much or as little as you want about how everything works together, but you do have to grasp the basics to make it work. This site lays it all out for you. Poolmath makes it even easier. You have 6 things you will check for, and the directions for what will influence the levels in the direction they need to go to get them within range.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
WELCOME! You will LOVE your pool if you use the TFP way!

You are on the right track:
-Find TFP-done
-ask questions-done
-order good test kit (this is KEY)-look at my siggy below to find the link to compare them.


Good luck and happy swimming!

Kim
 
I use bromine since I cannot use a salt system. It is a little more complicated but not significantly more expensive here in Europe. It does not have the chlorine smell, it has a different smell. The eyes are affected by a pH out of range. I use an automatic pH controller and keep the pH at 7.4 (close to the 7.33 - physiological). I
 
Welcome! You will love your TFP pool ;)
That's because the irony is that if you use enough chlorine, it really will not seem/smell like there's chlorine at all ;)

People marvel at my water, including a friend whose had his own pool for 20 years but never learned the TFP way. I've only had mine for 3 years, but over the last 3 years the eczema I used to suffer completely went away...properly balanced water, and in my case, with the addition of borates, is not damaging to the skin. On the contrary, IME, it will heal it!
 
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