Amanda I just wanted to say Hi and that you are in great hands here and offer some thoughts and encouragement
I cannot comment on a SWG as I have never had one, but I have maintained my pool manually (adding bleach daily for chlorine) for a couple of years now. Sometimes I do think it would be nice to have an swg and be automated, but my budget has never allowed for the luxury. Do you have to have a swg to get nice water, no. Do you want a swg, go for it, they have lots of benefits. Do you have to put one in when you build, no you can easily add one later if you want
FYI my pool water is hands down the clearest water I have ever swum in. I have never had chlorine odours either since using TFP. Friends accuse me of doing a complete fresh fill of the pool and/or not chlorinating before they come over to swim.
Even though I dont have a SWG I normally add salt to my water for the soft feel. After a while I also added borax to slow my ph rise and it also softened the water. When my partner and I leave the pool (and we both have quite bad skin conditions) we dont feel like we need to shower or rinse, our hair is soft and our skin does not dry out. I learnt how to do this through this forum and you can learn all you want to here as well
I do believe that with the chemical parameters and regular reliable home testing we teach here you will extend the life of your pool as much as possible because you will not be adding chemicals you dont need or letting your parameters get to a level where it will stress your equipment or pool liner
Yes you will get corrosion at some point. Everything pretty much has salt in it, including soils, but the metal used in pools is either treated or selected to be resistant to corrosion, otherwise it would rust within days. With proper chemical maintenance of the pool water the onset of corrosion will also be delayed. The corrosion will not mean that your walls or any exposed metal like your ladder will suddenly collapse and be completely useless. First you will notice small rust spots. These can be sanded, primed and painted at which point they are protected from corrosion again. Even if a whole panel was found to fail (worst case highly unlikely scenario), you can buy replacement panels or a metal worker can cut out the defective area and patch with a new section of metal. No need to replace all of the pool at once
Basically it is a case of keep an eye on your investment, treat it well, maintain it and it will last and last.
I cannot comment on a SWG as I have never had one, but I have maintained my pool manually (adding bleach daily for chlorine) for a couple of years now. Sometimes I do think it would be nice to have an swg and be automated, but my budget has never allowed for the luxury. Do you have to have a swg to get nice water, no. Do you want a swg, go for it, they have lots of benefits. Do you have to put one in when you build, no you can easily add one later if you want
FYI my pool water is hands down the clearest water I have ever swum in. I have never had chlorine odours either since using TFP. Friends accuse me of doing a complete fresh fill of the pool and/or not chlorinating before they come over to swim.
Even though I dont have a SWG I normally add salt to my water for the soft feel. After a while I also added borax to slow my ph rise and it also softened the water. When my partner and I leave the pool (and we both have quite bad skin conditions) we dont feel like we need to shower or rinse, our hair is soft and our skin does not dry out. I learnt how to do this through this forum and you can learn all you want to here as well
I do believe that with the chemical parameters and regular reliable home testing we teach here you will extend the life of your pool as much as possible because you will not be adding chemicals you dont need or letting your parameters get to a level where it will stress your equipment or pool liner
Yes you will get corrosion at some point. Everything pretty much has salt in it, including soils, but the metal used in pools is either treated or selected to be resistant to corrosion, otherwise it would rust within days. With proper chemical maintenance of the pool water the onset of corrosion will also be delayed. The corrosion will not mean that your walls or any exposed metal like your ladder will suddenly collapse and be completely useless. First you will notice small rust spots. These can be sanded, primed and painted at which point they are protected from corrosion again. Even if a whole panel was found to fail (worst case highly unlikely scenario), you can buy replacement panels or a metal worker can cut out the defective area and patch with a new section of metal. No need to replace all of the pool at once
Basically it is a case of keep an eye on your investment, treat it well, maintain it and it will last and last.
