Am I the only one who likes the perm salt system?

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zmwt

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Jun 29, 2022
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Okay, relatively new pool owner here, so I don't know a lot of the pool lingo. I honestly don't know a whole lot about anything pool related. But I had a small Intex pool last year. I used chlorine to keep it clean. It worked pretty good. I didn't have a whole lot of issues. Sometimes I would itch after being in the pool. Especially my forearms. I'm pretty sure it was the chlorine. But it was probably my fault because I might have had too much chlorine in it. Anyway, we have a new 18x33 pool this year. We got it on April. It came from Family Leisure. It has the permasalt system. I didn't know anything about it, but I didn't put much thought into it. I just assumed that it must do the job adequately, or else they wouldn't be selling it. I did research it a little after I got it, and saw tons and tons of negative reviews, and very few positive reviews. It did worry me, but thought that maybe it was user error or maybe I'll just be one of the lucky ones that it ends up working for. So I just stuck with it so see how it went. And so far, (3 months in) it's been great. Water has looked great. I've had zero issues. And it's been super easy. I'm loving it. But I'm just wondering if there's a chance that this can be a great system or if it's just a matter of time before I have issues with it. I have no dog in the fight. It won't hurt my feelings one bit to switch to chlorine. As weird as it might sound, I like the smell of a chlorine pool. So I would actually enjoy switching, just for the smell lol. But I will say that I haven't been itching any, since I've been using the permasalt system. And maybe I'm being mislead about this next part, but it is my understanding that the permasalt/copper systems are easier on your skin and are healthier. And since I don't itch, it makes me think that's true. But then again, I might've itched because I had too much chlorine in my previous pool. Anyway, I'd like some unbiased thoughts on this. Like I said, I have no dog in the fight. I'm not here to support one or the other. I just want some honest opinions that aren't swayed by utter disdain towards one or the other. Is there anyone else that likes the permasalt and has been using it for years?! I'd love to hear from you.

I've attached some pictures that show how clear my water is. I know that's not all I can look at, but I feel like it's a good start

Thanks in advance! -Zack20220628_205934.jpg20220624_180748.jpg20220624_164830.jpg20220623_175109.jpg20220623_175119.jpg20220623_175056.jpg
 
zmwt said:
my understanding that the permasalt/copper systems are easier on your skin and are healthier
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Unfortunately that sounds like it came from the marketing department over at PermaSalt. The opposite is closer to the truth...

Anyway, glad you feel it's working for you (after a whole 2 months) but you won't find anybody here promoting that system. Copper doesn't sanitize water, it just kills algae. Algae isn't dangerous, it's just unpleasant to look at. What is dangerous is all the little microscopic things swimming around in water that chlorine kills but copper doesn't. Honestly I wouldn't swim or let my child swim in a pool maintained with this method. I don't know if you think that's "biased", it's just based on my knowledge of water chemistry and sanitation. I have nothing to sell, my pool has been perfect for over a decade and at the end of the day that's all I can really control. For the record I did have a Frog system on my pool when I bought this house, which is a silver introduction system. After everything went south I found this website and ripped that thing out. Water quality improved, easy of maintenance improved, and cost greatly improved.

As far as your experience from last year, pool store methods are pretty awful too. That's why we don't follow them. TFPC is about maintaining a good and sanitary balance of the levels in the pool, especially keeping the chlorine level adequate for the CYA level, something no pool store will tell you. I do think you'd be disappointed though, there's no "chlorine smell" to a TFPC pool. Just clear, sanitary water that doesn't have any itchy feel to it. All without dumping metals in to the water.

Anyway, welcome to TFP! :wave:
 
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Welcome Zack! Ultimately you have to do your own research and know what your system can and cannot do (Hint: See Donldson reply) It's not just a matter of switching to chlorine. You've done it once before and it doesn't sound like it was a great experience for you. Your real decision is A) embrace a proven methodology of pool care with a built in support system that produces excellent results (TFPC) B) Stay your present course and hope for the best. I know you're looking for some feedback on that Permasalt system, but I can only tell you about what I know. As others have said, there is no smell to a TFPC pool. Nobody complains of itchiness or burning eyes, etc. Like other TFP'ers, I test my water on a regular basis so I know what's going on with my pool chemistry. As it's a proven system I have no reason to entertain thoughts about what might happen down the road. As long as I follow TFPC protocols I will continue to have crystal clear, safely sanitized water. Even if I did have an issue, I have all these people to help me if I'm unable to tackle it on my own. Best of luck!
 
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zmwt said:
As weird as it might sound, I like the smell of a chlorine pool.
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You have no idea what that smell actually is… If your chlorine and chemical levels are maintained correctly you won’t have that smell or itching or burning eyes. As has been stated before, if your just using that permasalt system, your pool isn’t being disinfected at all, your just killing algae with copper. That is why your pool looks clean (it isn’t)
EDIT: To the OP, I know your looking for unbiased opinions on this device. We might come across as being a bit snarky and we are a bit snarky, just don’t take it personally. None of these devices are even allowed to claim that you can eliminate the use of a proven chemical sanitizer while using these. Take our word for it, they do kill algae, they don’t kill bacteria and viruses. Also when your copper levels get too high, it will stain your pool and turn peoples hair green. Eventually you will have to drain all the water out to get rid of the copper. If you want a clean sanitary pool and don’t want to drop hundreds of dollars into chemicals, we can help. If your just looking for validation that this thing was a good investment, no one here will tell you that.


CC - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

 
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I think the biggest thing that bothers me about the system is they call is "PERMA-SALT". It is neither permanent (unless you are talking about the future permanent stains you will see) or salt.

More that that, it is kinds of shocking that a system for "sanitization" even exists. Add metal to a pool to kill algae?!? As if there is nothing else in the water that needs to be killed? No one has even thought about all the other things that need sanitized, we just stop at copper? Seems irresponsible at best.
 
gingrbredman said:
More that that, it is kinds of shocking that a system for "sanitization" even exists.
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It's a "sanitation system" in the same way a sugary cereal is "part of this balanced breakfast". Just like the cereal is surrounded by fruits and milk to make a balanced breakfast, the sanitation system instructions include dumping a bag of chlorine at some point so the "system" you follow provides sanitation. At least, for the few hours the cal-hypo is in the water before it burns off in the sun. Companies like this are very good at implying a thing without explicitly saying it.
 
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zmwt said:
Sometimes I would itch after being in the pool.
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It's likely either your chlorine was out of balance with your CYA level or your pH was out of range. How were you testing? If you look around here a bit, you'll find we place no faith in pool store testing and the only thing test strips are good for is measuring the depth of your trash can. Step one of the TFP method is to obtain a qualified test kit. Swimming Pool Test Kits Compared

zmwt said:
Especially I like the smell of a chlorine pool.
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You might not if you knew what causes that smell. That is not chlorine, it is combined chloramines that you are smelling. In a nutshell, it's organic material (algae, sweat, pee, etc.) being consumed by chlorine and converted to chloramines which are then burned off by the sun's UV rays. If I smell that around a pool, I'm not getting in. I *never* go to water parks anymore. A well maintained and sanitary pool has no smell. Visitors to my pool comment that they like it better than a "chlorine" pool because the water feels softer and there's no smell. They don't realize it is still a chlorine pool, just a TFP maintained one.

Your pool does look very nice now. But you should be aware that it is copper that stains liners and turns hair green. Chlorine has gotten a bad rap over the years, when the real culprit was copper from the use of algaecides.
 
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