I recently purchased a house with an indoor pool (in the Seattle area), and am trying to research what it would take to convert it to a salt water system, or ideally a magnesium/potassium system (and to be clear, magnesium chloride, not the magnesium sulfate of Epsom salts). Lots of places call that a mineral pool, but then we run into the problem that there are two types of sanitization systems referred to that one. One being the potassium/magnesium chloride systems, and the other being silver/copper/zinc or whatever type systems like the Frog system - and I'm definitely talking about the former.
I've read through every post that mentions magnesium, and see a few threads that started this conversation, but usually they taper off very quickly (started by people like me who then stop responding), or are from about a decade ago, and centered more around a couple of products being sold in Australia rather than thoughts on how to do this.
First, the reason I want to convert to salt or magnesium is that pretty much everyone in my family is prone to skin irritation, and are struggling with our chlorine-sanitized pool. It definitely gets worse the higher the chlorine levels go, but even when I've dropped them to ~1, there are still some issues. On the other hand, whenever we've had the chance to swim in a salt water pool all of us have loved it - easier on the eyes, the skin, and the hair. And I do understand that there's chlorine in a salt water pool - but our experience has been pretty clear cut on this one. While my interest in the magnesium pools falls under the "I read on the internet that...", my desire to avoid an exclusively-chlorine based system is based on how our bodies have reacted to salt water and chlorine-sanitized pools.
As to why I'm looking at Magnesium/Potassium in lieu of sodium, there are a couple of reasons. The primary reason is that I think my existing pool would fall apart if I switched to sodium chloride. I have a metal ladder, and aluminum coping. The coping is pretty old (I don't think the previous owners changed it out when the redid the pool in 2002, so it might be original, going back ~40 years), and at least one section is seriously corroded. To the point that I am trying to get someone to replace it, but it's a struggle to find anyone to either give me a quote, or who has availability before the end of 2023. So at the moment I'm focused on triage and buying some time. I've had a few people talk about the level of bonding and grounding, implying that it's likely inadequate for conversion to salt water. And finally, we're limping along on a very old heater, I think maybe from the 80s, that's still going, but I'd imagine the heat exchanger is paper thin by now, and probably wouldn't tolerate much more stress to it. I have seen repeated references to the corrosive effects of magnesium/potassium being ~an order of magnitude less than sodium. Of course now that I'm writing a post I cannot find those references, but I swear I read them.
And second, I'm kind of a little bit sold on the benefits of submersion in magnesium - not to the 'cures cancer, baldness, infertility, political infighting, and disrespectful children' level that places like MagnaPool try to sell. But along the lines of Epsom salts, with helping to calm nerves and relax muscles (another joyful issue faced by my wife and myself), and to hydrate skin. My wife loves being in the pool, but the effect it has on her skin and hair kind of sucks. The less stressful the water, the longer she'll stay in, the happier she'll be, and the happier I'll be.
So right, maybe that's enough background. On to a couple of questions.
First, am I an idiot who is missing something big here? I can find a few people and stores in the US advocating for this, but not many. It just doesn't seem to be a thing here, and I'm not entirely sure why.
Second, how do I convert the pool? Clearly I'd need to start with removing the chlorine tablets, and installing a chlorine generator. Also, at least some of the things I've read insist that my current cartridge filter wouldn't be adequate, and that I'd need to replace it with a glass-media filter. I think I've found places to buy magnesium chloride and potassium chloride in bulk. I just haven't been able to find a guide on how to do this. Plenty of companies offering to help do so, primarily in Australia but also one in the sunbelt, and another that makes it as far north as Portland, but that doesn't really help me. It's hard to pony up the money to get help with the pool when it involves airfare, room, and board. I imagine my heater will explode an hour after I do this, because reasons, but then it might explode before I hit "post" anyway. And since it's been 2 months trying to get a quote to replace it out of local companies, then this whole issue would go fallow for a couple of years, or until I get the courage to replace the heater myself.
And third, how do I maintain it? Are there strips that would detect the magnesium and/or potassium levels? Would I need to test those independently? Otherwise, I think I just maintain it as a salt water pool.
Anyway, and suggestions or thoughts? I'd love to hear them.
I've read through every post that mentions magnesium, and see a few threads that started this conversation, but usually they taper off very quickly (started by people like me who then stop responding), or are from about a decade ago, and centered more around a couple of products being sold in Australia rather than thoughts on how to do this.
First, the reason I want to convert to salt or magnesium is that pretty much everyone in my family is prone to skin irritation, and are struggling with our chlorine-sanitized pool. It definitely gets worse the higher the chlorine levels go, but even when I've dropped them to ~1, there are still some issues. On the other hand, whenever we've had the chance to swim in a salt water pool all of us have loved it - easier on the eyes, the skin, and the hair. And I do understand that there's chlorine in a salt water pool - but our experience has been pretty clear cut on this one. While my interest in the magnesium pools falls under the "I read on the internet that...", my desire to avoid an exclusively-chlorine based system is based on how our bodies have reacted to salt water and chlorine-sanitized pools.
As to why I'm looking at Magnesium/Potassium in lieu of sodium, there are a couple of reasons. The primary reason is that I think my existing pool would fall apart if I switched to sodium chloride. I have a metal ladder, and aluminum coping. The coping is pretty old (I don't think the previous owners changed it out when the redid the pool in 2002, so it might be original, going back ~40 years), and at least one section is seriously corroded. To the point that I am trying to get someone to replace it, but it's a struggle to find anyone to either give me a quote, or who has availability before the end of 2023. So at the moment I'm focused on triage and buying some time. I've had a few people talk about the level of bonding and grounding, implying that it's likely inadequate for conversion to salt water. And finally, we're limping along on a very old heater, I think maybe from the 80s, that's still going, but I'd imagine the heat exchanger is paper thin by now, and probably wouldn't tolerate much more stress to it. I have seen repeated references to the corrosive effects of magnesium/potassium being ~an order of magnitude less than sodium. Of course now that I'm writing a post I cannot find those references, but I swear I read them.
And second, I'm kind of a little bit sold on the benefits of submersion in magnesium - not to the 'cures cancer, baldness, infertility, political infighting, and disrespectful children' level that places like MagnaPool try to sell. But along the lines of Epsom salts, with helping to calm nerves and relax muscles (another joyful issue faced by my wife and myself), and to hydrate skin. My wife loves being in the pool, but the effect it has on her skin and hair kind of sucks. The less stressful the water, the longer she'll stay in, the happier she'll be, and the happier I'll be.
So right, maybe that's enough background. On to a couple of questions.
First, am I an idiot who is missing something big here? I can find a few people and stores in the US advocating for this, but not many. It just doesn't seem to be a thing here, and I'm not entirely sure why.
Second, how do I convert the pool? Clearly I'd need to start with removing the chlorine tablets, and installing a chlorine generator. Also, at least some of the things I've read insist that my current cartridge filter wouldn't be adequate, and that I'd need to replace it with a glass-media filter. I think I've found places to buy magnesium chloride and potassium chloride in bulk. I just haven't been able to find a guide on how to do this. Plenty of companies offering to help do so, primarily in Australia but also one in the sunbelt, and another that makes it as far north as Portland, but that doesn't really help me. It's hard to pony up the money to get help with the pool when it involves airfare, room, and board. I imagine my heater will explode an hour after I do this, because reasons, but then it might explode before I hit "post" anyway. And since it's been 2 months trying to get a quote to replace it out of local companies, then this whole issue would go fallow for a couple of years, or until I get the courage to replace the heater myself.
And third, how do I maintain it? Are there strips that would detect the magnesium and/or potassium levels? Would I need to test those independently? Otherwise, I think I just maintain it as a salt water pool.
Anyway, and suggestions or thoughts? I'd love to hear them.
