Salt electrolysis or traditional chlorine: which suits you
A salt pool is also disinfected with chlorine; it is simply produced by an electrolysis unit instead of being added by you. So the choice is about how the water feels, your routine, the equipment and managing the pH.
The basic difference
With traditional chlorination you add chlorine as tablets, granules or liquid. With electrolysis you dissolve a small amount of salt in the water, and a cell in the circuit converts some of it into chlorine whenever the pump runs. The chlorine disinfects, turns back into salt, and the cycle continues. How the unit works is explained in salt electrolysis.
The water in a salt pool is far less salty than the sea, about one tenth, and the saltiness is barely noticeable. You use special pool salt, pure and without additives, not table salt with iodine or anti-caking agents. Both methods are compatible with a PVC liner, provided pH and chlorine stay within their ranges.
Side-by-side comparison
| Salt electrolysis | Traditional chlorine | |
|---|---|---|
| How the water feels | Soft water, hardly any smell when the chemistry is right | Depends on consistency; with steady dosing, also gentle |
| Daily care | Set the output and check pH and chlorine | Add chlorine regularly, refill the dispenser |
| Chemicals you need | Mainly pH minus, and salt for topping up | Chlorine, pH minus or pH plus, stabilizer where needed |
| Equipment | Cell and control unit in the plant room | Floating dispenser or dosing pump |
| Equipment maintenance | Descaling the cell, replacing it after some years | Minimal |
| pH | Tends to rise, needs frequent correction | Rises or falls depending on the product |
| Stabilizer | Added once and changes little | Stabilized tablets keep pushing it up |
| Cold water | Output drops or stops at low temperatures | Works normally, you just need less |
| Around the pool | Rinse stainless steel fittings and natural stone from splashes | No special requirement |
The pH question
Along with chlorine, electrolysis produces substances that raise the pH. That is why the owner of a salt pool mainly uses pH minus and needs to test regularly or have automatic pH control.
With traditional chlorine, the trend depends on the form. Trichlor tablets are acidic and gradually lower pH and alkalinity, while also adding stabilizer that builds up (see chlorine stabilizer). Liquid chlorine and calcium hypochlorite granules are alkaline and tend to raise the pH, and the granules raise hardness as well. Either way, the target is the same: pH 7.2–7.6 and free chlorine 1–3 mg/l.
Which suits you
Salt electrolysis, if:
- you swim often and want soft water without a strong smell;
- you prefer to handle fewer chemicals and not have to remember chlorine doses;
- you live in the house for many months and the pool is in steady use.
Traditional chlorine, if:
- the pool is small or your season is short;
- you want the simplest equipment, with fewer components in the plant room;
- you do not mind a steady weekly routine of testing and dosing.
The initial investment in equipment differs, and this affects the cost of the pool. The cell can usually be added to the circuit later as well; we discuss the options for your pool during the site survey.
Questions
Does a salt pool need any chlorine from a container at all?
Not in everyday use, because the unit produces the chlorine. But you may need a shock chlorination after a storm or very heavy use, or when output drops in cold water.
Can I switch from chlorine to salt in an existing pool?
Usually yes: the cell is fitted in the circuit after the filter and the required amount of salt is added to the water. Before switching, it is worth testing the stabilizer, which may have risen a lot with tablets.
See also
Salt chlorination
Salt electrolysis in the pool: how chlorine is made from salt, how salty the water is, why the pH rises and…
Pool chlorine
Pool chlorine as tablets, granules or liquid: which form suits you, what free and combined chlorine are, and…
Active oxygen
Active oxygen instead of chlorine in your pool: how it works, what you gain in smell and feel, where it…