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Started By
Message
re: Question for pool owners....
Posted on 9/5/08 at 9:26 am to West Monroe
Posted on 9/5/08 at 9:26 am to West Monroe
quote:
most everybody with the salt water pools have said they are low maintence.....
HUGE MISCONCEPTION!!!!
1
Posted on 9/5/08 at 9:28 am to Cdawg
quote:
HUGE MISCONCEPTION!!!!
Elaborate?
Posted on 9/5/08 at 11:18 am to Ziggy
to keep it brief, you are going to spend the same amount of time AND money balancing salt & chemical levels with the amount of rainfall in the gulf coast area if the salt system is *to be* properly maintained.
This post was edited on 9/5/08 at 11:19 am
Posted on 9/5/08 at 2:19 pm to Ziggy
quote:
HUGE MISCONCEPTION!!!!
Alkalinity, pH, calcium, and stabilizer still have to be maintained whether it is a salt water pool or a chlorine pool. Don't think you add a bag of salt once in a while and that's it because that's not the case at all.
Whenever there is a heavy rain you will have to add something to keep it balanced no matter what type of pool you have.
Chlorine tablets are more expensive than salt but the salt cells only last 3-4 years and have to be replaced at $700-800 a pop.
My pool was originally built as a salt water pool 12 years ago. After going through 3 salt cells I switched to chlorine 2 years ago. I have not done the math to see which is actually cheaper but I think it's pretty close to being a wash or maybe the salt was a little more expensive considering the cost of the cells.
One thing that bothered me about the salt pool was that the chemical reaction involved causes the pH to constantly shift upward. To keep the pH in range it has to be monitored daily and muriatic acid added at least every couple of days. A pH which is too high will cause scale to form on the pool surface and inside all the plumbing plus promote algae growth so it's something you need to stay on top of.
Like I said, I switched to chlorine and have no intention of going back to salt. They both have their pros and cons. Most people I have encountered who love their salt pools have only had them for a short time and have not had to replace a cell yet.
I want to add one more thing. We got our pool replastered in December. The guy who did it tried to talk us into getting completely new salt system ($1600) saying it was much improved and carried a 7 year warranty. The fine print stated that it was a very limited warranty after 3 years. So just beware. Seems like the cells are still not expected to last much beyond 3 years.
This post was edited on 9/5/08 at 2:40 pm
Posted on 9/5/08 at 4:10 pm to lsu1980
My parents put our pool in when I was in High School and we swam a lot in it. Now that we are all out of the house, I think they use it more than we did...The neighbors too. Parents are always working in the yard and after they are done and everything is picked up, my dad does a cannon ball into the pool to cool off. Mom got into the water aerobics after she retired. Our golden retriever is in the pool every day.
Adding a pool does not add value to your home. It actually makes it take longer to sell. That is unless you have one of those magnificent pools you see on HGTV.
I would make sure you aesthetically put a fence around the pool to separate it from greenspace to protect kids and pets playing (there are codes for this too)But, if you don't intend to do it in the beginning, I would plan for the possibility of putting one in prior to selling if you ever plan to do so.
I used to maintain the pool in H.S. and its really not that tough. The hardest part is skimming the leaves in the fall. The mechanical pool cleaners (polaris) does all the tough work really. Plus, if you take a water sample into the pool shop, they will run the tests for you and give you exactly what you need to add to the water to adjust the pH levels. When your kid gets to the teen years, make it their chore to keep the pool clean and you are free and clear till they move out. That was my chore.
Adding a pool does not add value to your home. It actually makes it take longer to sell. That is unless you have one of those magnificent pools you see on HGTV.
I would make sure you aesthetically put a fence around the pool to separate it from greenspace to protect kids and pets playing (there are codes for this too)But, if you don't intend to do it in the beginning, I would plan for the possibility of putting one in prior to selling if you ever plan to do so.
I used to maintain the pool in H.S. and its really not that tough. The hardest part is skimming the leaves in the fall. The mechanical pool cleaners (polaris) does all the tough work really. Plus, if you take a water sample into the pool shop, they will run the tests for you and give you exactly what you need to add to the water to adjust the pH levels. When your kid gets to the teen years, make it their chore to keep the pool clean and you are free and clear till they move out. That was my chore.
This post was edited on 9/5/08 at 4:30 pm
Posted on 9/5/08 at 4:16 pm to lsu1980
thanks for typing what I didnt' have teh time to do. My parents pool was salt and there's no telling how much they spent on muratic acid. Salt water wrecks havoc quicker on certain decking, tiles, plaster, stones, and surrounding landscape.
Posted on 9/5/08 at 4:42 pm to Cdawg
quote:
Salt water wrecks havoc quicker on certain decking, tiles, plaster, stones, and surrounding landscape.
I think I have to agree with that. I had a problem spot where a small section of rebar was actually rusting through the plaster. It started when the pool was 5 years old. I have had it repaired and patched 4 times so far. Since I went to chlorine, it has not happened again. I've had more than one pool professional tell me it may be due to the salt water and the ionization that takes place affecting the rebar. Don't know if this is the case, just passing on something to think about and to research.
Posted on 9/5/08 at 5:13 pm to LSUFaninGeorgia
quote:
Plus, if you take a water sample into the pool shop, they will run the tests for you and give you exactly what you need to add to the water
Pool shop tests your water free and you pay for what they tell you to add, just to be clear.
It becomes a real joy running to the pool shop once a week. You can get a home test kit (either strips or liquid reagent) and do it yourself. These kits are not extremely cheap so add that to the neverending cost of pool ownership.
I'll shut up now. My true feelings are starting to show.
Posted on 9/7/08 at 4:08 pm to lsu1980
Have had a saltwater for 4 years. Only thing that has ever been done is a bag of salt say evry 2 months and a pound of cyanuric acid.
Oh and the pump only runs say 8 hours a day. Pool has been pristine.......... love it.
Oh and the pump only runs say 8 hours a day. Pool has been pristine.......... love it.
This post was edited on 9/7/08 at 4:09 pm
Posted on 9/7/08 at 8:41 pm to Drop4Loss
I spend approx 10 minutes once a week on my salt pool and 30 minutes once a month. I do have to add acid a lot but it takes less than a minute to do it. I've added salt once since the beginning of June.
Posted on 9/7/08 at 11:55 pm to lsu1980
quote:
I have had it repaired and patched 4 times so far.
Any idea how much resurfacing costs? Per sq ft?
Posted on 9/8/08 at 1:37 am to Luther Mahoney
quote:
Any idea how much resurfacing costs? Per sq ft?
Each time we had that small rebar spot chipped out and patched it was about $200.
The replaster of the entire pool cost about $3500. Not sure how many sq ft but the pool holds 18K gallons.
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