9 Common SALT WATER POOL MAINTENANCE Mistakes | Swim University
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- Опубликовано: 4 июн 2024
- Get the free Salt Water Pool Cheat Sheet at www.swimuniversity.com/saltwater 👍
Salt water pool maintenance is a bit different than traditional pool care. While you don’t have to add as many chemicals with a salt water pool, you do have to balance your water and care for your pool equipment, like your salt water generator, a little differently. Here are 9 common salt water pool maintenance mistakes and how to avoid them.
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⏰ Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction to Salt Water Pool Maintenance
00:37 - Mistake #1. Thinking A Salt Water Pool Has No Chlorine
01:06 - Mistake #2. Not Testing Free Chlorine Each Week
01:49 - Mistake #3. Not Keeping pH Levels In Check
02:29 - Mistake #4. Adding Too Much Salt Too Quickly
03:02 - Mistake #5. Not Testing Salinity Levels By Hand
03:34 - Mistake #6. Not Balancing Alkalinity, Stabilizer, and Calcium Each Month
05:15 - Mistake #7. Forgetting To Shock Pool Regularly
06:11 - Mistake #8. Letting High Salt Levels Erode Pool Surfaces and Equipment
06:59 - Mistake #9. Forgetting To Inspect Your Salt Cell
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Swim University has made swimming pool and hot tub care easy for more than 10 million homeowners. And each year, we continue to help more people with water chemistry, cleaning, and troubleshooting. We know taking care of a swimming pool or spa can be difficult. And it’s hard to find a trusted source of information. We get it! This is the reason we created Swim University.
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We hope this helps you avoid these salt water pool maintenance mistakes! And if you need more help, grab our free Salt Water Pool Cheat Sheet at www.swimuniversity.com/saltwater 👍
Hello, hope you are well! Quick question: my low salt warning has come on and was wondering if water softener salt is just as good as pool salt? It's half the price where I live so thought its worth the question. I've done a little research and if it's not pure white and pure sodium chlorine not to use but I would rather listen to you. Kind regards Matt.
P.s another great video thank you!!!
Too funny, but yeah, I get it
Cool good but you definitely forgot to mention alkalinity and how important it is when you have a pool heater. You also often mention calcium buildup but did not mention how to remove it. Sorry I don't mean to criticize but it would make for a moral wholes ome video
@@mattgoodwin70 water softener salt (without additives, like stain removers) is exactly the same as pool salt. It comes in crystals and pellets, which while coarser than pool salt granules, dissolve just about as quickly, so who cares! It's certainly not worth 1-1/2 to twice the price.
If I use seawater (which I pump from under the ground, it's technically brackish but it can have a salinity of 4000ppm)
Do I still need to use chlorine?
Or can I just change the water on a regular basis?
well this is overwhelming af. filling in my pool with dirt.
You will still drop 8k
Omg I just got so overwhelmed by half video.. ima have to pay someone.. this is hard..
@@rasborojc yeah it really is. Like I need to go to college for this. Haha
I was out with mistake #6 ✌️
It doesnt get any easier then a salt pool.
I just bought a home with a salt water pool. After a week and a half of watching your videos, I think I’ve got a basic understanding of how to take care of it, I’m just more of a hands on learner. Keep the salt water pool for dummies videos coming!
Good luck! Hope we can keep helping you out!
Just turn the pumps on.
Wait 24 hours
Take a sample into your local pool dealer and have it tested.
Buy the chemicals they sell you and add the amount they say during the time they say.
Add the chemicals.
Run pump 24 hours
Redo the testing at the pool place
They'll tell you what to add.
Do this till it correct.
Wait 1 week and do it again.
Clear concise and comprehensive. And no LOUD background music. THANK YOU!
Glad it was helpful!
Also, I love how you documented each mistake by number. Some I had to listen to several times, and your index was super helpful.
Beginner here and this was super helpful. thanks!
An amazing and concise pack of very useful advices. Thanks a lot!
I saved this video in my Pool folder and refer back to it every Summer. Thank you for all your videos.
Great video!
I watched about 15 other videos and this is the first one that seems to have everything in one place in a very short and concise list.
I'll be referencing it many times in the future I'm sure.
Thank you. My pool has been crystal clear since watching your videos.
Thanks for the tips!
We were making all but one of the mistakes!
Ur the MAN!!!! Thx for spreading the knowledge, been following u for a cpl of years now, and I must say Ive learned a lot!! I've told all in my circle that own a pool about u :)
Excellent review. Very informative. Thank you.
Thanks! Instructions are very clear!
Fantastic info here - thank you! 😊
This guy is the be all end all of pool maintenance. He is a genius professor. He can help you with whatever ails your pool.
True!!
Wow thank you! So appreciate that
Um, everything here was just crazy... shock once a week? wtf is the point of a salt system then.... (not to mention he aint talking about a real shock he's talking about a salt cell that can't keep up with demand and just adding extra chlorine using a package that says "shock")
Clean the cell when you close AND open the pool.... Check alk once a MONTH? but check salt after a heavy rain? This is nuts...
Thank you so much. I am learning to maintain my pool.
Very good. Concise and well organized. Thank you.
Outstanding information for a new pool owner. Thank you 🙏🏾
Glad it was helpful!
Great video. Thanks!
Great content, Matt! Perfect timing! Thank you, Sir!
This and your other videos are straight forward and easy to follow. After owning a saltwater pool for nearly ten years now, I believe I know more than the average owner. It is mostly trial and error and you will learn from every mistake you make. The tougher lessons learned the less likely you will forget that scenario in the future. But one thing is for certain. If you want it beautifully clear and balanced, a swimming pool is like a five-year-old child. You can't take your eyes off of it for a second!
That's a great analogy! 🤣
This was very helpful. Thank you
I do appreciate not feeling of chlorine after getting out of my salt water pool. I also have to add muriatic acid regularly. Great pointers!
You may have your generator turned up too high. I have most of my pools set at percentages that give me 2.0 -3.0 readings and still have clear water with no algae. Of course every pool is different and your pool may not be able to get away with a reading like that. If it is getting more sun exposure, has a smaller filter, and/or more usage then you'll have to make adjustments.
You can lower your pH without affecting alkalinity by injecting CO2.
This is great information breaking it down for someone who moved from the city to a home with a SW pool. The pool cleaner we have is probably doing none of this and the info you provided makes it easy to take it on ourselves and probably do a much better job!
Glad we can help!
Thank you!!!! Very helpful!!!
Very interesting information. I just upgraded the above the ground pool, it was 8x 30, now, 18 Ft by "52 deep Intex. We are working the set up and we are going to use the Intex salt system. Can I do that without a problem? If so, what should I watch for?
Thanks 👍
This was very helpful. Thank youl
This was a really great tutorial! Easy to follow and helped me understand the logical connections in pool chemistry. THANKS!
Excellent information. Thank you#
Great video and very helpful! My pool service company keeps putting chlorine tabs in the pool, which I never understood since it's a salt pool. Letting them go, and taking over myself with the help of this video. Also going to get your cheat sheets. Thank you!!
Chlorine tabs? I'm glad you decided to take over!
I was thinking about digging a well and using filtered well water
This was fantastic. Thanks 👍
Long time pool owner here. Agree with everything except the part about having to shock the pool regularly. If your pool chemistry is fine and the water remains clear algae free there is no need to shock the pool. Only time i shock is when i open and close the pool for the season.
That's great. If you have a pool that doesn't cause you issues and you don't get lots of rain or debris inside, that makes sense you don't need to shock it often.
Shocking helps to remove your combine available chlorine, which is basically just dead chlorine. Depending on the pool, and how much usage it gets, this can build up and cause a strong chlorine smell, as well as skin irritation. you can use a non chlorine shock (potassium monosulfate) every 1-2 weeks or as needed
@@payceanderson1310 I guess if you have a build up of CC then you would have to shock the pool. I keep my pool fairly clean, daily light clean and weekly vacuum, and I test the chemistry every week. I don't think i've once shocked the pool in the past 10 yrs of doing this. If you keep having a buildup of CC then I think maybe you are letting dirt buildup in the pool for too many days or you're keeping your chlorine level too low.
@@SwimUniversity If you have any clue as to what you are doing lol... you are not shocking regularly ... like... shock regularly... but check your alk once a month... but check your salt after a heavy rain???????????? These directions are crazy... Using boost? Who has a salt cell not running 100% (all that does is put it it to 100%... shock once a week? wtf? Not to mention a real shock is 10X your chlorine level so... 3 is ideal... once a week you need to bring the pool to 30? LOL oh god...
The best had to be a tie with
add salt slow...
Why not just oh idk... calculate the right amount... to add?
and then clean the salt cell when you open and close the pool...
So pool is closed... salt cell is dry and clean
Open pool.... Better clean it again... rofl...
Long time pool maintenance man here and your wrong.It’s guys like you that help keep us in business.😄
Great video as usual.
In the "adding too much salt to quickly" section, you speak of adding more water and show a picture of a hose filter; do you recommend a specific brand of hose filter? Our well water is chock full of calcium. (I've had to add a lot of water to our pool this hot, dry summer in Panhandle Florida.)
Thank you!
glorious thank you!
Very informative. Great 👍 video
Agreed. Good information.
Thanks great video
This was very helpful
Very good video
Thanks
Thanks
Great Content it is appreciated
Hi and great work. Can you recommend any good digital salinity readers? Thanks.
that was good thank you
Thank you
HI good day to you thanks for your informative videos I'm a first salt user and the last times I hade the pool on it was a mess. I have two questions if you can be so kind to help me 1st do I have to have the sand pump and salt system on every day and 2nd what do I do if my reading salt is 2,820 do I add more salt and if so how much or do I have to wait till my salt system reads low on salt my pool is an Intex of 4,440 gal. Salt its supposed to be from 3,000 to 3,400
What's the best way to remove the salt cylinder? I did it once before with a big wrench but I try to do it yesterday and I was scared I was going to break something. My friend told me to use an oil filter wrench but I went to Home Depot and I saw this clamp that looked like it would fit around the outside thread but it didn't have enough torque to turn the cylinder locks to unthread them. So I'll return that today and get the oil filter wrench. I just don't want to break anything by putting too much pressure on it
Great video!!!
Very helpful
Hi !
Quick pool question.
I need to add salt. What setting should I have it on ? Filtration ? Recirculate?
Ok watched again this IS the best video!
Glad you think so!
Thanks 😊
Much help
Great stuff.
I have the Tcell940 what should my setting be on my system 15,9,5,3
Mistake 8 haveing a pool
Salt pools i keep Alchalinity at 80 and Calcium at 200, salt 3600, stabalizer 70, this helps keep scaling down since PH generally runs at 8.0. And I almost never shock a salt pool.
for some reasons, my pool PH is always fine and I have a saltwater system, I never have to add anything (except salt when opening it) .. I used to have a spa (bromine) and it was the opposite, PH needed to be adjusted often
How long is it safe to operate a pentar intieli chor chlorinator with high salt levels? It says on unit 3600 is normal however reading of water is 4200 . Cant drain pool until next week will it be ok?
So informative! Thank you from a new salt water pool owner. I have taking care if pools for many years but when it’s yours, it seems a bit different.😂. Thank you!
Good info
I started renting my buddies house which has a salt water pool, watching this video helped my understand that I have a lot to keep in mind for pool care...any other tips for a new pool man like myself???
Hire a pool cleaner or your in for a hell of a ride 😂
So you can test free chlorine levels with the old standard test kits ?
With the 5 drops of R0001?
Pool guy here. Thanks for pointing out that salt pools still are chlorine! I can show this to customers who get upset when I tell them this.....
It’s a gimmick….upset customers get dumped over here
I read somewhere that chlorine should be 7,5% of CYA because of the reduced effectiveness at higher levels. That would mean, at your mentioned 80ppm CYA level, 6 ppm of chlorine would be required. What du you suggest?
Easy peasy!
I ditched the salt aspect of my pool years ago. Extremely hard Colorado River water here + the salt raised the TDS way, way, way too high with lots of salt crust on the edge of the pool. When the temps went over 110 as they frequently do, still had to use chorine. My pool guy wrecked the plates cleaning then and just gave up and went to conventional chorine tablets.
Smart…doing it right, now.
So much of this internet pool crap is for places with acidic water instead of alkaline.
Is there a way to get rid of Calcium Silicate? it does not dissolve with household acid
Do I need to worry about calcium in an above ground pool? That may be a dumb question but I’m new at this and I really don’t know.
I’ve been through this and knew exactly how it would end. Salt cell is next… 😅
Matt- If I have a vinyl liner, in-ground pool that I drain a few inches under my skimmer for the winter, should I care about water hardness? Thanks - Matt
Yes, if it's an inground pool with a vinyl liner your calcium hardness levels should be maintained between 175 and 225 PPM.
Thanks
@@SwimUniversity Vinyl, the one that matters the least to have it balanced... tell me SU... why are we not keeping ALL pools regardless of type balanced? Why is it only in ground vinyl pools?
Because salt systems always bounce the PH up, and you need to lower the PH weekly, I would add Sulfuric acid (no fume) instead of muriatic acid. You are only trying to lower the PH, not the alkalinity. Muriatic acid lowers both more rapidly. Also, if you're in a area where the calcium levels in the source water are high. You'll want to keep the alkalinity a little bit lower than you might normally keep in a pool where you're adding chlorine manually. That way you won't get the calcium granules blowing back into the pool when the cell reverses polarity to clean itself.
That's a great tip, thanks!
I can see why it's the kids who flunked high school chemistry that end up as pool boys. What you say about pH is absolute nonsense, you can't lower pH AND alkalinity, they are opposites. Low pH is acidity, high pH is alkalinity 🤯.
Muriatic acid is simply HCl (strictly speaking H3O+Cl-). It's an ACID (proton doner); it can ONLY lower pH! Salt is merely the Cl buffer in the system. As the cell dissassociates NaCl, the Cl is consumed by biological processes and sunlight and Na increases. Na is an alkali metal, so raises pH. Adding hydrochloric (muriatic) acid replaces the lost Cl by re-forming salt (NaOH + HCl -> NaCl + H2O) and drops pH. It is the HCl that is the ultimate source of renewable Cl in your pool. Adding sulphuric acid (H2SO4) will drop PH but not replace the Cl. It will also increase sulphate levels.
@@stephengrimmer35 Take a perfectly balanced pool, add a gallon of muratic acid. Test again and then open your mouth.
@@stephengrimmer35 And this is why internet chemists aren’t pool guys. Different chemicals have different buoyancy due to their density when they are IN water, therefor when or if the pool isn’t circulating you have different layers of chemicals, sodium base tends to sink, such as your sodium hypochlorites, and sodium bicarbonates. And your acid bases such as your hydrochloric and cynarics will layer above. When you’re dealing with chemical PPM in water every chemical you add will effect one of the others. If your alkalinity is at a 30ppm and you need to raise it to 100ppm the addition of (let’s say 10lbs in a 15k gallon pool) sodium bicarbonate which is a BASE will raise your PH. Now if your alkalinity is high due to someone not calculating their doses properly and you straight pour or “tunnel” your hydrochloric acid in a high volume into the water you’ll blow a hole in your alkalinity layer and neutralize the alkalinity creating carbon dioxide gas. It’s called a neutralization reaction. But they must not have taught you any of that in internet chemist class.
@@xxxSiMoN18xxx When your pool isn't running? So how long exactly do you let a pool rest before you test the water? I'll take the advice of the guy you try to make fun of while talking about non moving water
Will salt work for an above ground pool that's 1,000 gallons with a simple filter?
I bought a blue works system for a 15000 gallon pool mine is a 10'000 the cell produces very little chlorine, the tech support said it is to small and I need to by a bigger cell which is not going to happen this year but I was curious what will happen if I just run it at 100% other than wearing out a cell that really isn't worth a crap anyway.
Salt sucks, lol... run it at 100% and set the pump to run as long as needed to keep chlorine in the pool...
So what does it mean if I am having to clean my salt cell every other week due to calcium build up? Water is super clear. Should I replace the cell?
Matt, my SWG manual says it must be turned off (set to 0%) when adding chemicals. I usually run the pump/VSP on high after adding chemicals… but how many hours do I wait before turning the SWG back on?
Usually you want to wait about an hour for the chemicals to circulate then retest your water.
@@SwimUniversity Thank you! Will do!
I have a fiberglass pool with a salt system. How do I clean off the salt ring that builds up around the inside of the pool at the water line? Thanks!
I have a fiberglass pool with a salt system. I've never heard of a salt ring building up at the water line. Salt dissolves easily in water so it would be difficult for it to form. It could be calcium. Try to grab a little bit of the build up and pour muriatic acid on it. If it fizzes it's calcium.
@@sd0753 Thanks for your reply. Yep! I’m sure it is a hard water build up. What is the best way to clean it off without harming the fiberglass pool? Thanks!
I'm not sure. I'm just a homeowner. I would think lowering the water and washing with muriatic acid would work. To prevent it from happening again, you'd need to lower the calcium hardness in your water. Depending on where you are, that could be impossible
Hi, new to pools. I have a 14' (about) Intex pool that I mainly use for my dog. It gets dirty fast and i havent used any chemicals cause im afraid she will get sick as she likes to drink the water out of it. We have been partially draining and refilling which gets expensive and doesnt helo the drought we are in. Is it safe to do the normal cleaning-chemical routine if I know my dog will drink the water?
Sorry, we can't give health advice here. But lots of rec centers and municipalities have "dog days" at the end of the pool season, so you might want to check out what they do in those instances.
dog gona get sick but people won't? Run the pool like a normal pool. 1 dog (average size) = 10 people for contamination calculations...
Oh yeah don't listen to the add 293124 chemical people...
baking soda, liquid acid, some form of chlorine... done.
So much for a pool
Need a flow chart for this lol
I have a strange issue. My pool looks great, PH is great, free chlorine, salt levels are all good, I cleaned my DE filter about a month ago. The problem is, I can tell water pressure is increased, by adding a 1/2 a cup to one gallon of water, to my pool skimmers, within 2 minutes it increases and runs steady for about 4-6 hours… I don’t understand why this happens. It does the same thing as backwashing my filter, it just doesn’t last as long. I am thinking I need to clean my filter again, but I normally don’t have to do this but once a quarter
Seriously! 😆 All this makes my head hurt!
I would love to just use the boost option but it needs to run for 36-48 hours.
Why does my ppm always reset everyday. It goes below the 2500 ppm every time i have to re calibrate and it works.
Is 10000mg/L dangerous for equipment of 10-15000 gallons pool?
What is best shock for salt pool? Do you have link?
Liquid chlorine or dichlor shock. Or use your super chlorinate button on your salt water generator.
Us pool guys should vote whether we like salt systems or not, would be interesting to see the results lol. I personally don't like them unless we install an acid feeder, especially in plaster pools
I dont like them unless the homeowner is terrible at maintaining their pool.
I'm a homeowner who is terrible at pool maintenance, love the salt system lol
I'm a non-chemist homeowner with a brand-new 18ft dia x 4ft deep aboveground pool (approx 6400gal). I don't plan to be horrible at maintaining it, but I hope the somewhat over-sized Intex sand filter/pump & chlorine generator unit will simplify things.
I just setup the pool yesterday, and I've got the hoses, fittings, and filter/pump/chlorine generator unit installed . I've leak-tested the hoses & fittings, and the pump & filter appear to be working. Now I'm heading outside to add salt for the chlorine generator.
You basically swap dumping in chlorine for dumping in more acid. I have one, I think this its overrated. The cells themselves also just dont last that long in my climate.
I was planning to swap my bromine pool to salt when we do the liner next year but after reading more about it I decided we're just going to swap to chlorine. The "savings" of using cheap salt get eaten up quickly by the salt cells only lasting 3-7 years. I've always had a crystal clear pool and it's really a simple task if you put in a minimal amount of effort REGULARLY so the appeal of a more automated system isn't huge for me.
Cheat Sheet never downloads -- has it moved to a different page or are you not offering it anymore?
I just get the spinning arrow once I put in my email and click in the reCaptcha box.
Pool ownership is a blast lol, it’s not that bad folks but definitely madness to keep water in the condition we prefer for swimming pools, love lakes kept up by the good lord for free.
how long should your salt clorinater each day
Can you make a video of how home owners can try plastering their own pool?
wouldn't recommend plastering your own pool. would practice plastering a fish pond for practice first
Lol i’ve been building Pools for 10 years this is not something I would recommend.
You can use your boost mode to temporarily superchlorinate, but doing so adds wear to the cell. Salt cells unfortunately have a limited service life. Frequent use of the boost mode will shorten the lifespan of the cell. In most instances, sodium hypochlorite or calcium hypochlorite are cheap and easy for shocking. Their results are immediate and don’t require any messing with your cell. Good video though!
I wouldn't advise using Calcium Hypochlorite in a Pool with a Salt Water Chlorinator / Generator.
Using Sodium Hypochlorite is fine, or any Sodium based Chlorines is fine, but beware, these granular Sodium base chlorines contain Cyanuric Acid, so watch your Stabilizer / Sunscreen levels
@@user-zc8zx6jl5g Can you tell me what kind of product that is to avoid? Are you referring to all the bag\bottle shocks available at the pool and big box stores? Is there one preferred over the other? Is liquid the best choice vs powder?
@@FirstnameLastname-tb9dr bleach is pure sodium hypochlorite, and has nothing else. Tablets have cyanuric acid, which can build up to a point where they go from protecting chlorine to disabling it. Cal-hypo (powder in bags) isn't awful, but yes, you need to watch your calcium level to avoid scaling.
So if my pool is 2770 ppm what should I do?
there seem to be some mistakes here. added confusion for most i'm sure not discussing the differences for oxidizing and super chlorination in comparison with chlorinated shock. In addition having salt pool anodes. for a commoner though, it's enough to get by.
So I'm getting a new salt water pool put in now, so my last pool I had 10 years ago was chlorine and I only ran the pump 4 hours a day and never had any problems. Except when winter came in Florida we don't have real cold weather for long. But how long would I need to run the salt water pump per day. I think 8 hours is a bit much. My pool is 14x28 and 6 feet in the middle so what would u recommended.
It's about getting all of your water to circulate through your system once a day to prevent algae and contaminents from sitting in your pool. You can use the formula we have here to calculate turnover rate: www.swimuniversity.com/run-pool-pump/
Just to be clear a salt pool is a chlorine pool, you will have to experiment with how long to run the pump to keep up with the chlorine demand also keep in mind on variable speed pumps if you run it too low the salt generator won't turn on, also keep about 50 ppm of cya, you can also supplement with liquid chlorine if needed
Just like Jim Kline said, you don’t have a salt water pool, you have a pool that you put salt into…to make CHLORINE.
I have to tell customers this ALL THE TIME! Someone out there is selling people a load of crap.
I’m new to maintaining my own pool. It has a SWG but I come to find out my pool man (of 20 years) wasn’t adding salt or keeping the ph level balanced. (8.0+) After having pool water tested I’d need to add 400 lbs of salt to correct it. If I want to continue with using chlorine, can I just shut the SWG off? ( will that hurt anything?) I’ve managed to balance ph levels and the pool still looks great, despite my inexperience. Thank you for all your advice SU. PS-I’m sure he never cleaned the cell…
Jeez what were you paying him for
@@matt_b... the ineptitude of some of these pool guys is amazing. When my guy retired his pool biz was bought by a guy who had no idea what he was doing
Unfortunately a lot of pool guys are lazy and don't want to carry salt to your pool. I don't get why. I love caring for salt pool, its almost 100% chems and almost never needs brushing. I tell all the guys a train, if you show up to a pool and their is zero algea its probably a salt pool.
What happens when the salt cell is replaced by a dummy cell, but manually apply chlorine tablets instead. Is it okay to do so by just switching off the chlorinator function and discontinue the salt cell production permanently? Will the filter and booster pump be damaged without the salt cell functioning? Thanks.
salt cell is a stand alone system. it doesn't affect the pump or equipment. just turn it off by either unplugging it or with the power switch
@@chengkhang2804 thanks!