If you own or maintain a salt water swimming pool, you might assume that any salt will do the job. After all, salt is just salt, right? As the experts in salt, here at PureSalt we know that’s not quite true.
Using the correct specialist swimming pool salt is essential for keeping your pool clean and safe, and keeping your salt chlorinator running efficiently.
Why would I add salt to my swimming pool?
Salt water pools don’t use chlorine in the traditional sense to keep them bacteria free. Rather than adding chlorine directly to the swimming pool, they use salt and specialist chlorination equipment to convert salt into chlorine. Just adding salt into a standard pool without chlorination equipment will not provide any sanitisation benefits and will just make your pool salty.
Why specialist swimming pool salt?
No damaging anti caking agents, impurities or additives
The equipment used to make chlorine within your swimming pool isn’t cheap. From smaller domestic units to large membrane electrolysis units used in commercial swimming pools, initial invest in equipment can be high and impurities, additives and ant caking agents can all cause damage to your equipment. This will make it less effective and will lead to costly repairs and replacements. Protect your chlorinator with the correct swimming pool salt for your system.
Additives can discolour your swimming pool water and cause foaming, affecting your swimming experience, but they can also cause unwanted chemical reactions.
Protect your pool liner
Non specialist pool salts such as standard PDV contain anti caking agents which stops the salt clumping together. Anti caking agents often contain iron which will cause rust stains on the pool liner. Specialist pool salts are designed not to need these.
Consistent chlorine production
Swimming pool salt should be manufactured to very high purity levels. Lower grade salt with impurities and additives will interfere with the electrolysis system, meaning inconsistent chlorine levels, leaving your pool vulnerable to bacteria and algae growth.
Meets European regulations for swimming pool usage
Swimming pool salt should comply with the EN 16401 EU standard set out for swimming pool salt. Poolsel, Soft Sel Pluss Tablets and Hydrosoft Granular all meet these regulations. Beware of any swimming pool salt reporting compliance that also reports purity of less than 99% sodium chloride – as anything below 99% does NOT meet these standards – and will have damaging impurities.
Here at PureSalt we offer a variety of specialist swimming pool salts, suitable for both electro-chlorination and membrane electrolysis. Available from as little as 1 bag for quick top ups or multiple pallets for commercial sites that have large demand, we stock swimming pool salt all year round.
Speak to our team of salt experts about which swimming pool salt would best suit your needs if you are unsure.
Written by Toyota Smith
Toyota Smith is our e-commerce and Marketing Manager, working on all things salt sold through our online sales platforms