Listed
below are the most common alternatives for sanitizing pools and spas
Salt
to Chlorine Generators (Salt Water Pool)
Salt generators basically produce chlorine from salt. While salt generators
require that you purchase salt instead of chlorine, you are still swimming
in chlorine and you will experience all of the problems you will experience
swimming in a chlorine pool. Salt generators can be expensive devices
and consume a lot of electrical current. Salt generators are also very
corrosive and the generator chamber has a limited life and is expensive
to replace.
Mineral
or Catalytic Cartridge System
Mineral cartridge systems are sold under the following trademarked names:
Nature2, Vision, and FROG. These products kill contaminants, primarily
bacteria, in the water as it passes through a cartridge. This means
the pump and filter must run for long periods of time to treat the tens
of thousands of gallons of water in a swimming pool. Pool suppliers,
who sell these systems, often recommend that you run your pump and filter
24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
While, these systems
do reduce the need for chlorine or other chemical oxidizing treatment,
they do not eliminate the need for these chemicals. These systems also
require a trip to the pool store to purchase expensive cartridges. In
some cases more than one cartridge may be needed in one season. There
is no obvious way to determine when these cartridges fail to be effective.
Their effectiveness may expire prior to the cartridge contents being
totally depleted.
Biguanide
Chemical Products
Water purification additives containing biguanide chemicals are sold
under the trademarked names of Baquacil and Soft Swim. The active ingredient
in these products is known as biguanide. Unlike chlorine, biguanide
is not an oxidizer, so it does not irritate your body by reacting or
"burning up" organic contaminants the way chlorine does. Biguanide
does provide a higher quality of water than chlorine treatment but it
is very, very expensive. Sometimes costing several times more than chlorine.
Biguanide needs to be purchased in bulky containers and needs to be
manually added to the pool water regularly. After prolonged use of biguanide,
some pool owners complain that it takes more and more of the product
to achieve the desired water quality. Pool owners also mention that
the product causes a unique odor in the water after extended use.
Ozone
Generators
Ozone generators use a special ultra-violet light to kill bacteria.
Like the cartridge systems mentioned above, ozone generators only kill
contaminants in the ozone chamber and provide no residual protection
to the water in the pool. To be effective, the pool pump must run almost
all of the time. Ozone units designed for swimming pools are very expensive
and draw a lot of electric current. These units are better suited for
spas but are not practical for the volume of water in most swimming
pools. Even the best ozone units will not totally eliminate the need
for chlorine or other chemical oxidizing agents in the pool water.
Ionizers,
electric or solar
There are numerous ionizers on the market today. Some are solar floating
ionizers, some are electric copper and silver ionizers and others are
electric copper ionizers. In general terms, ionizers do a good job of
killing organic substances in the water but ionization alone is not
sufficient to sanitize your swimming pool water. Ionizers still require
chlorine or other toxic chemical oxidation to be added to the water
to provide adequate sanitization of the water.
Chlorine
or Bromine Chemicals
Chlorine is still the most popular means of sanitizing swimming pool
water. It does an excellent job sanitizing water, but it does so at
a huge price. Chlorine is a very caustic, corrosive chemical. It is
effective because it attacks anything organic. Unfortunately, it also
attacks the skin, hair, and eyes of the humans swimming in it. Chlorine
is toxic and hazardous to handle, ingest or breathe. It is also dangerous
to store. Chlorine can be extremely flammable.
Chloramines, a
by-product of chlorine and organic waste, are known carcinogens. Unfortunately
there is no practical way of preventing chloramines from forming in
chlorinated swimming pools. Maintaining chlorine levels at minimal acceptable
levels can be very difficult to do at times. Residual chlorine is highly
affected by the water temperature, rain, pH, and number of swimmers.
Chlorine is absorbed in the skin of swimmers and therefore the more
people that swim in the pool, the more chlorine is absorbed by their
skin and the more chlorine that needs to be added to the pool water
to properly sanitize the water.
