Types

• Salt water pools can be built in nearly all of the same conditions as chlorinated pools. While salt water pools first gained popularity as large swimming pools at hotels, resorts and on cruise ships, they can also be constructed as large exercise pools or even as small backyard recreational swimming pools. Salt water pools vary as much as any other type of pool, from tiny to enormous and from commercial to personal.
  
  

Benefits

• Salt water pools are generally healthier than traditional chlorine pools. Unlike a chlorine pool, a salt water pool will not damage hair or skin, and salt water pools are also more environmentally sound than chlorine pools, which contain countless toxins. At the same time, salt water pools are easy to maintain and are reported to be very cost effective.
  
  

Misconceptions

• Many people are wary of installing a salt water pool in their establishment or backyard, because they believe that the cost of buying the specialized salt water pool equipment is prohibitive. However, while the initial purchase of the salt water pool mechanisms can be expensive, this initial expense is usually made up for within the first two or three years of use, because the salt water pool system is less costly to maintain than a chlorinated system.
  
  

Warning

• It is important that a pool owner conducts all of the necessary research before installing a salt water pool. There have been some reports of salt water pools causing buildup in pool machinery, and some pool owners have reported difficulty maintaining the salt levels in their pools. Because salt water pools are relatively new to the pool scene, developments are constantly being made.
  
  

Function

• Salt water pools sanitize pool water by filtering the water through a complex pump system, which adds small amounts of salt and puts the water through an electrolysis process, filtering and sanitizing the water. Specific salt water pool systems include slight variations on the general salt water filtration process.