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Saltwater For Pools vs. Chlorinated Water

Should you convert your chlorinated pool to a saltwater one?

Man in saltwater pool
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Swimming pools need to stay clean and hygienic. That proven standby, chlorine, is an effective sanitizing agent. Chlorinated pools hold their place for pure simplicity, low maintenance costs, and flawless sanitization. Yet saltwater pools can be just as sanitary, plus the water feels smoother and fresher.

Which one is best for your pool: saltwater or chlorinated water?

Saltwater Pool

A saltwater pool is a swimming pool that uses a saltwater chlorine generator to convert bulk salt into chlorine. The converted chlorine performs the same functions as conventional pool chlorine: killing bacteria and algae, as well as oxidizing dirt and chloramines.  

Saltwater For Pools vs. Chlorinated Water

Saltwater
  • Pure form of chlorine

  • No smell

  • Soft feeling

  • Lower cost for chemicals

  • Bulky chemicals

  • More maintenance

  • Cardiac device safety issue

Chlorinated Water
  • Chloramine buildup

  • Strong smell

  • Harsh feeling

  • Higher cost for chemicals

  • Lighter weight chemicals

  • Less maintenance

  • Safe for cardiac devices

Creating a saltwater pool isn't as simple as dissolving salt in a swimming pool and leaving it at that. Instead, a salt chlorine generator machine converts sodium chloride, or ordinary salt, into chlorine.

So, in essence, a saltwater pool does have chlorine. In contrast to a traditional chlorinated pool, though, saltwater pools produce a pure form of chlorine that's delivered in a controlled way to prevent irritating byproducts called chloramines.

Salt is added directly to the swimming pool water. The pool water is drawn into the generator, where it passes through the salt cell. In the cell, metal blades coated in ruthenium or iridium are charged by electricity. After electrolysis, the water that leaves the machine is now chlorinated water.

Water Smell and Feeling

Users of saltwater pools love the feel of the water, as it's smooth, silky, and soft. The sensation is much like swimming in clean, fresh lake water or even like swimming in ocean water, minus the briny smell and the sand.

Tip

Without caustic chlorine, swimsuits and towels last longer and keep their colors longer with saltwater pools.

The comfortable feeling continues after the swim, too. Users of chlorinated pools can experience dried-out skin, burning eyes, and hair stripped of oils.

After swimming in a saltwater pool, a user's skin will feel supple and moisturized, not dry.

Sanitization Method

Swimming pools that use chlorine additives can be converted into saltwater pools by adding a chlorine generator.

Once the chlorine generator has been set up and the pool water brought up to its required quality, ongoing costs are fairly low. Bags of 40-pound pool salt cost $5 to $20. Compared to 40 pounds of chlorinating tablets costing $250 to $350 per year, this is a significant cost saving.

After setup, it's fairly simple to keep the pool water clean. Unlike chlorine, salt is easy to find and affordable. Many newer chlorine generators are controlled by touch-pad control panels or by apps from your phone.

Tip

In traditional chlorinated pools, keeping chlorine levels low can help minimize the less-than-ideal after-effects of swimming in chlorine.

Maintenance

While upkeep is inexpensive, startup costs can be rather pricey. Saltwater pools have an initial cost of $800 to $1,000 for the chlorine generator alone. Salt cells need to be replaced every 3 to 8 years and each cell costs $300 to $600.

Materials

Starting up a saltwater pool requires many hundreds of pounds of salt to get the water to its correct levels. Bulk salt, too, requires a lot of storage space, so you'll need a shed and a cart to move it around.

Salt cells must be cleaned frequently (around every 500 hours), using either a cell cleaning stand or a bucket. Cells are cleaned in muriatic acid, a hazardous chemical.

Corrosion

Saltwater does not work with all types of pools or pool equipment. Salt will corrode vinyl pools that have metal wall panels. It will also corrode some handrails and ladder bolts.

Winterization

In cold climates, the chlorine generator may not be able to produce enough chlorine to winterize the pool. So, you may still need to resort to traditional chlorine additives during the winter.

Safety

Saline chlorination systems used with saltwater pools can present a health issue for users with implanted cardiac devices such as pacemakers. The electrical current present with saline chlorination systems can cause electromagnetic interference in implantable devices such as pacemakers.

Chlorinated swimming pools do not pose a similar problem to users with cardiac devices.

FAQ
  • Do saltwater pools taste salty?

    Saltwater pools do not generally taste salty. To compare, the salt in seawater is concentrated to about 35,000 parts PPM (parts per million). Saltwater pools' salinity is about 3,000 PPM. So, the salt—and the taste of salt—in saltwater pools is about 10 times less than that of seawater.

  • Can saltwater pools be heated?

    Saltwater pools are heated in the same way as standard chlorinated pools. These methods include a solar heater, solar blanket, heat pump, or an electric, gas, or propane heater. Having some type of heater in your pool allows you to enjoy swimming as the weather cools down. You can regulate the temperature of your pool and not worry about how cold the water is before jumping in. 

  • What's the least expensive way to heat a pool?

    The least expensive and most eco-friendly way to heat a pool is with solar energy. Solar heaters are located on the rooftop, while solar covers are blankets that float in the pool and capture the heat from the sun.

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  1. Wight J, Lloyd MS. Swimming pool saline chlorination units and implantable cardiac devices: A source for potentially fatal electromagnetic interference. HeartRhythm Case Rep. 2019 Jan 30;5(5):260-261. doi: 10.1016/j.hrcr.2019.01.011. PMID: 31193174; PMCID: PMC6522425.