The Salt Water Pool Scandal: What's the "Greenest" Swimming Pool System?
Mirror, mirror on the wall, what's the greenest pool system of all?
This is a question that many of us water lovers around the world will be asking as the temperature begins to rise...and as we try to find fun, cheap, environmentally friendly ways to stay cool.
(Ok, so maybe we won't be rhyming, but we'll still be curious.)
We know that chlorine can do a number on your body, so that's pretty much a non-option, but what else is there?
A salt water pool system right?
Well, yes, but did you know some say a salt water system is just as bad as a traditional chlorinated pool.
There are also 2 other types of pool systems that you've probably never heard of that really need to be considered as well!
Salt Water Pools: a Myth?
Salt water pool systems have been touted (and may actually have) some great benefits like Lynnette metions in a post about her past pool saga, but are they really any better for you or for the environment?
G.K. Sharman at The Orlando Setinel wrote an article earlier this month about salt water pool systems.
He, like many others, touted that it was the "greenest" way to go...if you had to have a pool (which is not really green at all). In the article, he provided a bit of information that was quite shocking to me (and which I realized I'd heard before):
"A salt system converts salt into chlorine, eliminating the need to transport and handle chlorine tablets or liquid."
The very next paragraph read:
"Chlorine is a toxic chemical," said Tracy DeCarlo, a Florida Green Home certifying agent and a home-design function analyst with Detailed Solutions Inc. "I don't believe we should be drinking it or swimming in it."
If chorine is the toxic enemy here, why does it matter wether it comes from chlorine tablets or is converted from salt?
Needless to say, the article got nothing but negativity and accusations of "greenwashing" in the comments...but from some seemingly quite knowledgeable individuals.
Enter the Age of the EcoSmarte Pool System
The whole idea for this post came from a reader named Sally, who emailed me back in February.
She says,
I have had an Ecosmarte pool system for about 3 years now, and I love it. I thought your readers may want to know about it. It is environmentally friendly, and I just noticed that they are donating 5% of their profits to environmental charities which I thought was pretty cool. I really do just love the product and I wanted to spread the good word.
After I did a Google search for EcoSmarte pools, I found that one of my favorite green blogs, HippyShopper.com, had also posted about the EcoSmarte pool system.
According to the company, the EcoSmarte pool system works by creating 2 sanitizing agents, copper ioinization, and liquid oxygen.
If that's true (and I'm always the sceptic of the group), I'd feel a lot better about swimming in an EcoSmarte Pool than a chlorinated pool...whether it came from a chemical tab or salt.
One More (Gross) Swimming Pool Option
There's a relatively new phenomenon of "natural swimming pools".
It's not really big here in the U.S. yet, but apparently it's catching on in Europe. Over there, they actually call them "swimming ponds", which more accurately depicts their asthetic facade.
GroovyGreen.com has all the info you want on natural swimming pools.
They look nice, but in the end (or at least for right now), they're not for me. If I were writing a post about natural swimming pools, I'd be filing it in the "Too Green" category!
What's your favorite way to avoid the harmful chemicals found in the majority of swimming pools? Do you have a salt water system, EcoSmarte system, or some other type like a UV filter? How do you like it?
Image from Homer's Inn
Using of chemicals to water treatment and temperature, Need a good and professional consultant. Maintaining a swimming pool is not a easy task.
I have done a lot of research and ultraviolet - UV pool sanitizers are the way to go. They are chosen by more public pools than any other nonchlorine pool method. I knew I didn't want a saltwater pool because they just make chlorine. I installed the SL-400 by SpectraLight and have been very pleased so far. There is a lot of information at www.spectralightuv.com
I am the owner/operator of a pool service in south florida. I have had the ecosmarte experience as well. I recently gained a client with one of their systems and the pool was horrible! Blue/Green/Black staining on 100% of the surface! Now while I know this is partly a result of poor managing of the pool I personally do not agree with ecosmarte's chemistry requirements of their system. If you are draining and closing out your pool every year then okay maybe but ONLY maybe. Otherwise you had better be ready to have someone there testing the pool evryday and after every weather storm and adjusting as needed.They say your chemicals are reduced but actually to maintain the system and to help it acheive efficiency you must buy specialty chemicals which cost more than chlorine! And did you know that metals like copper, which they use with their system, are toxic? And can be reasonably toxic in concentrations comparable to that of normal chlorine levels?
Now one thing they do have going for them is the use of water oxidation by way of breaking the water mollecule. The water actually purifies itself! It is electrified by low voltage current which breaks the mollecule apart releasing hydroxyl radicals and a few other of the most powerful oxidizers known! These are completely safe to bathe in and can handle a lot of the load. There are a few systems out there that are stand alone oxidizers WITHOUT the ionization of metals like silver and copper etc. And they can eliminate your chlorine/bromine usage up to 90% allowing much lower concentrations to be used while still keeping the water healthy for you to bathe in. Do not be confused with ozone or many of the other alternative sanitizers out there it is all still poisonous in the right concentrations. In the end a chlorine pool does not need to be a scary or unhealthy thing. The important thing is to keep ALL the chemistry BALANCED!!! Most people concentrate on the sanitizer when really it's ability to properly function and be used precisely depend on other chemical factors and equipment care! I can tell you for sure that when used properly chlorine is much safer than the bacterium and such that can grow and thrive in unsanitary water! I have not been paid to say these things I was just surfing and thought someone from the industry should set things straight for you.
whoa ron! thanks for the story about your ecosmarte pool system! maybe it'll help those of us looking for eco-friendly pool options know what questions to ask if considering ecosmarte!
I had the Ecosmarte system installed in my concrete pool as a part of a complete renovation of the pool (new filter, pump, acid wash etc.)three years ago. I wanted to swim in fresh water and bought the salesman's hype. It was HUGE disappointment.
There may be people out there that can get this system to work in a reasonable manner. Despite years of pool experience from day one, I could not.
The manual Ecosmarte provided was nothing short of useless and I could never keep the pool algae free for more than a day at a time. I ended up spending better than an hour a day on maintenance to no avail and could not leave the pool for more than a day unattended without the water going green.
The ecosmarte system ended up staining my pool copper blue and still wouldn't touch the algae.
I wrote to the company to complain and they told me I had exceeded my 60 day warranty and could not help me. I really feel I gave the product a fair chance for two years and finally gave up in frustration.
After two years of experimenting with every variable possible, even with the support of their local representative, I yanked it out and installed a salt water system.
Chemical free? Not at all I spent more on chemicals in the two years I had the Ecosmarte system than I ever did with chlorine and always felt I was swimming in a soup of algaecide.
This product simply did not even come close to working for me and ended up costing me a fortune to repair the damage to the pool.
The salt water system I now have is trouble free (as was my original chlorine system) and effortless.
As for the eco-"not so"-smarte system forget it. You will not convince me (or a friend who had a similar experience) that this product is ready for the market.
I actually paid the money to ship my ecosmarte system back to the company to show my displeasure. They have never followed up.
Back to the drawing board Ecosmarte