Logan Voss
When the average person imagines having their own inground pool, they likely picture one of two things. They imagine either fun in the sun and a refreshing soak… or the work that goes into keeping a pool clean.
Anyone who hasn’t owned an aboveground or in-ground pool may not realize the amount of prep work and ongoing maintenance a pool requires. Luckily, there have been many advances in the types of tools used to keep pools clean. Nowadays, the different types of pool sanitation systems include the usual chlorine varieties plus salt, UV, and ozone systems.
Chlorination Pool Systems
Anyone who’s ever worked with pools can tell you all about the joys of chlorine. It smells atrocious to the point of inducing headaches; ruins clothes; and irritates the skin and eyes. To top it all off, it’s expensive. Basically, it’s the not-fun part of pool time fun.
For many people, chlorine is the reason they don’t have or use pools. Nevertheless, chlorine does a great job at quickly killing off bacteria and algae and deterring any aquatic insects.
Saltwater Systems
Despite the confusing name, saltwater systems don’t actually use salt water. Rather, these systems make use of tablets made of table salt, which contains molecules of chlorine. When processed through salt activation, the sodium and chlorine separate and activate. The result is a lower amount of harsh chemicals that slowly distribute over time, as opposed to periodically adding large quantities of chemicals, as with traditional shock.
Furthermore, the salt acts as a water softener, making the pool experience less harsh. Although the system is completely different from the more familiar chlorine varieties, homeowners will be happy to know there aren’t many ways that saltwater systems can fail, making them low-cost and low-maintenance choices.
UV Light Systems
One of the different types of pool sanitation systems that really stands out as unique is the UV system. It utilizes UV light directed from bulbs to treat the water on which it shines. It works very similarly to the way the sun affects peskier forms of life.
UV light systems significantly suppress bacteria spread in your water, but they generally don’t thoroughly kill and ward off unwanted flora and fauna. As such, UV systems are ideal as supplements; they pair well with shock or saltwater systems to further reduce the need for a large amount of chlorine.
