Pool Sanitizer

Pool Sanitizer: Which Option is Right for You?

The decontamination of your pool water is the most important thing you can do to keep the pool healthy and safe for you and your family.

Because pool sanitization is so important, it is equally important for us to ensure that you know your options, so that you can make the best decision for your family and your lifestyle.

According to Health Canada, only two products are approved for the sanitization of swimming pool water: bromine or chlorine.

Bromine

Bromine is a halogen based sanitizer used in pools and hot tubs. It has a low odour and sanitizes well, but is more expensive then traditional chlorine tablets. It is also unstabilized, which creates challenges in controlling the bromine reading. It is very commonly used in hot tubs.  We anticipate bromine to be phased out within the next decade.

Chlorine

Chlorine is also a halogen based sanitizer used in pools and hot tubs.  You can purchase it in stabilized granular, tablet or stick form. It is a very effective sanitizer and oxidizer, is easy to use and is even used in many areas to clean drinking water. Be sure to talk to our team about why it is imperative to continue to keep your pool’s chlorine reading above 1ppm.

Salt

Salt is not a sanitizer in its original state. With salt-water pools, salt is added to the pool water, which then goes through a machine that turns it into chlorine in gas form. (Salt is composed primarily of sodium chloride.) This is a regenerative process. This means that technically, a salt-water pool is a chlorine pool. This is good because chlorine is a great sanitizer, however this form of chlorine is unstabilized.

The salt content in salt-water pools is very low, at approx 3400 ppm (your tears are 10,000 ppm and the ocean is 32,000 ppm). It is very important that salt water pool owners monitor their water chemistry more often then those using traditional pucks or tablets, to prevent premature aging and corrosion of the pool. By using salt, you are eliminating the need to add chlorine sticks to your skimmer once a week.

For more information of salt water pools click here

All other water care products and maintenance are identical between all three methods.

Reducing Chlorine and Bromine

There are alternatives on the market, such as UV, ozone and ionizers, geared towards helping reduce chlorine and bromine consumption. These products cannot be used as replacements for chlorine and bromine, as none of them can keep your water healthy and safe to swim in by themselves. Any of the three options, however, CAN help you reduce the amount of chlorine or bromine needed to keep your pool sanitized.

If you would like to consider one of these three additions to your sanitizer regiment please contact our staff for more in-depth information.