Residents of Briar Chapel enjoy a number of great amenities, including two saline (saltwater) swimming pools, which have a number of advantages over other types of pools:
- Better Comfort: One of the most noticeable advantages of Briar Chapel's saltwater swimming pools is the level of comfort residents experience. Salt is softer on your skin than chlorine. Also, salt doesn't cause red eyes, itchy skin, and discolored hair as chlorine has a tendency to do.
- Environmentally Friendly: Another advantage of saltwater pools is the lowered use of chemicals. Briar Chapel's pool operator doesn't have to store and handle toxic chemicals on a regular basis. This means that the saltwater pools are safer for the environment, and residents won't have to suffer the odor of chlorine.
- Lower Maintenance: Saltwater swimming pools virtually clean themselves and require less maintenance than pools that use chlorine. Since the chlorine generator converts salt into chlorine, Briar Chapel's pool operator doesn't have to keep adding manufactured chemicals to maintain water sanitation and inhibit the growth of algae. Lifeguards do, however, test the water on a regular basis throughout the pool season to be sure the water is safe.
- No Organochlorines: Pure chlorine pools create organochlorines that mimic human hormones. These can cause reduced fertility, immune system abnormalities, and numerous cancers. There is also evidence that exposure to chloramines can contribute to respiratory problems, including emphysema and asthma. Saltwater swimming pools, such as the ones in Briar Chapel, do not have this problem because chlorine levels never drop low enough for organochlorines to form.
- Lower Cost: Although saltwater pools are more expensive to install, they can usually pay for themselves in a few years. This is because the cost to maintain a saltwater pool is less than half the cost to maintain a chlorine pool.
How do saltwater pools work?
Both salt water pools and traditional chlorine pools use chlorine to sanitize the water. The difference is that saltwater pools use a chlorine generator to produce natural chlorine from salt by separating salt molecules into their component parts: chloride and sodium. After salt is converted to chlorine to sanitize and oxidize the water within the generator, chlorine converts back to salt when it re-enters the pool, and the process continues over and over again, conserving the salt and keeping sanitizer levels balanced.
