Salt water pools are almost universally considered to be nonchlorine pools.  In fact, these pools contain extremely high chlorine levels. Users of these salt systems seem to think that somehow common salt is a disinfectant that does not use chlorine.

The actual technology of a salt system involves breaking salt (NaCl) into its core components, one of which is the active form of chlorine (hypochlorous acid). This chlorine is no different than the various forms of chlorine purchased in liquid, powdered or tableted forms and added manually to the pool.

Copious amounts of stabilizer are required in salt pools to prevent chlorine from being dissipated by UV rays from the sun.  This stabilizer (cyanuric acid) brings it’s own set of health concerns and is not required in the Oxygen Pools program.

Salt pools usually require higher chlorine levels than most pools because salt in the water creates a high pH environment and chlorine is much less effective at pH levels of 7.6 or highr.  Most salt pools tend to run a pH of 7.6-8.1 and, in these alkaline conditions, chlorine is ineffective at normal levels of 1-3 ppm.