bwind3

Oh, that's much clearer than your previous statement. We have a well so our water isn't municipal and therefore running a hose or washer isn't contributing to the spread of chlorine that most municipalities use. We use organic products in our garden, and nothing on the lawn. We purchase products like Seventh Generation, that while certainly are adding types of waste into the runoff systems, aren't adding the ones that we could be otherwise. The idea is that while its next to impossible to not contribute negatively to the environment somewhat in our modern lives there should always be people seeking ways to do it better or lessen your impact. I'm not all granola crunchy and have to give up my car and ride a bike an hour to work or never eat at a fast food joint but I'm sure you get my point. So, yes, I'm in agreement, seeking RESPONSIBLE ways to deal with your world is the way to go...as is good communication...thanks again.

Thanks Waterbear!

Thanks!

Waterbear advised getting a salt generator. Sounds good! Now, does anyone know what the best one to get, or recommended brands are for them? Thanks!

Waterbear, thank you so much for such a fantastic thorough reply...although I must recommend in the future when you are trying to help people to steer clear of slightly snide remarks like "maybe you shouldn't have a pool!" We moved into a new house that had one. I suppose we could fill it in but really looking for alternative ways to be conscious about ones health and environment while still enjoying the luxury of a pool shouldn't be frowned upon... but mainly I really want to thank you. I'll look into the salt water systems at our local pool stores. Thanks Hipoolio!

Okay so I've been reading lots of forums and while pool maintenance doesn't seem THAT difficult, the options and what the best route to take to keep your water clean isn't easy to decide between. Chlorine...studies I've read show can be detrimental to the environment, and even if it's a tiny drop compared to what the big companies or even municipal water treatment plants add, I wonder if there is a better choice why not make it? I've also read that chlorine has been linked to cancer and asthma (if chlorine isn't kept at proper levels) especially in children(asthma) (my wife is concerned about Chlorine use as we're having a child in August and wants to have a healthy pool environment and be good to mother nature as well. Bromine/bromide...once you switch from Chlorine to a bromine pool you'd have a somewhat difficult process to switch back to contend with. Friends have told me they tried it and it was too difficult to keep balance, isn't meant for anything but spas Bromine is still used in conjunction with Chlorine so same problems you confront with Chlorine...can't really use Bromine effectively with a Sunny location pool because it burns off too quickly. Not sure what the negative effects of bromine are...health/environment? Waterbear commented about the difficulty of using biquanide for various reasons...although that is what my wife is leaning towards. It sounds very difficult and troublesome? Other alternatives??!!! So PLEASE help. What we wish for is a system that is safe, environmentally acceptable, not that expensive (but we're willing to pay more for a system that easily addresses the other issues), and hopefully doesn't cause us to spend more time maintaining the pool water than actually swimming in it, (daily pool maintenance seems like too much for people that swim once or twice a week). Is this too much to ask for? We have a vinyl 18000 gln chlorine pool with a sand filter. We bought a new house last summer and have been trying to get up to speed on how to live well with the pool. (We had to learn fast since the first 2 weeks we moved in we had torrential downpours that caused a crazy algae bloom in the pool...wasn't easy for us newbies to get rid of but we eventually brought everything into balance) We used test strips and talked with poolstore workers last summer but ideally would like to move away from chlorine...unless its not as bad as some reports say...unless there really is no other better method. Thanks for the site and your help. -=Bradley

I'd want to know about the BEST method of pool chemistry. Meaning what would be the safest, environmentally friendly, cost effective, least maintenance method of keeping your inground pool water safe to swim in.