Many people are familiar with the salt systems for swimming pools, and they work quite well. Lately, they have also been installed in hot tubs.
Many hot tub manufacturers refer to these as “salt water spas” which is a bit misleading, because although a type of salt is used such as chlorine salt or bromine salt, the actual sanitizer is still derived from the salt (chlorine or bromine). In fact you are not swimming in a vat of table salt or even the ocean, but in a solution of sodium bromide that allows the salt water system such as Gecko in.clear bromine salt system , Genesis Isis salt water system or other brand. You do indeed save a trip to the hot tub chemical shop for the actual sanitizer (bromine or chlorine) since it is being generated out of the salt reserver (charge) you put in the spa upon refilling it.
The cycle does perpetuate so that in a bromine salt system, sodium bromide is put in the water which in turn, turns into bromine sanitizer which in turn, turns back into salt. There are cost savings of not needing to insert bromine or chlorine tablets, but there is a cost for the Bromicharge or sodium bromide. The maintenance is somewhat less because the sanitizer is automatically generated, though some systems allows you to press a “boost” button after you exit the spa for extra sanitizing.
In a salt water hot tub, pH still needs to be checked and balanced regularly, so you will still need to go to the store for pH plus and pH minus as well as water test strips or a test kit.
Other advanatages include less chemical odor and even softer skin, though this may have more to do with the additives in the chlorine or bromine sanitizer. The argument goes that instead, pure bromine is free of chlorine, binders or other compounding agents, and hence virtually odorless.
The cons of a salt system are that they cost up to $1,000 over the cost of the spa to install. Most any spa can be a salt water hot tub if it has a chlorine or bromine salt system built into it.
Get most any spa as a salt water spa for an additional $750. Email us for details on getting the best pricing on a factory direct spa.