Do your children love the pool like our Florida babies? To be completely honest the pool is our entire family’s happy place. The amount of time we spend in and around the pool lead us to the decision to switch to a salt water pool system.
Keep reading to find out the shocking discovery that inspired our decision to switch to switch to the Hayward Aqua Rite Salt Chlorine Generator and how you too can enjoy your best life around your family pool.
Table of Contents
How Our Pool Story Began
If you’ve been a longtime reader then you know we enjoy spending quality family time at the beach, but when we can’t manage a trip we take to the pool. Even when we lived in Michigan, we had a pool, which ultimately meant we could use it for about three solid months out of the year and the rest it was closed for winter or the weather was iffy at best.
When making the cross-country move to Florida, we knew we HAD to find a home with a pool when we went to purchase. It just gets too hot to NOT have one, and every one of my kids is most definitely a water baby.
We’ve been making over our new home one exciting project at a time. You may have seen the progress on our YouTube channel, called House to Home, where we worked on the DIY Horizontal Slat Fence around our newly laid patio.
Creating this private pool oasis approximately doubled our living space. And we love living in it to the fullest.
Little did we know our pool became a liability.
So, now for that shocking reason, we switched to a salt water pool system.
Why We Switched to the Hayward Aqua Rite Salt Chlorine Generator
The Risk of Using Chlorine in Your Pool
We knew the benefit of a salt water pool system was pretty basic. Using a salt water chlorinator to clean and soften your water is a more natural and better-for-you alternative to traditional chlorine options.
Sure, we all can remember swimming as a child only to end your day with irritated, bloodshot eyes, dry itchy skin, and a heavy chest with difficulty breathing.
These are some of the aggravating side effects of swimming in a chemically chlorinated pool. But these aren’t that shocking.
The CDC says, “During 2015–2017, pool chemical injuries led to an estimated 13,508 U.S. emergency department visits.” A third of these injuries occurred to children under the age of 18.
Yet the most shocking information about chlorine exposure is that adults may be more likely to have bladder cancer and rectal cancer.
Cancer.
Well, that changed our perspective on fun pool days.
As parents, we want to protect our children from everything in our power, and give them the best quality of life possible.
Benefits of Converting to a Salt Water Pool System
When the opportunity to work with Hayward Pool Products came up we were thrilled.
A salt water pool system requires a lot less chemicals and less maintenance in comparison to a traditional pool, so the health benefits had us excited. While there is still chlorine with a salt water chlorinator, the levels are MUCH lower, and the need for other chemicals is greatly reduced.
In fact, we’ve saved so much already on our monthly pool expenses!
But there are even more advantages to a salt water pool system.
First, converting to a Hayward AquaRite Salt Chlorinator is easy. It’s not required to drain your pool, which makes the whole process SO much easier AND saves you money.
Speaking of saving money, a salt water pool system costs about half of what it takes to chlorinate a traditional pool. That’s awesome.
And you’ll notice a genuine luxurious soft feeling in a salt water pool. The water is gentler on your hair, skin, swimsuit, and pool system… with less red eyes, itchy skin, or harsh odors.
This also saves you money in the long run.
I can’t believe we never have to purchase, carry, mix, or risk being around liquid chlorine ever again. Even if I wasn’t a mom of 6, I would be pretty excited about that.
We went with the Hayward AquaRite 900 and it was up and running in just a couple of hours and connected to our phones with OmniHub Smart Control so all of our information and controls are right at the tip of our fingers. You guys, I’m seriously SO excited to make the most of our soft, silky pool this summer!
Making the Most of Your Pool Time
As I said, we use our pool area as a continuation of our living space. Here are a few of my favorite tips to make the most of your pool time.
Entertainment Area
I highly recommend creating an entertainment area. This may be a bit of a bigger expense, but it is something worth saving for.
Watch for deals on patio furniture at warehouse stores, big box stores, or an end of season sale to snag a deal.
You can use this space for the obvious—entertaining guests. But you should really think of this extension of your home as a personal getaway.
Photo of our DIY Horizontal Slat Fence Makeover
Elevate Your Beverages
We all love special holidays and family barbeques where we serve extraordinary foods and drinks.
Fancy summer mocktails in stylish, nonglass cups can make any ordinary day special. Add a fun serving pitcher and garnish to raise the bar further.
Think Resort
If you want to create that true pool oasis we recommend that you try to style your space like it is a resort. Add pillows to your patio couch and chairs for a high-end feel. Large planters with clean lines and luscious foliage add that expensive resort-style.
And don’t forget about additional lighting such as up-lighting, feature lights, or trendy string lights.
For a genuinely relaxing resort experience be sure to have a lounge chair or two. And keep your eye out for a deal on plush beach towels to luxe up your pool experience.
Use your Salt Water Pool Or Bust
It takes time and money to maintain your pool, so don’t waste that investment.
Use your pool often.
We love using our pool on hot Florida days, so it’s a definite plus if you have children. Think about using the pool for birthday parties. It is easy to entertain the guests, and it keeps the mess out of your home.
Other parties you may want to consider throwing in your poolside entertainment area are baby showers, bachelorette parties, or wedding showers.
We sometimes use our outdoor entertainment space for at-home date nights. Once the kids are in bed we pretend to be somewhere else—just the two of us.
Last but not least, get the most out of your pool by using it as a fitness tool. If you can’t seem to make it to the gym do laps and practice treading water in the deep end. It’s a whole-body workout and you don’t even know you’re sweating.
Is a Salt Water Pool System Worth It?
Yes.
We don’t regret converting to a Hayward AquaRite 940 salt water pool system one bit. We feel good about our choice and the health and cost benefits to our family.
If you would like some more entertaining ideas to enjoy by your pool check out this post on easy summer entertaining with a seafood boil.
Have you heard of or use the Hayward Aqua Rite Salt Chlorine Generator? Let me know in a comment below!
Bob_in_NH says
Salt water chlorinators still put chlorine into the pool water, it just does it by breaking up the salt molecules into chlorine and sodium and plugging the chlorine into the water. Switching from using chlorine directly, to doing it with a salt to chlorine system doesn’t change the fact that it’s still using chlorine.
Tabitha Blue says
Very true! It is a salt water chlorinator after all. The levels, however, are much lower, and we’ve just about eliminated the need for all of the other chemicals as well, which is so nice! Because of the consistent levels, there is no need for harsh shocking of the pool and other stabilizers, and our water looks cleaner and clearer and has been so much better on our eyes and skin. We’re definitely happy with it.