Can I Use Salt As Sanitizer Instead of Chlorine?

[waterbear]

Also, ftw, I have a degree in actuarial science and am well on my way to passing my second exam.

In other words, a bean counter for the insurance industry! Explains a lot. A FAR cry from the actual hard science disciplines like chemistry, biology, and physics. More akin to an accountant that understands some statistics.

And maybe all of that probably falls outside the expected scope of a forum like this, but...

well, it shouldn't.

Probability is better left to describing an electron's position in its orbitals or perhaps at the roulette wheel and craps table in Vegas (or to the insurance industries, which is basically just another form of gambling, that are betting that they can get your money without having to pay you for a claim. If you are high risk they won't insure you!) then to the care of a swimming pools!

[AnnaK]

Putting down someone's educational achievements, the job he holds, and the industry in which he works really isn't germane to this discussion.

[waterbear]

I was merely pointing out that his expertise is in a different field and not one related to pool water sanitation such as chemistry, microbiology, medicine, etc. or even pool maintenance and operation for a variety of pool and not just his own.
His expertise would be in accounting and risk management (which is where the probability comes in).

I stand by everything I said and it was not a put down. It was a statement of fact. Just because one has higher education does not make them an 'expert' in areas not related to what they studied, not does it necessarily give them critical thinking skills (particularly nowadays).

[BigDave]

I smiled at your post WB, but, AnnaK's right: "bean counter" is a perjorative. It also appears that you've swung a bear claw at catfish, the insurance indistry, and the statistical sciences.

On the other hand, I absolutely agree that catfish's assertion that a degree in actuarial science (+ one exam) validates these assertions is rubbish. I have observed that a high level of achievement in a particular field tends to engender a belief that the models and methods of one's expertise are universally applicable especially when these achievements are new. I have also observed that many if not most people make decisions based on loose conjecture, casual observation, and percieved consensus. They depend on a "sense" or "feel" of the world with no understaning of the facts or mechanisms surrounding thier decisions.

[PoolDoc]

I have observed that a high level of achievement in a particular field tends to engender a belief that the models and methods of one's expertise are universally applicable especially when these achievements are new.

Hear, hear! (here )

BTW, I hadn't seen any posts besides AnnaK's when I posted my long one above -- it was open for awhile. I should have copied it out, refreshed and checked for updates, and then copied back in . . . but I forgot to do so.

[paulvzo]

Catfish (Hello? Hello?), have you ever been to the Dead Sea? The water is not "fun." It has a slimy feel to it. Perhaps this is due to salts other than sodium chloride. And wherever it evaporates, hard salts left behind.

Here is Sarasota, the beaches are sometimes closed to swimming for a few days after a mishap or overload at the sewage plants. Obvious reason.

[PoolDoc]

Catfish hasn't been back since July 12th.

[PoolDoc]

Anna, I sorta agree. But, I started it, for reasons I'll explain below. And, in any case, he's not logging in, anymore.

In part, Catfish earned it by playing the "I got more letters behind my name than you do, so I'm right!" card.

But nobody get's automatic cred here, even if they have a PhD in chemistry or biochemistry. I've talked to too many PhD's who live in the tiny world at the small end of their microscope, to have any idea of how even they things in which they are expert connect to anything in even their own personal worlds.

Chem_Geek denies it, but he currently is almost certainly the top expert in analytical pool chemistry in the world - and while he does have a degree in chemistry, he has no higher degrees in related fields. Over the years, I've talked to numerous PhD's either in the pool business, or in related fields, and while none of them were idiots (well, except the 2 who had PhDs in education, or in exercise science), MOST of them had no idea how, or whether, anything they knew had any practical relationship to an actual pool filled with actual water.

Anyhow, I've flagged this thread to come back and clean up, and convert to a web page.

There are numerous folk interested in the topic an "all natural salt-only" store. And, catfish is correct that there's very little good information about the topic. So, I felt it was worthwhile to create an online reference point, using Catfish as the straight guy. He actually played the part far better than I would have anticipated - when I posted the suggesting about Dead Sea salt levels, I was being facetious, but he took it straight up, and moved right into advocating extreme salt levels, which surprised the heck out of me.

Ironically, Catfish may have benefited somewhat from his actuarial studies in a way that WAS relevant to this thread. Most people have not really internalized the fundamental fact that 'man was born to die', and spend much of their life, money, and mental powers trying to hide from that fact. You can see this constantly here, in the way people constantly, persistently and resistantly, presume that there is some perfectly safe way to swim. As an actuary, Catfish seemed to have some awareness that this is NOT so, and that there is NO method of 'sanitation' that is without side effects, or that is fully effective against all pathogens.

It's just too bad for him that he couldn't extend that to a comparative risk/benefit analysis of salt alone vs chlorine. Of course, for the sake of the web page I want, he played the 'straight guy' role perfectly.

So, if anyone owes him an apology, it's me. I knowingly baited him, hoping he'd do what he did, and not only take -- all on his own -- an extreme 'natural salt' position, but also would elicit the data that Chem_Geek and others' provided. He started it, coming here with his "let me larn y'all about the REAL truth" attitude, but maybe I was wrong to treat him personally with the disrespect I did. I'll have to think about it.

But, I do think we're done here -- so I'm asking all support team members to back off, except to post straight data that you've found,
that's relevant to the topic of "all natural non-chlorine salt-sanitized" pools.