Tonight I add salt to my non SWG above ground pool

[Kimrst]

This may sound strange but I work in a hospital and the main ingredient in IV's for sick people is normal saline which is salt. I know there is some complicated chemistry going on here, but if its ok for us to have a certin amount inside our bodies, whouldn't it be ok to have it outside too, as in our pools?

[The Raddish]

This may sound strange but I work in a hospital and the main ingredient in IV's for sick people is normal saline which is salt. I know there is some complicated chemistry going on here, but if its ok for us to have a certin amount inside our bodies, whouldn't it be ok to have it outside too, as in our pools?

In a word: yes.

[ScottS]

This may sound strange but I work in a hospital and the main ingredient in IV's for sick people is normal saline which is salt. I know there is some complicated chemistry going on here, but if its ok for us to have a certin amount inside our bodies, whouldn't it be ok to have it outside too, as in our pools?

In a word: yes.

and: NO

I am not a doctor or a nurse but I had a double lung transplant in 1995. Right now I am on IV antibiotics and found something to be very interesting on this same subject.

The pH of the .9% sodium chloride IV solution ranges from 4.5-7.0 (it states this on the bag). Anything under 7.0 is too acidic for the vinyl and can destroy it. Therefore it is not a safe assumption to state that if we put it into our bodies we can put it into the pool.

I do however like the idea of adding salt to the water. I plan on doing this in a few weeks when I am through with this treatment.

[waterbear]

If you dissolve sodium chloride in deionized water and test the pH it will be neutral (pH 7) as will the deionized water! Salt will have NO effect on pH. The saline solution you are talking about is probably buffered and NOT pure sodium chloride to compensate for the acid leached from the PVC bag it is packaged in. Most medical saline is packed in PVC bags and then heat sterlized. The PVC leaches some acids into the saline and lowers the pH. This is why the pH is listed as being in the range of 4.5-7.0!

[ScottS]

The saline solution you are talking about is probably buffered and NOT pure sodium chloride to compensate for the acid leached from the PVC bag it is packaged in. Most medical saline is packed in PVC bags and then heat sterlized. The PVC leaches some acids into the saline and lowers the pH. This is why the pH is listed as being in the range of 4.5-7.0!

This makes sense, thank you! I was wondering why they list a range of #'s for the pH rather than a particular number.

[goodfellow]

Any thoughts as to what the salt might do over a long frozen winter.

[medvampire]

Saline in IV bags is buffered to a ph below 7. It is not pure salt and water. There are several reasons for the buffering. We often use saline to piggy back other meds in to the body so we buffer to prevent incompatibility with these drugs. When introducing fluids directly into the blood stream we are usually introducing them in to a vein. The venous red cell is carrying CO2 and slightly acetic itself so we want our IV to be slightly acetic.
Waterbear hit the nail on the head about leaching so we have to give a range not an single value.
There are more reasons but I won’t bore you.
I plan to add salt to my pool as soon I am sure I have my ALK under control.
Steve

[Poolsean]

Gerri asked...
"I have a 8500 gallon in ground fiberglass pool and I want to add salt.

Here's my question: since I have a problem with iron stains would it be ok to get this kind of salt:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...658&lpage=none

The thing I don't understand.. they all say pure salt so how can they be iron fighting, etc. ?"

Gerri, avoid this type of salt. The iron fighting salts have additives that is not good and should not be added. Use water softener salt without any additives and at least 99.5% pure sodium chloride.

Interestingly, I suggested this adding of salt to a non Salt Chlorine Generator pool, oh, say, LAST year? Glad the benefits are being realized.

Question to everyone though....why only add salt to 1000 ppm? The higher the salinity, the closer to your bodies salinity level, thus the more comfortable it will be.

Answer to the question about above ground pools and tracks, I disagree that you're only dealing with 1000 - 1500 ppm of salt. While this is true with the pool water, splash out water that ends up in the tracks will eventually evaporate, increasing the salinity level as the water evaporates. Realistically, your salt concentration of the water in the tracks can increase way past the 35000 ppm of ocean water.
I recommend that you occasionally wash down the sides of your pool or you will see corrosion over time. Regular rain fall or your sprinkler system hitting the outer pool walls will keep the salt concentration down.