You may have noticed that we recently covered how much salt to add to your pool water. Maybe you added too much thinking more is better or you simply got the math wrong. In either case, this article will cover how to lower the salt level of your pool’s water.
The only way to lower the salt concentration of your swimming pool’s water is to dilute it. Unfortunately, this means you will need to partially drain your pool and refill it with fresh water. This is true because salt doesn’t wear out, break down or evaporate; only your water will evaporate.
How To Determine How Much Water To Drain
First, take a salt reading. On a Hayward Salt Chlorinator, your salt reading should be between 2,700 – 3,400 PPM (parts per million) with the optimum level of 3,200 PPM.
Hayward Salt Chlorinator Salt Chart
Refer to the chart provided in your Hayward Salt Chlorinator manual. Example: If you have a salt level of 0, in your 8,000-gallon pool, you’ll need approximately 213 pounds of salt, or roughly (5) 40-pound bags of salt, to bring your water in the proper range.
Example: Let’s say you have a 10,000-gallon pool and your salt level is 4000 PPM. Your salt level is over by 500 PPM. According to Morton’s Pool Salt packaging, they state that (1) 40 lb. bag of salt is equal to 480 PPM. If your 10,000 pool’s salt level is 4000 PPM – this means you have approximately 8 bags of salt in your pool (4000/480) when you should have about 7. The net result is you will need to drain approximately 1/8 of your pool’s water. After draining your pool, replenish the water and test again to make sure you are back in the right salt range.
Note: Normal water evaporation will increase the concentration of salt in pool water. You will need to add fresh water to bring the salt concentration back to target ppm levels.
For more detailed information on salt levels, check your owner’s manual. AquaRite, AquaRite Pro pages 3-4.
