Treatment Comparison: 
Nothing Compares to ECOsmarte®

The main function of salt generators is to create chlorine from salt. The chemical name for salt, NaCl is Sodium Chloride.

While salt generators require that you purchase salt instead of chlorine,

you are still swimming in chlorine and you will experience all of the problems you will experience

swimming in a chlorine pool - the chemical smell of the water, the red eyes, the toxic chemical

constantly entering your body through the skin, etc.

Salt generators are expensive devices and consume a lot of electrical current by applying a high

voltage across a cell. The amount of chlorine produced is such a small amount that the system

must run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You must maintain your water chemistry and the cell must

remain free of mineral deposits or it will not function properly. What you think you are saving from

buying chlorine is lost by the electrical consumption, often $75 per month. Salt generators reduce handling

chlorine, but they are very corrosive and the generator chamber has a limited life, and when it goes

and it will go, it can cost you $500 to $800 to replace. Most pool auto-covers void or limit the warranty if salt is used.

Chlorine is still the most popular means of sanitizing swimming pool water. It does an excellent job

sanitizing water, but it does so at extensive risk to people and equipment.

Chlorine is a very caustic, corrosive chemical. It is effective because it attacks anything organic.

Unfortunately, it also attacks the skin, hair, and eyes of the humans swimming in it.

Chlorine is toxic and hazardous to handle, ingest or breathe. It is also dangerous to store in the pool area. Chlorine can be extremely flammable.

Chloramines, a by-product of chlorine and organic waste, are known carcinogens. Unfortunately

there is no practical way of preventing chloramines from forming in chlorinated swimming pools.

Maintaining chlorine levels at minimal acceptable levels can be very difficult to do at times. Residual

chlorine is highly affected by the water temperature, rain, pH, and number of swimmers. Chlorine is

absorbed in the skin of swimmers and therefore the more people that swim in the pool, the more

chlorine is absorbed by their skin and the more chlorine that needs to be added to the pool water to properly sanitize the water.

Ozone generators use a special ultra-violet light to kill bacteria. Like the cartridge systems mentioned above, ozone generators only kill contaminants in the ozone chamber and provide no residual protection to the water in the pool. To be effective, the pool pump must run 24 hours per day. Ozone and UV units designed for swimming pools are very expensive to operate and draw a lot of electric current. These units are better suited for spas but are not practical for the volume of water in most swimming pools. Neither ozone or UV provide any residual microbe protection and use 200 to 400 watts - about $75 per month just for electricity, more in CA or AZ.

Even the best ozone/UV units will not totally eliminate the need for chlorine or other chemical oxidizing agents in the pool water; most of the manufacturers quickly acknowledge this. Keep in mind an outdoor swimming pool receives surplus UV daily, and neither ozone or UV provide ANY swimmer-to-swimmer bacteria or viral protection. ECOsmarte's O2 oxygen provides a HYDROGEN PEROXIDE generator right in the plumbing line of your pool, and a stable ionic copper for bacteria and algae control. No regular chemical supplement is needed with ECOsmarte.

Mineral cartridge systems are sold under the following trademarked names: Nature2, Vision, and FROG. These products kill contaminants, primarily bacteria, in the water as it passes through a cartridge. This means the pump and filter must run for long periods of time to treat the tens of thousands of gallons of water in a swimming pool. Pool suppliers, who sell these systems, often recommend that you run your pump and filter 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

While, these systems do reduce the need for chlorine or other chemical oxidizing treatment, they do not eliminate the need for these chemicals and must be replaced every 60 to 90 days.

These systems also require a trip to the pool store to purchase expensive cartridges. In some

cases more than one cartridge may be needed in one season. There is no obvious way to determine when these cartridges fail to be effective. Their effectiveness may expire prior to the cartridge contents being totally depleted.Often the ECOsmarte cell will install right in the place of the mineral cartridge replacing (11 inches of pool pipe).

Water purification additives containing biaguanide chemicals are sold under the trademarked names of Baquacil and Soft Swim. The active ingredient in these products is known as biaguanide. Unlike chlorine, biaguanide is not an oxidizer, so it does not irritate your body by reacting or "burning up" organic contaminants the way chlorine does.

Biaguanide does provide a higher quality of water than chlorine treatment but it is very, very expensive. Sometimes costing several times more than chlorine.

Biaguanide needs to be purchased in bulky containers and needs to be manually added to the pool water regularly. Sand filter media must be changed EVERY year.

After prolonged use of biaguanide, some pool owners complain that it takes more and more of the product to achieve the desired water quality. Pool owners also mention that the product causes a unique odor in the water after extended use.

Think of ECOsmarte® as an inline hydrogen peroxide generator and when used with a Glasspack filter will be the ideal replacement for Bacquacil® Swim 'N Play® or any biaguanide used in the pool.

ECOsmarte® offers the ONLY chlorine alternative that requires NO regular chemicals added and no residual chemicals in the pool since 1994.