I used to have a thing called The Ten Things That Matter The Most That You May Not Have Thought Of. It was a PDF delivered by email when you signed up to the villa’s email list. It got such good feedback that I put it online, right here. It’s changed a bit since then but the idea is still the same. There are a few things you might not have thought of when deciding where to stay. It all starts with a conversation about a new car.
I asked a friend what she thought of her new car. Her answer? It’s brilliant. It steers really well and goes up hills much better than the old one.
For context the old car and new car were the same category, a small little run-around. The new one was German. The old one … wasn’t. And no, she’s not a car enthusiast.
Such a simple answer got my inner wannabe engineer thinking. There’s a lot beneath this answer that was hidden. The new car steers well. Perhaps because it has better steering geometry and better suspension. But then that better suspension has to be designed alongside the front wheel arch to make sure it isn’t intruding into the footwell and making the pedals harder to get to. And going up hills suggests more power … but from the same sized engine and with better fuel economy. This isn’t just a better engine, it’s a better gearbox that has been better optimised for the type of use the car will get. This itself may need a better engine map to deliver the power when and where it’s needed rather than just having a figure to publish on an advert. Marketing people love being able to say that they have 3bhp more than their competitors. But if that means the car struggles to go up a hill it’s all for nothing.
Villas are the same. There are some underlying things that don’t come out in the headlines but they make a big difference to how you feel while there and ultimately how this impacts your vacation. Things you don’t see, might not have thought of, but which matter the most …
South facing vs. north facing pools – be POSH
Pool water quality – Chlorine vs. Saline
Most villas use a standard chlorine chemistry to keep the pool water safe. It’s the same as your local swimming pool. Once a week a pool guy dumps a whole bunch of chlorine into the pool, enough to last the week until their next visit. This keeps the water safe for you because the free chlorine in the pool oxidises anything bad. The water can be a bit chlorine heavy at times but that’s wayyyyy better than being chlorine light. The system works. There’s nothing wrong with it.
There is a better way though. Say Hello to the saline system, sometimes called a saltwater pool.
Let’s get this out of the way straight away. This is NOT salt water. It’s not like the sea. It’s not like the water you cook your pasta in. There are some salt molecules in there but they are at such a teeny tiny low concentration to be imperceptible. They float around until they are needed and then zap they go into action. Here’s what’s happening and how the systems differ.
With a chlorine pool there is an amount of chlorine in the water called free chlorine. This chlorine isn’t trapped and hasn’t yet reacted with anything. It floats around in the water ready to kill any bacteria it encounters by oxidising them out of existence. This free chlorine has to be kept at a certain safe concentration. There has to be enough to keep the water safe but not too much to make it irritating. It starts the week high after a pool service and then drops as the water chemistry does its stuff. A week later the pool guy tops everything up, keeps everything in balance, and everything repeats. It’s a good system. It protects millions of pools everywhere.
Saline pools still use chlorine to keep the water safe, they just don’t have all that extra free chlorine floating around. They have just enough free chlorine to do its stuff and zap anything nasty. Once a bit of free chlorine is used it gets immediately replaced. The water has a very VERY low amount of salt floating around in it. It’s completely imperceptible. As a molecule of free chlorine gets used up the saline system splits a salt molecule (sodium chloride) to release the chlorine part of it. It keeps the water beautifully safe without the need for having tons of extra free chlorine. The system monitors the water and is adjusting the chlorine balance every second rather than every week. It brings the best water quality available in a domestic pool. The every-so-low salt concentration gives the water a lovely soft feeling; just like the salt you add to your dishwasher. The result is water that you can swim in all day without any excess chlorine giving you itchy eyes, bleaching your hair, or giving you dry skin. If allergies are a problem for you a saline pool is a must.
Do you have to rent a villa with a saline pool? No. Absolutely not. But if you suffer from allergies, want to spend all day swimming, or just want the best pool experience there is, saline is the way to go.