Extend the Life of Your Salt Cell | Pool Supply Unlimited Blog

Saltwater systems are rapidly becoming the norm in pool sanitation. Anyone with a salt system knows when your salt cell goes out, getting a replacement can be a little costly. Because of this, consumers search endlessly for new and improved ways to optimize the productivity of their cells.

The easiest way to extend the life of your salt cell is to maintain proper water chemistry balance. A salt can last you anywhere from three to seven years depending on use and maintenance. Testing your water for calcium hardness is an important step in extending the life of your pool salt cell. Too much calcium in the water can cause scaling and deposits on the salt cell, reducing its performance over time.

Another easy way to help extend the life on your salt ell is to do a weekly inspection to make sure everything is working correctly. Inspect the wiring and control box of you cell to insure everything is in place and no error codes are being given.

Adding chemicals to your pool specifically for salt water will help your salt cell to not work as hard. Natural Chemistry has a two-part maintenance kit, Salt Water Magic, which includes Salt Water Magic Liquid and Cell Protect. Both products can help you remove phosphates and organic contaminants from your pool water and prevent metal oxidization and scaling in the salt cell, and around your pool surface.

Salt cell with calcium build up:

Salt cell with Cell Protect helps prevent calcium build up:

Inspecting the inside of the cell at least once a month will let you see if there is any type of buildup within the cell. If you notice it has signs of scale buildup, you want to get rid of it as quickly as possible to make sure the cell does not get damaged.

As calcium builds up on the cell plates, production of chlorine slowly comes to a halt. You proceed by cleaning the cell with muriatic acid, and thus eliminating all traces of calcium. Unfortunately, this routine not only strips away the calcium, but it degrades the plates as well, slowly weakening your cell with every cleaning. And the harder your water is, the more often you will be doing this.

Using products like Cell Protect not only works in the preventative measures of calcium build up, but also applies protection to all other areas of the pool where build up is seen. The best part about it is that it will have no effect on any of the other chemicals within your pool.

Not sure if a salt pool is right for you, read our blog post, The Basics of Chlorine Generators, to help you understand how they work. When it comes to pool maintenance having the right pool cleaning supplies and using them consistently is key. Shop our large selection of pool cleaning supplies like brushes, poles, rakes vacuums, thermometers, pool treatments, and more for the cleanest pool on the block.