9 Common Salt Water Pool Maintenance Mistakes to Avoid

Maintaining a salt water pool requires some different care compared to a traditional chlorine pool. While you won’t need to add as many chemicals, you will still need to keep an eye on your pool's water balance and equipment to ensure everything runs smoothly. Here are 9 common salt water pool maintenance mistakes and how to avoid them.

1. Thinking Your Salt Water Pool Doesn’t Have Chlorine

Even though a salt water pool uses salt to generate chlorine, it is still considered a chlorine pool. The difference lies in how the chlorine is produced. Your salt water generator produces chlorine through electrolysis, providing a more consistent and lower level of chlorine than traditional methods. This makes the water gentler on your skin and eyes. However, it’s important to remember that chlorine is still present and essential for sanitation.

2. Neglecting Weekly Free Chlorine Testing

Just like any pool, you must test your free chlorine levels to maintain proper sanitation. For salt water pools, the ideal free chlorine level is between 1 and 3 parts per million (ppm), with 3 ppm being optimal. Test your water weekly using test strips or a liquid test kit, and adjust your salt water generator settings if necessary. If your chlorine levels are off, make adjustments to keep your pool safe and clean.

3. Overlooking pH Balance

Salt water pools tend to have a naturally higher pH level because of the salt water generator’s operation. If your pH exceeds 7.6, it could lead to skin irritation, eye discomfort, and scaling on your pool equipment. To prevent this, check your pH levels weekly and use pH decreaser or muriatic acid to keep it balanced. If your pH is constantly high, consider checking your stabilizer levels and adjusting your generator’s runtime.

4. Adding Salt Too Quickly

Once you add salt to your pool, it stays in the water and doesn’t evaporate. However, it’s crucial to add salt slowly to avoid over-salting. If you add too much, reducing the salt concentration can be challenging. Add salt incrementally, testing the levels as you go, especially at the beginning of the pool season, to ensure proper salinity.

5. Skipping Manual Salt Level Checks

Your salt water generator typically shows your pool’s salinity level, but it’s still wise to manually test the salt levels to ensure accuracy. Check your salinity levels at least once a month and after heavy rain, pool usage, or if you’ve had significant water changes. Use reliable test strips or a digital salinity meter to verify your pool’s salt content.

6. Ignoring Alkalinity, Stabilizer, and Calcium Hardness

While salinity is critical in a salt water pool, you should also monitor other water chemistry factors. Regularly test and balance your alkalinity, stabilizer (CYA), and calcium hardness levels.

• Alkalinity: Should be between 80 and 120 ppm. It helps buffer pH fluctuations, so maintaining it within this range is important to prevent pH spikes.

• Stabilizer (CYA): This helps protect your chlorine from the sun’s UV rays, which can quickly burn it off. CYA should be between 30 and 50 ppm, although some salt water pool owners maintain levels up to 80 ppm for added protection against chlorine loss.

• Calcium Hardness: Aim for a level between 200 and 400 ppm. If calcium levels are too high, it can cause scaling on pool surfaces and damage your salt cell. If your calcium hardness is too high, you may need to drain and refill some of your pool water.

7. Forgetting to Shock Your Pool Regularly

Even though your salt water generator produces chlorine, it’s still important to shock your pool occasionally. Shocking adds an extra boost of chlorine to kill bacteria, algae, and other contaminants that may accumulate over time. You should shock your pool once a week during peak swimming season or after heavy rain or pool usage. Use your generator’s "Boost" mode or manually add granular or liquid chlorine to restore proper levels of free chlorine.

8. Allowing High Salt Levels to Damage Pool Equipment

While salt is essential in a salt water pool, excessive salt can start to damage pool equipment, pool surfaces, and your pool liner. If salt levels are too high, it can corrode metal parts, break down pool liners, and cause scaling on the pool’s waterline. Regularly rinse the outside of your pool, pool equipment, and any exposed surfaces to prevent salt build-up.

9. Neglecting to Inspect and Clean Your Salt Cell

Your salt cell is the heart of your salt water system, and it requires periodic inspection and cleaning to ensure it operates efficiently. Calcium build-up and other debris can accumulate on the salt cell, reducing its performance. Inspect and clean your salt cell every 3 months and at the beginning and end of the pool season. You can clean it using a high-pressure hose or a mild muriatic acid solution, following the manufacturer’s instructions for best results.