How To Clean Salt Water Pool Cell
If you've got a saltwater pool, then y'all know that the table salt cell or chlorine generator is an integral part of the sanitation system.
Every now and again, saltwater cells demand cleaning. They clog up with calcium and when that happens the chlorine production can be reduced and the SWG (saltwater generator) doesn't work properly.
Keeping your salt cell clean and calcium costless isn't difficult, once you know how. And that's where I come in.
This article will talk y'all through the steps yous need to accept to clean your saltwater prison cell. No need to pay a professional!
Brands this cleaning guide will comprehend include…
This cleaning methodology is the aforementioned for ALL saltwater cells. It covers how to clean all the major brands including:
- Jandy (including Truclear and Aquapure)
- Astral
- Zodiac
- Aquarite
- Hayward (including Turbo)
- Goldline
- Circupool
- Ace
- Pentair (including Intellichlor and IC40)
What to Clean Salt Cell With
At that place are a few options regarding what you use to clean it with:
- Hydrochloric acid
- Salt Cell Cleaner (commercial product)
- Vinegar
Muriatic acrid is the popular option and 1 that nosotros'll go into more than detail with below. It's strong and does a corking chore removing calcium from a saltwater jail cell. In fact, it's really the industry standard and what most pool guys utilise to clean chlorinator cells with. To use it, you will make a diluted water/acid mix and tip it in the salt cell and leave it to do its magic.
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Commercial common salt cell cleaners are available likewise, like this ane. Some are muriatic acid mixes whereas others use other chemicals to clean the cell and are supposed to exist more gentle than hydrochloric acid. Having a gentle cleaner can be a good matter too every bit information technology will extend the life of the saltwater generator prison cell.
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Vinegar is the saltwater cell cleaner of pick for some people. Some people have had success cleaning their saltwater cells with vinegar.
And it'southward much gentler than hydrochloric acid. The reward is that your prison cell life will exist longer. It won't be as effective as muriatic acid of saltwater cell cleaner though.
What NOT to Clean a Table salt Cell With
There are a couple of things yous should definitely not clean your table salt jail cell with. Saltwater cells are expensive to supervene upon, so it's worth looking subsequently it.
Do Non utilize Hydrochloric acid to clean a salt prison cell. This is not something I recommend as it tin shorten the life of your cell.
Do NOT employ tools to clean or scrape off the calcium and mineral deposits from the electrodes. The electrodes are fragile and can easily curve. In addition to this, they are coated with a special fabric and if y'all apply mechanical action to clean the cell, you gamble scratching and removing the blanket. Stick with a chemical cleaning process.
How to Clean a Salt Cell
You will demand:
- Chemical resistant gloves
- Coveralls
- Facemask or heart protection
- Bucket to mix (chemical resistant)
- Muriatic acid or salt cell cleaner
- Salt cell cap / stand
one. Turn Off the Power
- First things first, turn the power off earlier you start examining and tinkering with the jail cell. Do NOT attempt to unscrew the device while it's still switched on. Electrocution is a lot worse than a clogged upwardly table salt prison cell!
- Brand sure you flip the circuit billow off and non just turn off the saltwater generator control console.
- Unplug the common salt cell too.
ii. Remove the Common salt Jail cell
- Remove the salt cell past unscrewing both sides.
- On each end, it'll have big screw-in unions. They'll be the same size equally the piping. (water will leak out when yous undo it. That'southward OK.).
- If the salt cell is located below the water level of the puddle, close all the valves first so h2o doesn't go along to drain out.
3. Cheque for deposits/build-up
- Tip the table salt cell upwards to have a await inside the plates. Is in that location a white, flaky stuff clogging up the blades? If and then, that'southward calcium- which plays havoc with your cell's effectiveness- and it's time for a clean.
- If your salt cell has only a small amount of calcium on the plates inside, y'all tin put off cleaning for another calendar month or so. Keep an eye on it.
- If your filter doesn't have mineral deposits on it, fantastic; simply supplant it and check information technology again in a month or two.
One time you've established your jail cell needs a clean, y'all can become rid of some of the chunkier bits past hand before you start with the chemicals. Pull any big $.25 of debris out by hand, if it's easily reachable. Then hose and scrape off the other bits.
Important: Do NOT utilize a screwdriver or any other tool to do this, as the electrodes (metal parts inside the cell) are easy to impairment.
4. Put on Protective Gear
Get suited upward! It's time to go all Breaking-Bad on it! Well, with the uniform, at least.
- When using these kinds of chemicals, you need to protect your trunk. Ideally, article of clothing some coveralls. Chemical resisting gloves and a face mask to protect your eyes. And but clean the cell with enough of ventilation, since the acid can produce harmful vapors.
5. Mix the hydrochloric acid or cell cleaner
- Muriatic acid is used to remove the deposits from the table salt cell'south filters, simply information technology'due south very strong, and so you need to dilute it.
- Fill a clean pail halfway with water, then add the muriatic acid: start with five parts water to one role acrid.
- Never add water to an acrid; always add together the acrid to the water!
- While occasional cleaning of a prison cell is adequate, information technology'south all-time to only practise so when required. Merely clean your cell when it actually needs it, don't give information technology a launder just considering you lot have a few hours to impale on Sunday, and y'all don't fancy a trip to the in-laws! (unfortunately, that one was the vocalisation of experience…)
While the acid removes scaling, it likewise erodes the plates slightly, over fourth dimension, so no more than necessary.
6. Cap The Cell
- The easiest way to clean a salt cell is to employ a saltwater cell cap and stand
- Simply spiral the jail cell into the cleaning stand, which caps off one end. The stand goes on the end where the string is. Stand it up on that end.
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vii. Pour in your solution
- Using the bucket, carefully add the solution to the table salt cell, making sure not to spill it on yourself. It should cover the electrodes inside, coming most of the way upwards the inside of the cell.
- Leave the solution to soak for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Don't leave the cell soaking in the solution for whatever more than than twenty minutes.
8. Expect For The Foaming to Terminate
- The mixture will foam upward within the cell. That is a skillful sign; it means it'south working its magic on the mineral deposits.
- One time the mixture has stopped foaming, that ordinarily means information technology's clean, though sometimes you may need to go through the process once more.
9. Make clean Out The Table salt Cell With water
- Once the deposits are gone, get out the garden hose again. Thoroughly rinse out the inside of the cell to remove those deposits. One time you're sure it's thoroughly cleaned out, that's it.
10. Replace the Salt Cell
- Put the salt cell dorsum into position.
- Screw the unions back in place.
- Plug the unit dorsum into the wall.
11. Store or Dispose of the Excess Acid
- You lot can proceed the water-acid mixture in a make clean canteen, though you should get rid of it past the time it suggests on the original bottle of acrid.
- To dispose of information technology, you could tip it into the pool merely you would be adding calcium to the water. Or have a expect for hazardous waste disposal drove centres in your surface area, that's the handiest mode. We also have a full article on how to dispose of muriatic acid.
Why Do These Minerals Build Up On The Prison cell?
The scaling is unremarkably down to the pH levels and/or the temperature of the water. If either is non at the ideal level, then you will invariably take a clogged-up salt cell. If you exit this unattended also long it can become progressively harder to remedy so, as I said above, information technology pays to keep on tiptop of information technology!
If y'all find your saltwater cell is constantly clogging up, check out our commodity: Saltwater Chlorinator Jail cell Constantly Clogs Upwards
When to Clean a Salt Water Cell
Many generators accept a light telling yous when it'southward time to make clean, but if you lot run into any of the other signs above, it's worth having a check.
It'southward a sign you should make clean your saltwater cell if:
- Chlorine levels are low
- You lot have algae (by and large means the chlorine levels are too low)
- Calcium deposits or flakes are coming out of return jets
- The "service" or "clean" or "cheque cell" light comes on.
These things above don't necessarily mean it'south time to clean your cell but it's worth checking to see the condition of the cell.
If you encounter white flakes in your pool, cheque out our commodity which explains in item how to remove and foreclose them:
White Flakes in Saltwater Puddle and How to Remove Them
Nosotros have a full article detailing when and how often to clean your common salt cell:
When & How Often To Clean Puddle Salt Prison cell? (Answered!)
How Often To Clean a Common salt Water Cell?
There'due south no difficult and fast number, equally every pool is dissimilar. 3-6 months is well-nigh the average. If y'all have to make clean more regularly than every i-2 months, then that'due south a warning sign that your pH levels aren't balanced, or you accept hard water (high calcium content).
For more tips on how to maintain a saltwater generator, bank check out our article: 8 Tips To Maintain A Saltwater Chlorine Generator
Conclusion
Recall, a trivial bit of calcium or mineral buildup on the electrodes is fine; it's the chunkier deposits that stop the prison cell from working properly. If the electrodes are too clogged to turn, and so it will non work properly and you lot will either have no or reduced chlorine output.
The brandish screen on the cell's controller will usually give yous the heads-upward to any potential problems.
And if your prison cell does accept a heavy buildup of calcium, soak it in diluted muriatic acid for 10-fifteen mins. That will accept your saltwater jail cell clean and part perfectly in no time.
Source: https://www.myperfectpool.com.au/how-to-clean-a-pool-saltwater-cell.html
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