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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

How to Clean Your Chlorine Generating Salt Cell

Step 1: Deactivate the pool pump to stop water flow.

Step 2: Loosen the unions on each end of the cell, they should only be hand tight. If the unions are too tight, a strap wrench may be useful as it gives a better grip yet won’t damage the cell housing or unions.

Step 3: Once the cell is removed from the plumbing, look down the center at the series of plates to see if there is a white chalky build up (calcium deposits). If present, you can either use anything NON METALLIC – wood or plastic is the safest as it should be soft enough to avoid scratching the plates, yet strong enough to break up minor deposits. If the cell needs more cleaning then just scraping, submerge the entire PVC portion of the cell into 3 parts water and 1 part muriatic acid. This will begin to fizz, leave the cell in this solution until the fizzing subsides, usually 5-15 minutes depending on how calcified the cell may be. Although the cord can be submerged, be sure that the connector does not come in contact with the solution. Once done, rinse the cell off with a garden hose. WARNING: It is strongly advised that anyone cleaning the cell in this manner use protective clothing and proper eye protection when working with acid – also, always add acid to water, not water to acid!!!

Step 4: Reinstall the cell into the plumbing by threading the unions back onto the cell, be sure to make these connections only hand tight, just tight enough to allow the o-rings to seal tight enough to prevent leaking.

Step 5: Reactivate system and check salt content, call Klapprodt Pools at 817-431-1847 if problems persist.