How Salt Water Chlorination Actually Works
Salt water pools are not chlorine-free — they are pools that generate their own chlorine continuously from dissolved sodium chloride. A salt chlorine generator (also called a salt cell or SWG) passes pool water over electrified titanium plates, which electrolyze the salt and water into hypochlorous acid, the same sanitizing compound produced by adding liquid or granular chlorine directly. The difference is that the generation is continuous, the chlorine level remains more stable than with manual additions, and the salt concentration — typically 2,700 to 3,200 ppm — is far below the threshold detectable by taste or feel on skin.
The result is water that feels noticeably softer than traditionally chlorinated pools, because the pH tends to run slightly higher and because the absence of stabilized chlorine products means fewer by-products that contribute to eye and skin irritation. However, the chemistry still requires active management: pH tends to drift upward in salt pools because electrolysis generates hydroxide ions as a by-product, and high pH reduces chlorinator efficiency. Salt pools that are not properly maintained develop the same problems as any improperly managed pool.