Calcium scale on your salt cell is harmless. Soak it in acid.

Calcium buildup from hard water. If your pool water has high calcium hardness, high pH, or high alkalinity, that white crust is just calcium carbonate scaling on the titanium plates.

Cleaning is straightforward. Turn off the system, remove the cell, and soak it in a 10:1 water-to-muriatic acid solution (or even white vinegar if it’s light). Let it sit 5–10 minutes, then rinse with a hose. Don’t scrape with metal tools — the titanium coating is tough but not indestructible.

Some cells have a built-in cleaning cycle that reverses polarity. That helps, but if you’re seeing scale, it’s not enough. Manual cleaning every few months beats replacing a $500 cell early.