You can, but it's better to turn it off while shocking.

Yes, you can use pool shock with a salt chlorine generator running. But it’s like trying to fill a bathtub while the drain is open — you’ll waste chemical and might overshoot your chlorine levels.

Salt generators produce chlorine continuously, so adding a heavy dose of shock on top of that can spike your free chlorine way too high. It’s not dangerous in a normal pool, but it’s wasteful and can damage your liner or equipment over time.

The smarter move: turn off the generator, shock the pool, let it circulate for a few hours, then let the chlorine level drop back to normal before turning the generator back on. Your salt cell will thank you, and you’ll use less shock.

Just check your shock label — some non-chlorine shocks are fine to add anytime, but most chlorine-based ones work better without the generator running.