I get a salty taste in my mouth and in my throat in the morning after using the neti pot at night. Is this a normal side effect?

While chances of saline solution reaching the back of the throat are very small after proper nasal irrigation technique (head tilted, bending over the sink), there is a greater chance of this happening if you irrigate too close to going to bed. You probably rinsed too soon before laying down, so any residual solution did not have a chance to drain out through your nose, but instead down your throat. Because of this we recommend rinsing at least 1 hour before bed.