Water softeners are excellent, money-saving appliances that significantly contribute to your quality of life. Not only do water softening systems remove solid and dissolved minerals from water, making them an effective solution for hard water removal, but they also reduce monthly utility costs by saving homeowners energy and water. Even better, water softeners protect other important plumbing appliances, such as water heaters, washing machines, dishwashers, piping, and more.
By having a water softener, you have already made a wise and impactful decision for your home. Nonetheless, using the right softening salt is another important element of soft water maintenance at home. But which softening salt is best for your water softener? What are the differences between potassium and sodium chloride salt pellets?
Continue below to learn some of the best salt options for residential water softeners, plus where you can get more advice and service for your water softening needs in Indianapolis.
Top 2 Water Softener Salt Options
When it comes to choosing a water softening salt, it is important to select a quality product. Lower-quality water softener salts contain high traces of contaminants and water-insoluble matter. Such contaminators can leave behind residues in the water softener tank, which can lead to breakdowns and costly repairs. Although brine tank cleaning can abate the likelihood or frequency of water softener malfunctions, using a good quality water softening salt can eliminate the risk of long-term damage.
Sodium Chloride and Potassium Chloride
The top two options for water softener salt are sodium chloride and potassium chloride. Each water softener salt product is acceptable in most types of water softeners, but one might work better than the other for your water softener unit or softening needs.
Sodium chloride is your traditional water softening salt. Common types include evaporated salt pellets, solar salt pellets, rock salt, and block salt, all of which comes in three forms: pellet, crystal, or block. Evaporated salt is the highest purity water softener salt at 99.9% pure salt, and it comes highly recommended. Solar salt is a close second being 99.6% pure salt.
Rock salt contains high calcium sulfate levels and does not dissolve well. For these reasons, rock salt is not usually recommended because it cause a lot of water softener maintenance issues. Sodium chloride water softener salt will be the more economical buy, as it tends to be less expensive to potassium chloride water softening salt. It tends to be more available as well.
Potassium chloride is another type of water softening salt that works well to regenerate the softening resin. Potassium chloride is great for anyone looking to reduce their sodium intake because it is 99.9% sodium-free. Although a bit pricier and more challenging to come by, potassium chloride water softening salt is an excellent alternative to the traditional water softener salts on the market.
Switching Water Softener Salts
If you have been using sodium chloride and wish to make the switch to potassium chloride water softener salts, you may need to increase the salt dosage by up to 10% to accommodate proper resin bead regeneration.
If you have been using potassium chloride and now wish to switch back to sodium chloride, you can do so without making any major modifications or adjustments. If you increased the salt dosage on the valve when you originally switched to potassium chloride, you may need to adjust this again to accommodate for sodium chloride water softening.
Would you like to learn how to improve your soft water quality at home or in the office? Contact Weilhammer Plumbing Company at 317-784-1870 for licensed and insured water softener services in Indianapolis, Indiana. We serve residential and commercial clients, offering water softener sales, service, and repair! Ask us about our saltless water softeners!
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