If your water softener has a tank, it uses salt to eliminate the hard mineral ions in your home’s tap water. But if you are new to the whole water softener maintenance thing, you might be confused about the type of salt you should be putting in yours. After all, when you go to the water softener salt aisle, there are numerous options to choose from. How do you know which water softening salt is the right one for your water softener?
Continue below to learn how to choose a water softener salt based on your hard water removal and soft water needs.
Top 2 Water Softener Salt Options
Salt-based water softeners are designed to use two primary types of salt products: sodium chloride salt or potassium chloride salt. These two kinds of water softener salts are available at any local home improvement or grocery store and come in all sorts of different brands and salt shapes (mainly pellets, crystals, rocks, and blocks). They also range in purity, which is important when selecting a salt brand for your water softener. Look for a label on the bag that shows it is 99.9% pure salt.
Lower quality water softener salt contains higher traces of impurities and water-insoluble matter (things that won’t dissolve in water), which will cause a higher rate of scale and sediment buildup inside the tank. As a result, you will have to clean out the brine tank more often than you should, which can be a hassle. So, which high-quality water softening salt product should you buy, potassium or sodium chloride? It depends on your personal preference and a few other varying factors.
Potassium Chloride Versus Sodium Chloride
Sodium chloride water softener salts are the more popular choice, mostly because they are easier to find, more widely available, and typically cheaper than potassium salts. They are available in different forms, including evaporated pellets, which are considered the highest purity, as well as crystal salt (also called solar salt pellets), rock salt, and block salt.
Potassium chloride is the less common choice for water softening, namely sought after by those looking to mitigate their sodium intake. Although sodium-free, this type of water softener salt works just as well to regenerate the resin beads. If you are planning to make the switch from sodium softening salts to potassium, you may need to increase the unit’s salt dosage settings by 10 percent to ensure proper resin bead regeneration.
Saltless Water Softeners
In contrast to salt-based water softeners, salt-free water softeners do not use salt. Instead, they use a process known as Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC), which processes water through a catalytic media. Because of this fact, saltless water softening does not technically soften water, but rather, conditions it. For this reason, saltless water softeners are more accurately described as water conditioners.
Are you for professional help with your residential or commercial water softening needs? Contact Weilhammer Plumbing Company at 317-784-1870 for water softener service and repair in Indianapolis, Indiana, and its surrounding counties. We sell top-of-the-line water softeners, including ones that don’t use salt at all! Call for residential or commercial service, anytime.
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