Water Softener Salt

Water Softener Salt

Frequently asked questions

Why do I need to add water softener salt?

Your water softener contains tiny beads that draw the calcium and magnesium ions from the water. Over time these beads become clogged up and less efficient. Sodium ions from the water softener salt reactivate the beads, thus allowing them to continue doing their job.

Will the water softener salt enter my drinking water?

On average, each person consumes around three teaspoons of salt per day from various food sources. Roughly 2.5 per cent of this amount comes from softened drinking water, a minimal amount. If you find that your water does develop a salty taste, or your diet dictates that you cut out sodium altogether, soften only your hot water and leave your drinking and cooking water untreated.

Which type of salt should I use?

There are three types of water softener salt; rock, solar and evaporated. The cheapest of the three is rock salt, a naturally occurring mineral extracted by normal mining methods. It contains a comparatively large amount of insoluble calcium sulphate, which means your system needs to be cleaned more often. Solar salt is obtained by the evaporation of seawater. Normally sold in pellet or crystal form, it has much higher solubility than rock salt. Better still is evaporated salt. Obtained through a combination of mining and evaporation, this is also the purest of the three forms of salt, being 99.99 per cent sodium chloride. As such, it is the most expensive but also the one that leaves the least sediment and so requires the least cleaning.

How often do I need to add salt?

Normally salt is added every time the softener is regenerated, which should be at least once every two weeks. As a rule of thumb, salt levels should be kept at half full at all times to ensure consistent production of soft water.

Why is my salt not dissolving?

Occasionally when you add salt to your system, the salt reverts to tiny crystals similar to table salt. These may then merge to create a thick layer, known as 'mushing'. All you need to do is remove the 'mush' and replace with fresh salt pellets. Similar to this is 'bridging', where the crystals bond and form a bridge above the water level. If this occurs, simply break up the bridge and allow it to fall into the water below.

Frequently asked questions

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