Adding salt to the brine tank is a critical part of operating and maintaining your water softener. This article will help you choose which type of salt to use.
NOT RECOMMENDED for use with your softener:
*Product Performance problems or damage due to incorrect salt usage may void your product warranty.
Block Salt
Block salt comes in several sizes ranging from large 50 lb blocks down to 5 lb bricks. We do not recommend using any size block salt in your water softener for several reasons.
- First, block salt does not provide the necessary salt dissolution required to efficiently regenerate the water softener's resin. What this means is that the resin in the water softener does not get cleaned or rinsed properly, resulting in hard water.
- Secondly, the salt sensor is designed to measure the amount of salt in the tank, based on a leveled load of salt. With block salt, the sensor may not accurately read the quantity of salt, which could result in running out of salt or unnecessary “low salt” alerts from the water softener.
Rock Salt, Ice Melting Salt, Ice Cream Salt, Granulated Table Salt, Pool Salt
- Many of these salts contain higher levels of insoluble minerals. Over time, this can result in salt bridging and a muddy tank, decreasing the softening efficiency while leaving impurities in your water. These salts are not recommended for water softening.
RECOMMENDED for use with your softener:
There are several different types of salt that are recommended for your softener such as solar salt, pellet salt, evaporated salt as well as some specialty salts. The key when selecting a salt type is to look for one with a high purity level and low contaminants. We recommend a salt that is 99+% pure with less than 1% contaminants or impurities and specify that the salt is designed for use in water softeners.
Solar Salt
Solar salt is evaporated salt water in crystal form and is a very clean salt making it a great choice for water softeners.
Pellet Salt
Pellet salt is manufactured from small salt particles compressed together to form a small pellet or sometimes cubes. Pellet salt is clean and a very good source of salt for your softener. Pellets can also help reduce bridging.
Evaporated Salt
The purest form of salt at 99.99% sodium chloride. A great choice!
Specialty Salts
- KCL (Potassium Chloride) - a sodium alternative, 99.9% free of sodium for households with dietary restrictions. Special programming is required when using this salt type.
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- Rust and Iron Removal* - helps assist in removing iron from the resin beads during regeneration cycles.
*For proper use instructions, visit our Iron-Out Salt article.
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