How often do I have to add salt to my water softener?
Maintaining your water softener is important as it ensures your home constantly has soft water. One key element of this maintenance is adding salt to the system. However, how often should you add salt to your water softener? Understanding how often and the right amount can extend your system’s life and significantly improve the quality of your water. Here is a guide to adding salt to your water softener.
Why Add Salt to a Water Softener?
Water softeners use negatively charged resin beads to attract positively charged hard minerals, such as magnesium and calcium. As hard water passes through the resin beads, the positively charged hard minerals stick to the beads, leaving the water softer. Over time, the minerals clog the resin beads, making them unable to trap more minerals. This is where salt comes in.
Salt is used to create a salt/water (brine) solution which is flushed through the resin beads. The positively charged sodium ions in the salt replace the positively charged minerals that are stuck to the beads. This process refreshes or regenerates the resin beads. Once the resin beads have been regenerated, they can continue to trap more hard minerals. Without salt, the water softener can’t effectively continue removing the hard minerals.
How Often Do I Have to Add Salt?
How often you should add salt will depend on several factors, such as the hardness of your water, the size of your household, and how much water your water softener holds. Check your salt levels every month to see what level they’re at. If the salt level is below the half-full level, add more. If your household uses a lot of water, you may need to add salt more often. Remember not to let your brine level get too low. Many households add salt every 4-6 weeks.
When you inspect your water softener, check for salt mushing or bridging. Salt mushing occurs when salt congeals at the bottom of the brine tank while salt bridging occurs when salt crusts form in the brine tank. If you experience salt mushing or bridging, break up the bridge or mush, clean the brine tank to remove any leftover salt residue, and refill the tank with a brine solution.
What Type of Salt Should I Use?
Salt is like the fuel that powers your water softener, so choosing the right type of salt is important. Here are some choices to consider.
Sodium Chloride (NaCl)
This comes in the form of a pellet, crystal, or block forms. Pellets dissolve slowly, which can help reduce the risk of the salt crusting (or bridging). Crystals are a more affordable choice but can cause bridging. Block forms are used in commercial water softeners.
Potassium Chloride (KCl)
Potassium Chloride is available in pellet and crystal forms. KCl is an alternative to the common NaCl, especially for those who worry about ingesting too much sodium. KCl is ideal for people on low-sodium diets. It is also a more environmentally friendly option. On the downside, it is slightly less efficient than its NaCl counterpart.
Solar Salt
Solar salt is formed through the evaporation of seawater and comes in the form of crystals. Because it is a natural and less processed option, solar salt tends to be more expensive than regular sodium chloride (NaCl).
Evaporated Salt
Evaporated salt is evaporated NaCl and comes in either pellets or crystals. Due to its purity, using evaporated salt prevents bridging.
What Factors Determine How Much Salt I Will Need?
Several factors determine how much salt you will need for your water softener.
Water Hardness Level
The hardness of water is measured in grains per gallon or GPG. The higher this number is, the more salt you will need to regenerate the resin beads. Florida’s water quality can vary from hard to very hard, depending on your location.
- Mild hardness (1-3GPG)
- Moderate hardness (4-7 GPG)
- High hardness (8+ GPG)
Learn how to test for hard water in your home or property.
Water Usage
The amount of water the people in your household consume will also affect how much salt you will need. A small household of 1-2 people usually means you’ll need less salt, while a large household of 5+ people means you’ll need to add salt to your water softener more frequently.
Capacity of Your Water Softener
Small-capacity softeners are designed for small households, and they need less salt. On the other hand, large-capacity softeners are designed for larger households and need more salt.
Efficiency of Your Water Softener
High-efficiency softeners use advanced technology and use less salt when regenerating the resin beads. Standard softeners typically use more salt and water per regeneration cycle.
Water Softener Settings
The settings on your water softener can also determine how much salt you use. If you have set it to “frequent regenerations,” you will use more salt. Many water softeners have a salt dose setting. Adjust these settings if you want to use salt sparingly.
How Do I Know If There Is Too Much Salt?
If you have added too much salt to your water softener, you may notice salt bridging or mushing. You may also have very hard water despite having a water softener and a full brine tank. In this case, salt would form a sludge at the bottom of your tank, preventing the regeneration process from taking place. Another way to tell if you have added too much salt is if your water tastes salty. To ensure you don’t add too much salt, only add salt when the brine solution is half-full. You can also stir the solution regularly to prevent bridging or mushing.