The water softening process works successfully by making sure the resin beads are clean to attract minerals in your hard water. Salt for a water softener is used for cleaning the resin beads.
Salt is a must if you are using a salt-based water softener such as a traditional water softener, cabinet-style water softener, or twin tank water softener.
What are water softener salts?
It is salt specifically designed to clean the resin beads in your salt-based water softeners.
Salt for Water softener comparisons
Why is salt needed for a water softener?
To make understand better why is salt needed for water softeners let’s learn what salt does in a water softener.
The whole process of a Water softener happens in the resin tank which has resin beads.
The resin beads in resin tanks are negatively charged.
When hard water flows through the resin tank, negatively charged resin beads draw in positively charged hard water minerals, producing soft water.
Over time, the resin beads attract the minerals that are present in hard water, making them ineffective or not working properly.
The beads need to be cleaned, and that’s where the salt for water softener comes in to clean the overcoated resin beads.
That means if you have a salt-based water softener you must use salt to clean resin beads so as to operate correctly.
Salt is needed for a water softener to clean or recharge overcoated resin beads.
How to use salt for water softener?
A salt-based water softener system has two tanks: a brine tank and a resin tank. A brine tank is where salt is stored, and a resin tank is where resin beads are stored.
Learn how salt water softeners work.
Water is mixed with salt in the brine tank to form the brine solution. When the system reaches time for regeneration. The brine solution in the brine tank travels to the resin tank to clean entirely coated the resin beads.
The brine solution is more concentrated, meaning it has a high concentration of sodium that attracts the hard minerals coated on the resin beads. The hardness ions on the resin beads are cleaned off by the strong concentration of brine solution.
When the hard minerals are flushed out of the resin beads, the brine tank valve closes and water from the tap starts to flow into the resin tank. The water flushes the brine solution out of the resin tank using the drain pipe.
The salt is not used to soften hard water but is used in the brine tank to create a brine solution that is used to clean coated minerals on the resin beads through a process known as regeneration.
You might like different types of salt for a water softener.
What is the best salt for a water softener?
The best salt for water softeners include the following:
- MORTON SALT 1501 50 lb System saver Pellet
- Morton clean and protect plus rust defense
- Morton Pure and natural
- Diamond Crystal Iron Fighter Pellets by Cargill salt
- Diamond Crystal 804017 Solar Naturals (50LBS)
- Diamond Crystal Sun Gems Polybagged 40 Lb.
- Diamond Crystal Bright and SoftSalt Pellets
- Diamond Crystal, Hardi-Cube, 50 lb
- Compass Minerals Sodium Chloride
- HijiNa HI-SO-10PE
- Clorox Simply Crystals
- North American Salt 32910-NE Water Conditioning Salt
- US SALT LLC 600078U TV 40LB Water Salt/Rust
- CARGILL SALT Diamond Crystal Potassium chloride Bag 40 Lb.
- Diamond K-Life Potassium Chloride
- Morton Potassium Chloride Pellets
- Nature’s Own Water Softener Potassium Solution
- Water2buy EWT 25Kg Crystals Salt for Water Softeners
Sodium chloride water softener salt
Morton water softener salt
MORTON SALT 1501 50 lb System saver Pellet
- Form: pellet
- Quantity: 50 lb.
The product is made in the USA.
It has an easy-open tab, and a hard handle makes carrying and pouring more convenient.
Morton clean and protect plus rust defense
- Form: pellet
- Quantity: 40lb
The Morton clean and protect plus rust defense is suitable for water with iron.
- Form: Crystal
- Quantity: 40lb
- Harvested from seawater
morton pure and natural is solar salt which is harvested from seawater.
It works in all water softeners.
Morton White Crystal Brine Block – 50 lbs.
- Form: Block
- Quantity: 50 lb.
Diamond crystal water softener salt
Diamond Crystal Iron Fighter Pellets by Cargill salt
- Form: Pellet
- Quantity: 40lb
It helps to soften hard water and removes iron/ rust stains discoloration on tubs, dishes, cookware, toilets, sink, and laundry.
The salt is pure salt that has an additional additive to reduce mushing, bridging, and rust buildup, therefore, it help keep your water softener running smoothly.
It is designed in areas with a high content of iron.
The bag has a handle on the top and bottom to help ease lifting and transport.
Diamond Crystal 804017 Solar Naturals (50LBS)
- Form: Crystal
- Quantity: 50 lb
The product is high purity salt which is evaporated naturally by the sun and wind.
It is not only used in regenerating water softener but can be used for meat and poultry processing, hide and snow curing quality grading sensitive vegetables, ice removal, curing olives, and pickles.
The salt is pure, white crystalline sodium chloride and 99.6% sodium chloride crystals.
It is also created to minimize the accumulation of brine tank residue and resist mushing and bridging.
It can be used in all water softening units in both household and commercial water softener.
This product is packaged polyethylene bags with incorporate polyethylene film liners for moisture protection.
It is packaged in 50lb, 80lb, and 40LBS multiwall kraft containers.
- Form: Crystal
- Quantity: 40lb
The Diamond Crystal Sun Gems are made of solar evaporation of seawater.
It is pure salt that contains no additive
Diamond Crystal Bright and Soft Salt Pellets
- Form: Pellet
- Quantity: 40lb
It is a pack of 63 pieces diamond crystal bright and soft salt pellet
This salt is high pure Salt with additives that help lessen caking and mushing inside of the salt tank.
Diamond crystal bright and soft is available in a 25-pound bag, 40LB, and 50 LB
Diamond Crystal, Hardi-Cube, 50 lb,
- Form: Tablet
- Quantity: 50lb
The HARDI-CUBE RED·OUT WATER SOFTENER SALT
has iron fighter formulation which is effective for removing iron in the water.
It is recommended for all water softeners.
What is the difference between the four-diamond water softener salt is simple
Diamond Crystal Solar Naturals Salt Crystals -blue bag and Diamond Crystal SunGems are pure salts with no additive.
The Diamond Crystal Bright and Soft Salt Pellets – yellow bag and Diamond Crystal Iron Fighter Salt Pellets – green bag are also pure salt but have additive which helps lessen mushing and bridging in the salt tank.
Water softener salt crystal
Water2buy EWT 25Kg Crystals Salt for Water Softeners
Type: Crystal salt from sea produced by evaporation
Quantity of the bag:25kg
Water2buy is a 25Kg Crystal Salt for Water Softeners. Crystal salt helps in the prevention of sedimentation & clumping. It also regularly produces brine effectively.
Water2buy crystal salt is a natural sea produced by evaporation. This means the salt is pure, dissolves fast, and creates a clean clear brine.
This water2buy crystal salt meets the European standard EN 973 type A. It is tested & accredited as safe for human consumption.
It is can be used in any brand of water softener
50lbs salt for water softener
Compass Minerals Sodium Chloride
- Form: Pellet
- Quantity: 50lb
The compass mineral salt is pellet solar salt.
It is available in 50LBs
24lb salt for water softener
- Form: Pellet
- Quantity: 24lb
It is available in a 22lBS pea handbag.
40lb salt for water softener
Clorox Simply Salt Water Softener Crystals
- Form: Crystal
- Quantity: 40lb
The Clorox Simply is high pure, natural, and additives-free sodium chloride.
It is available in 40 lbs in the form of crystal.
North American Salt 32910-NE Water Conditioning Salt
- Form: Cubes
- Quantity: 40lb
It is available in 40lbs
US SALT LLC 600078U TV 40LB Water Salt/Rust
- Form: Pellet
- Quantity: 40lb
It is available in 40lbs.
Potassium chloride water softener salt
Diamond crystal – potassium chloride
CARGILL SALT Diamond Crystal Potassium chloride Bag 40 Lb.
- Form: Pellet
- Quantity: 40lb
The CARGILL is a potassium chloride pellet.
It is made up of pure potassium chloride. It has a low insoluble content to keep your water softening unit operate effectively.
It is recommended for all types of the water softener.
Diamond K-Life Potassium Chloride
- Form: Crystal
- Quantity: 40lb
The product is made up of pure Potassium Chloride (KCL) which is recommended for all types of water softener and is NSF certified.
Patented two-handle bag makes lifting and carrying more comfortable. The Polybag is made with 50% recycled material.
Morton Potassium Chloride Pellets
- Form: Pellet
- Quantity: 40lb
Morton potassium chloride pellets soften your hard water without adding salt, therefore, it reduces sodium level in your water and discharge in the environment.
Nature’s Own Water Softener Potassium Solution
- Form:
- Quantity: 40lb
The 40lb water softener potassium cubes soften water without adding salt.
The product is easy to use and works on all model water softeners.
Salt for water softener with iron removal
- Morton clean and protect plus rust defense
- Diamond Crystal Iron Fighter Pellets by Cargill salt
- Diamond Crystal, Hardi-Cube, 50 lb,
What is water softener salt made of
Water softener salt is made of sodium chloride which is used for cooking.
It is also made of a salt alternative called potassium chloride which is suitable for the person on a sodium-restricted diet.
How to add salt in a water softener
What is the best type of salt to use in a water softener?
The best salt to use in a water softener is sodium chloride. Sodium chloride is available in different types such as solar, evaporated, and rock salt. Evaporated is the purest and highest quality type of sodium chloride.
It is produced by heating raw salt to reduce moisture returning to pure sodium chloride.
It has fewer insoluble particles which mean less buildup at the bottom of the tank, therefore, the tank will not be cleaned more often. So evaporated sodium chloride type is best recommended for your salt-based water softener but in case you choose the other make sure it is pure and contains no particles which mean less bridging.
In case you are on a sodium-restricted diet use potassium chloride.
Is all water softener salt the same?
No! Sodium chloride is 100% salt and is available in different types (solar, evaporated, and rock salt) while potassium chloride is 100% free salt suitable for a sodium-restricted diet.
Is it safe to eat water softener salt?
Yes! Water softener salt is made of sodium chloride. It is the same as the salt we use in our home for cooking.
The only exception where the salt is not safe is when recommended by the doctor to reduce intake of sodium chloride but you can use potassium chloride type.
How often do you add salt in a water softener?
Salt is added to the brine tank for regeneration. In the brine tank, the salt is added to water to form a brine solution. Once you see the water level is above the salt it is time to add more.
What happens if a water softener runs out of salt?
The water softener requires salt to clean resin beads if they are completely covered by hard water minerals. So if no salt in the water softener that means resin beads will remain overcoated by hard water minerals, therefore, will not operate effectively resulting in no soft water.
How many bags of salt does a water softener use?
The amount of salt a water softener uses depends on various factors, such as the number of people in the household and how hard your water is. The higher the number of people in your household and the harder your water is, the higher the number of bags of salt your water softener will use.
In normal cases a household with 4 people and water hardness is between 7-10 GPG will use 7-10lbs of salt so a 40 or 50 lbs bag will last for one month.
Is it okay to mix different salt
Mixing the same sodium chloride is not a problem.
You should not mix potassium chloride and sodium chloride together.
Why is salt needed for a water softener?
Salt is needed for a water softener to clean/recharge overcoated resin beads not to soften hard water.
Please let us know which water softener salt do you use in your system in the comment section below.
