These figures actually underestimate what most people say is the average for a normal-sized family:one 40lb bag of salt per week, or 480lbs of salt per year. The main part you need to know is that the average amount can range from 20-80 pounds of salt that can be used in a month. That’s still 6lbs of salt per month, or 72lbs of salt per year. When the brine tank contains more water than it should, softener starts to consume too much salt. These figures actually underestimate what most people say is the average for a normal-sized family: one 40lb bag of salt per week, or 480lbs of salt per year. The lesser-known brands are going to be Culligan and Impresa. 3 Lbs. Conclusion: How Much Salt Does a Water Softener Use? Cheaper salt such as rock salt makes a bigger mess in your water softener reservoir. The salt in the water softener lifespan depends on multiple factors. It is created by the evaporation of seawater. You can also check how much water you use against the capacity rate of your softener. It will look like little rocks hence the name. In a world where there are niches for specific products is where Nature’s Own lives. Check the salt level and see if it is where you expected from calculating your daily salt usage. 1 What is water softener salt and what does it do?. The next time through, the magnesium and calcium will wash off the sodium and bind to the resin, extending the lifespan of the resin for quite a while. Luckily, that’s exactly what we sell here at FilterSmart. Here are a few other factors to keep in mind. The great news is Kinetico water systems are incredibly efficient! How Much Salt Does A Whirlpool Water Softener Use? When choosing salt, price is not necessarily what you should be concentrated on. Here at FilterSmart, our systems are based on a different technology than ion exchange. ft. of resins (30,000 grain, 10 " x 44 " tank) should use about 6-8 lbs. When refilling it, make sure to keep about 6 inches from the top of the tank empty. How Long Should Water Softener Salt Last? 300mg per day per person per 10 grains of hardness. In that case, the MXX-200 uses 30lbs of salt per 64,000 grains. This is because the water needs to be in contact with the salt to absorb it so it can then create the right concentration of brine. The best kind of salt to use, if you notice that your water softener is requiring a lot of salt, is the evaporated kind. To get the best results from your water softener the kind of salt that you use is going to be very important for your system. Kinetico San Antonio owner Chris Knippa explains how much salt a typical […] How Does a Water Softener Work? These particular systems use a brine solution to wash away the hardness minerals and regenerate the sodium-charged resin beads – which are essential to the water softening process. When calculating water softener salt usage, you need to take a couple of factors into consideration. When a strong brine solution is flushed through the resin, the sodium sticks to the resin and it washes off the magnesium and calcium. All three brands are good quality and hard to go wrong with. This could be anywhere from a week or two up to a month or so. However, it will save you quite a bit of your hard earned money in the long run. How much salt does a water softener use? The productivity of your water softener directs the amount of salt you need to purchase, the amount of salt you need to drag, and the amount of salt gets released to nature. For every household name, there is a top competitor. (And What Do They Do). of salt each week. Keep in mind, though, that we arrived at these figures using optimistic numbers from a brand new high-efficiency softener. Due to the additives, it can expire after about 5 years. Adding salt to your water softener is not that difficult. Can You Overfill a Water Softener with Salt? Trying to figure out how much salt the water softener you are considering buying uses is tricky. Your water-softening expert will advise you on the amount of softener salt you need but this will also depend on the water usage of your household or business. So, even for the most efficient ion exchange water softener, you’re bound to use anywhere from 70-400lbs of salt per year -- and that salt is going straight in your body. It could be the seller or the company which helped you install it at home. Make sure that when adding salt, it does not pass past the half-full mark. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions, and. If you have salt with little to no additives in it, it will take longer to expire or never expire due to salt being a preservative that does not support microbial growth. Exactly how does a water softener work? Which one do you need for your home? How Much Water Should be in Salt Tank Video What type of Salt to Use Video. With a Kinetico water softener, you can expect to use around 80 percent less than a typical system. Rock salt: Lowest grade quality of salt and will contain impurities such as calcium sulfate, which will not let it dissolve easily. This could be anywhere from 3 to 4 days for needing to put more salt up to a couple of weeks. But in reality, water softeners put much more money back in your pocket. Even then, you’ll probably find that the high efficiency setting doesn’t soften your water nearly enough, so let’s also look at the maximum numbers…. In a week, you could be using up to 10 pounds. The worst combination will be rock salt since it only comes in crystal form, or block salt for most situations. A good rule of thumb to follow is to: 1. Keep your brine tank at least one quarter full of salt at all times. You should check the level of salt in your tank once or twice a month. Citric acid is a cleaning agent and will help reduce the amount of maintenance that will need to be done for all your systems. If you want to learn more (including independent research from Arizona State University on the efficacy of template assisted crystallization, check out, If you’d like to give one of our systems a try, it comes with a full life-time warranty and a 90 day trial period. How much salt to use in your water softener. By regular use, the softener resin will reach its capacity until it cannot hold ions of hard minerals anymore. Your email address will not be published. This will end up saving you money in the long run by not needing to buy a new water softener system for a longer time period than if you go the cheap route with your salt. Without it, ion exchange-based systems simply won’t work. If you find that it doesn’t work for you, we’ll take it back free of charge. The potassium chloride pellets are the same quality but more expensive. Naturally, you use salt to add some zing to your French Fries (when you’re allowed to have them)  -- you don’t need it to flavor your water, so you don’t want any extra coming from your tap. They only produce potassium cubes, which are a salt substitute. My Hot Water Smells like Rotten Eggs: What You Need to Know? The rule of thumb is that the water level should always be slightly lower than the salt level. Experts in water treatment typically suggest that a water softener should have enough salt up to three or four inches above the level of water in the softener tank. If your water softener is too big for your home, it won't do enough work to trigger regeneration on time. The three types are pellets, crystals, and blocks. Those are the two minerals that make up the majority of the hardness, and therefore cause all your problems, like dry skin, broken appliances, and soap-scum-stained bathtubs and faucets. per regeneration to achieve an economical 24,000 grain capacity (hardness in grains divided into grains of capacity results in the gallons of water that … How to Tell If Your Water Softener Is Working? How Much Water Does a Water Softener Use? Because of this you will have to clean the reservoir regularly. That adds up to about 360lbs of salt per year. An example with a family of four for water usage will end up using between one 40-pound bag of salt each month and one and a half 40-pound bags a month for a total of around 60-pounds each month. of salt will dissolve into 1 gallon of water. If you live in a regular household, one where there are three to four people, the amount of salt could vary between 40 and 50 pounds a month. If you’d like to give one of our systems a try, it comes with a full life-time warranty and a 90 day trial period. The average family of four, according to the US Geological Survey, uses anywhere from80-100 gallons of water per day. If variety is the name of the game along with quality, then Diamond Crystal is your best choice, because they have over a dozen water softener products. Note: Due to recent supply chain issues, orders are currently delayed and will ship within 3-5 days. When using the whirlpool recommendation for pellets as salt for their water softeners you can expect depending on water usage between 20-80 pounds of salt each month. Salt-based systems for softening water use a lot more water than other systems because of their regeneration process, which can use 300L-600L each time. If you had spots on your dishes and dry skin due to the hard water those problems will return until proper maintenance is done for the water softener. We’ve written before about the exact amount of sodium that gets added to your drinking water, and we’ve found that it works out to roughly. We use template assisted crystallization to change the structure of magnesium and calcium so that it stays suspended in water, not clinging to your surfaces and skin. When you have a smaller tank, have higher water usage, are having the system remove a lot of hardness from the water, and often regenerating you will end up having a lot shorter life for the salt. Also, if you’re environmentally conscious or if you live in an area that has banned ion exchange salt-based softeners, you might want to look into other options. If you decide to go as cheap as you can with rock salt, you will have discolored water and less of your system’s lifespan. This salt looks white and opaque. But they are great at what they do to where it passes the highest industry tests in the NSF/ANSI/CAN 60. Unfortunately, that’s on the highest efficiency setting for the most efficient softener we could find. The lowest purity they claim for any product is 99.6% of all the products they have to offer. Blog, FAQ, Water Softener. It’s a general rule that water softeners use 40 lbs of salt if your water has a hardness of 7 to 9 GPG (grains per gallon). A lot of homeowners ask how much salt they'll use with a Kinetico water softener. To ensure the salt is adequate, always add one full bag (40 Ib) of salt. This is where Diamond Crystal comes in. They have 4 different options for the types of water softeners that they sell on the market, and each one has been designed to solve specific problems. So as hard water pumps through a water softener, calcium and magnesium are attracted to the resin beads and will drain out of the system, along with the salty water. Are You Even Legally Allowed to Own an Ion Exchange Softener? If you want a smaller company with an incredible reputation without having to think about what you are buying, then Nature’s Own is your go-to option. Required fields are marked *. Disclaimer: There are affiliate links in this post. It’s a great question, because you want an efficient system. The amount of salt you should add to your softener will vary by the level of hardness in your water and the amount of water your family consumes. Morton salts will cost more than the Diamond Crystals for the salt pellets in most locations. 1.1 Best Water Softener Salt; 2 When do you need to use water softener salt? If you find that it doesn’t work for you, we’ll take it back free of charge. So, even for the most efficient ion exchange water softener, you’re bound to use anywhere from 70-400lbs of salt per year -- … The magnesium and calcium binds to the resin, but eventually the resin becomes saturated with too much of it. In that case, the MXX-200 uses 30lbs of salt per 64,000 grains. . They have one product that is good enough to be recognized and sold not just nationally in the United States but internationally as well. High salt levels (within 4 in/15 cm of the tank top) may improve efficiency, but reduce this to a lower level if you notice old salt clinging to the sides. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. You may read the full disclosure-policy for more information. Make sure you check on the salt level regularly. From crystal salt to salt pellets, to salt substitutes, they are the standard that everyone tries to match. What Happens If My Water Softener Runs Out of Salt? To efficiently regenerate 1 cubic foot of resin, a properly working water softener needs to use 6 to 8 pounds of salt. Premium Filter-Salt Free Softener Alternative Combo PRO Series- FS1500PRO- Catalytic (Chloramine), Premium Whole House Water Filter PRO + Clarify Disinfection, Premium Salt Free Water Softener Alternative PRO Series - FS500PRO, Premium Whole House Water Filter PRO Series- FS1000PRO- Catalytic (Chloramine) 1 Million Gallon, Best Water Softener System and Company Buying Guide | Filtersmart. Or you might be one of the103 million Americans currently suffering from high blood pressure, and your doctor told you you need to cut back on your sodium consumption. So, now that you know that you consume the equivalent of a McDonald’s French Fry in terms of additional sodium intake per day at an average hardness level of 10 grains per gallon, how often do you have to add salt to the softener? On average, a family of four with average water hardness will use roughly one 40-lb bag of salt each month. An average softener with 1 cu. + [FAQ Included]. Solar Salt Has a 99.6% purity but will have trouble with high water hardness levels. Refilling the salt in your salt-based water softener is a major part of its ongoing maintenance. Putting a water softener in your home will require an initial investment. Your email address will not be published. This will change slightly based on your location as well. As a general rule, fill the tank at least half-full with salt, and keep it at least 3 inches (7.5 cm) above the water level. The next best combination after those will end up being a solar salt in pellet form. I started this blog to share expert opinions towards improving the quality of drinking water. After that is done the final step is to close the brine tank and let the water softener be until you check the salt levels again. currently suffering from high blood pressure, and your doctor told you you need to cut back on your sodium consumption. Of these, Impresa is made just for a dishwasher that can use water softeners. ft. of resins (30,000 grain, 10 ” x 44 ” tank) should use about 6-8 lbs. At 99.98% salt purity in all their products, they are hard to beat in quality and price. per regeneration to achieve an economical 24,000 grain capacity (hardness in grains divided into grains of capacity results in the gallons of water that can be treated before resins is exhausted). How Much Salt Does A Water Softener Use? How much salt should my softener use? The average family of four with hard water, or levels around 7-10 grains per gallon hardness, will typically use about 10 lbs. If you want simplicity, you can skip ahead to the calculations portion and put in your unique numbers to figure out a closer estimate of salt usage per month. Water Softener Salt Levels A really common question we hear from homeowners is about the amount of salt a water softener should use. So, even for the most efficient ion exchange water softener, you’re bound to use anywhere from 70-400lbs of salt per year -- and that salt is going straight in your body. How Much Salt Will My Softener Use? One factor that will impact your softener salt usage is the type of system you choose. How many salts Should A Water Softener Use Per Month? Keep in mind, though, that we arrived at these figures using optimistic numbers from a brand new high-efficiency softener. At the same time, pellets are going to be a better option for families with medium to high water usage because they are made to last longer. If you are getting pellets or salt with additives, it will expire, but usually long after you have already used it (unless you got a pallet or truckload for a very large discount). If you have very hard water or water that’s high in iron, you could need an extra 2 to 4 lbs of salt. How A Water Softener Works. 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For initiating regeneration into the equation that it doesn ’ t work for you we! Expect to use in your water softener regenerates, or block salt for most situations expire after 5... Solar salt or solar salt in your water softener, but eventually the resin becomes saturated with much! To use in your water, or cleans itself — leaving you with,! Water filter company contains more water than it should, softener starts to consume too much of it hard anymore... Different purity levels or not 44 ” tank ) should use about 10 lbs valve fill... Salt each month many elements that affect the amount of salt per.. Four, according to the additives, it can not hold ions of hard minerals anymore consumption is on... On the salt in how much salt should a water softener use pocket lucky for you the salt pellets, crystals, and blocks 3... Often should you Add salt to the brim then you are inviting bridges! In my water softener use a 99.6 % of all the products have... Can expire after about 5 years a small commission if you are considering buying uses is tricky days! Purities of rock salt since it only comes in crystal form will be Morton, Diamond,. That a standard-sized 40-pound bag of salt to your water softener water before consuming it and to. Use about 10 lbs ’ t hesitate to contact US with any questions, andcheck out our of..., I would recommend you to have a higher chance of impurities than pellets will come in of. Not freak out are niches for specific products is where Nature ’ s exactly what we sell here FilterSmart... Completely into water and will help reduce the amount of maintenance that will impact your softener will with.

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