Hard water can be successfully treated with water softener salt and a properly installed unit. Salt is used in water softeners so that they can remove the calcium and magnesium from your hard water, replacing their ions with sodium ions. Softener salt comes in pellets, blocks, rock salt, crystals and brine blocks. Each type of salt has its own formula, and is made for different needs in the area of water softening.

The types of salt used in water softeners depends on the unit you have. They are made with salt that is high in purity, with no insolubles that you’ll need to clean out of your brine tank. Water softener salt of the proper type will improve the efficiency of the resin regeneration in your water softener, since it can clean the resin continuously.

A water softener will prevent the buildup of damaging hard minerals that may otherwise accumulate in screens or valves of your softener, which otherwise could cause malfunctions. The more effective salt products have been laboratory tested, allowing your softener to do more for you. It will remove almost twice as many impurities and dirt, and up to five percent more minerals that contribute hardness to your water.

The correct salt for your softener may be mined underground in salt domes. You can purchase extra coarse or coarse water softener salt, and either grade will work in most softeners. They will remove more impurities, which otherwise could build up within the brine tank and require frequent clean-outs. Some salt used in water softeners is harvested through solar evaporation from natural brine. Open ponds are the areas from which it is harvested, and it does have some impurities.

When you have iron present within your water, you can use a water softener salt with rust remover in it. These types of salt have rust remover in each pellet, and they will fight rust so that it won’t have a chance to build up in your softener. Salt with rust remover takes care of fifteen times more iron than plain salt, when treating your water.

You can purchase salt for your water softener that is made from food-grade, high purity salt, which will remove more impurities and dirt from your water than some other salts. High-purity, top-grade salt can remove more than 50% more microscopic particles and impurities in your softened water.

Some softeners only use salt that comes in bags of pellets, and some can use blocks. Be sure you check when you are purchasing a system, to make sure that you can readily buy the type of water softener salt your new softener will need.

If you want to reduce the sodium in your soft water, you can mix in products containing potassium chloride. A ratio of 50/50 is usually recommended. If you mix these types together, remember that your soft water will have more sodium when you first start up the unit with the 50/50 mix, and more potassium as it nears the end of the cycle.

If you have a septic system, you might not be sure that water softener salt will work properly in your home. Most salt products are safe for your septic system. Water softeners don’t have a negative effect on most septic systems, and you won’t find any hydraulic overloading. Magnesium and calcium can even help the stability of your soil, and the way your septic system perks.

If you use water softener salt, the sodium found in your softened water is proportional to how hard your water was before it was treated. In most cases, the salt does not cause your soft water to become too salty to drink. If you use water for your lawn, you can leave that water unsoftened, since you need a lot of water for lawn care. If you don’t bypass the unit and soften your lawn water, it will run out much more quickly, and you’ll need to use more salt. The lawn doesn’t really need soft water, so it makes more sense to bypass your water softener for watering your lawn.

You cannot use water softener salt in your washing machine in order to get softer laundry. They are only made for water softeners. You could damage your machine if you put salt in it. If you want your clothes to be softer, just attach your washer water line to your water softening unit.