How Much Salt Should Be In A Water Softener?
Salt is essential in the water softening process, and it is crucial to know how much salt is required or should be added to a water softener chemical. The amount of Salt required depends on the type of softener used, the type of water used for the pool, and the size of the brine tank. Suppose you are the owner of a saltwater pool and using a water softener. In that case, you need to read this article to know how much salt should be in a water softener and ensure you are using the right amount for proper maintenance and keeping your softener system working properly.
What Are Water Softeners?
Water softeners are chemicals that work effectively when combined with Salt to remove the hardness of the water used for households or swimming pools. Hardwater has a direct effect on the corrosion of pool elements, so it is necessary to use water softeners to reduce the hardness levels. The water softener is generally filled in a brine tank beside the storage tank. The softener work starts when the right amount of recommended Salt is added to the brine solution.
How Water Softener Works?
The purpose of a water softener is to remove all the chemicals that make water hard, and the main chemicals removed are calcium and magnesium. Your water softener tank is filled with resin beads. This portion of your softener is sealed, and you can’t access it. On the other hand, your brine tank will have a removable lid where you can easily see the level of water-softener salt that you have so that you can add more Salt when you need to.
Types Of Salt Used For Water Softeners
Salt can be added as pallets, crystals, and blocks for any water softeners. Here are common salts used and vary on purity levels of sodium chloride of Salt.
- Rock Salt: Lowest purity level of Salt and contains many impurities and dissolves slowly
- Solar Salt Is 99.6% pure but cannot be used with high-hardness water.
- Evaporated Salt Is 99.9% pure and is made for human consumption.
- Crystal Salt: Crystals will have the highest chance of leaving residue and having the Salt turn into a mush that will require cleaning the tanks more frequently.
- Pallets: These are the most used and recommended salt forms for the water-softening process, as they do not leave any residue.
- Blocks of Salt: Most companies do not recommend the usage of block salt as the tanks need to be cleaned regularly.
Factors Affecting The Amount Of Salt Needed
Water softeners work effectively with conditioners and sodium chloride or Salt. It is important that the Salt added should not absorb the moisture. Otherwise, it becomes mushy, and Salt becomes useless. At this point, one should allow the Salt to settle down before adding more, so it is crucial to know how much salt should be in a water softener. The amount of Salt depends on the following factors.
- Size of Brine Tank
- Amount of hardness in your area
- Water needs of your family
How Much Salt To Put In Water Softener?
One of the most common questions added how much Salt to put in a water softener for better results. You need to follow these rules to keep the brine solution and water softener to the best use.
- Keep the brine tank always one-quarter full with Salt at all times
- The Salt added should not be more than 4 to 6 inches below of brine tank
- Always ensure that Salt is always a few inches from the ground level.
How To Add Salt To Water Softener?
Here are some general steps to be followed for adding Salt to water softener
- Open up the brine tank and clean up any salt buildup on the walls of the container.
- Check the levels of salt present in the tanks and calculate the amount of Salt required.
- Once the cleaning and calculation are completed, add the required Salt to the tank.
- After the required Salt is added, close the brine tank and release the water softener into the tank.
- After completing all the steps, check the salt levels once the process has started.
Conclusion
Using the right softener salt removes the hardness in any water. For a properly sized water softener tank, as per the industry standards, an average family of four will use approximately 10 lbs of Salt per week or 40 lbs per month for removing hardness levels of 7-10 grains per gallon of water. Canada Salt Group Ltd supplies pure water softener salt all over North America. If you require salt, contact us at 866-321-7258 for more details.
