You wouldn’t give generic dog food to a $1.5 million Red Tibetan Mastiff dog. You wouldn’t put regular unleaded gas in a $4.7 million Bugatti Bolide supercar. You wouldn’t feed cheap oats to a $70 million Fusaichi Pegasus racehorse. Why is that? Because you understand that high-quality things perform best when they run on high-quality fuel.
Water softener systems operate on the same logic: the higher the quality of the salt you place inside it, the greater the efficiency of the water softener becomes. Even the best water softener will underperform when it contains low-quality water salts!
How do you choose the best salt for your water softener system? Here’s what you should know!
Choose the Right Type of Salt
Not all water softener salts are created equal. Selecting the right type of salt for your system and the water it must soften is key to optimizing efficiency.
- Salt crystals are inexpensive, and can work serviceably in homes that use low amounts of water or have two-tank water softener systems. However, salt crystals do pose a higher risk of “bridging,” in which a hard crust forms inside the softener and prohibits regeneration. Salt crystals rarely represent a homeowner’s best option for this reason.
- Rock salt is another inexpensive option for a water softener, although its low price reflects its characteristically poor performance. Due to its heightened calcium sulfate content, rock salt creates a tough mineral residue that necessitates frequent cleaning.
- Solar sea salt is a gourmet cooking ingredient, but also another type of cost-effective softener salt. Its high number of imperfections means that solar sea salt fails to readily dissolve in hard water. It is therefore only suitable for homes with low water softening needs – i.e. homes that aren’t located in Northern Minnesota.
- Salt pellets are created when pure sodium chloride is refined into crystals. They resist bridging, dissolve freely, and are too pure to create residue. They are the best option for the majority of water softeners.
- Potassium chloride is offered as an alternative to traditional sodium chloride water softener salts. It is favored by people who have high blood pressure and wish to restrict their sodium If you have high blood pressure, then the performance advantages of sodium chloride are moot. Your cardiovascular health demands potassium chloride.
Choose a High-Purity Salt
We already nodded to purity as an important aspect of a water softener salt’s quality. When salt is impure, it contains insoluble materials that will ultimately form a film inside the water softener. Furthermore, salts with higher impurity levels also tend to have shorter lifespans. Because salt pellets are typically 100 percent pure, they provide the easiest-to-maintain and longest-lasting solution to water softening.
Salt pellets’ longer lifespan is of especial benefit to homes that (A) require large quantities of water, or (B) have very hard water. They permit the homeowner to top off their water softener less frequently, and potentially avoid cleaning it altogether. That’s home maintenance made easier!
Water Softener Salt Quality Matters
Choosing the right salt for your water softener won’t just extend the appliance’s lifespan. It will promote more efficient performance out of your water heater – and lengthen its lifespan as well. High-quality salts will also treat you to the experiences that likely led you to invest in a water softener in the first place: better tasting water, softer hair, and healthier skin.
Do you live in Northern Minnesota and need high-quality water softener salt? Then we welcome you to contact Ben Holzer Unlimited Water today! In addition to installing and servicing water softeners, we deliver premium salts throughout Perham, MN and the surrounding lakes community!
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