How Often to Add Salt to Your Water Softener

In order for your water softener to work properly, it’s important that you attend to some basic maintenance steps. Most notably, it’s important to keep your brine tank filled to the proper salt level. As such, homeowners often wonder: Exactly how frequently should salt be added to the water softening system?

There’s no simple answer to this question, as there are a number of factors that can impact your water softener’s rate of salt usage. Some of these factors include the size of the brine tank, the hardness level of your water, and the amount of water usage in your household.

With that said, there are a few simple steps you can take to maintain the right brine solution, ensuring consistently soft water for you and your family members. Here are some guidelines from Carter’s My Plumber, a top water softener company in Indianapolis. 

See if Your Water Softener is Running Out of Salt

First, it’s important to keep an eye on your salt level, just to make certain that your brine tank is sufficiently full. It’s usually very easy to lift the lid of your brine tank to get a peek inside. The question is, how can you tell when your water softener is low on salt?

Basically, if the salt level is below the water level, that means you need to add new salt to your tank. When the salt level gets too low, that means it’s simply not doing what it’s supposed to do to keep your water nice and soft.

Add Salt When Needed

What’s the best way to add salt to the tank? First, make sure you can locate the tank where sodium chloride is placed. You don’t necessarily need to worry about getting the amount precise; feel free to just dump in a bag of salt or two, depending on your system’s needs. Remember, the goal is for there to be dry salt visible above the water level.

Check Your Salt Level Regularly

Again, there’s no simple answer when it comes to how often you should add salt to your water softening system. It all depends on the size of your system, how hard your water is, and how much water you use in your family. (So, the larger the household, the more often you’ll need to add salt.)

As a rule of thumb, we would recommend checking your salt level twice a month, adding to it as necessary.

Get the Right Kind of Salt

Something else to keep in mind: Maintaining your water softener isn’t just about the frequency with which you add salt. It’s also important that you select the right kind of salt.

At Carter’s My Plumber, we recommend salt pellets for most systems. That’s because salt pellets are usually the purest type of water softener salt, meaning the salt dissolves completely and doesn’t form bridges that clog the system. Bridging is much more common with rock salt and solar salt, making pellets the best option for the majority of homeowners. (Potassium chloride can be a good alternative for homeowners who have health problems and need to carefully regulate their salt intake.)

Talk to a Water Softener Specialist

If you’re unsure about how many pounds of salt to add, or how often to add it, you can always contact your local plumbing company. Specifically, a water softener specialist can evaluate your system, test your water hardness level, and make a recommendation that’s suitable for your household.

Carter’s My Plumber is a trusted water softener specialist, proudly serving homeowners throughout the Indianapolis area. Contact us whenever you’re ready to schedule a water softener maintenance appointment, or to ask questions related to water softener installation cost.

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