What is Water Softener Salt?

Problems with Water Softener Salt Usage

If you know a little bit about water softener salt, you should know that it could cause a lot of problem if it is not handled well. Because water softening systems turn hard water into soft through several methods, all of which require salts that an integral part of the process, making sure that you use good quality salt is extremely important.

Hard water, if not treated properly, can be a cause of many different problems in both home, as well as industrial settings. If hard water is not treated well, soap particles will not be able to function properly, resulting in soap water that does not lather or rinse well. As a result, you might experience skin irritation or stickiness if your domestic hard water is not treated well, and in industrial applications, plumbing can even be clogged if the particles in the hard water do not get filtered properly.

To understand why this happens, you should note firstly, that hard water naturally contains a high mineral content, which is why water softening happens when hard water is flushed through tanks that contain beads that are negatively charged. These beads need a certain type of salt that acts as an enzyme, as it has a much weaker hydrogen bond compared to calcium or magnesium.

As a result, the sodium ions absorb the harder minerals found in the hard water, thereby softening the water. The type of salt used to soften hard water can vary widely, and is largely dependent on the type of water softener you are using and what your rates of usage are.

There are three main types of salts used as a water softener. These are normally obtained through a complicated distillation process, very much like the one used in processing crude oil, or it can be mined as well. Solar salt, which is a salt that is obtained from distilling seawater, is normally very soluble, making it very easy to use.

Rock salt, which is another type of salt used to soften water, is much cheaper to produce than solar salt, thereby making it a popular choice when using industrial water softening system. But, there is a downside to using rock salt. After long periods of using rock salt in your water softening system, you will inevitably find a buildup of calcium sulfate, as it is insoluble. Nevertheless, many companies have built in calcium sulfate removers in their water softening system, which allows you to use a steady flow of rock salt.

Finally, the purest type of salt that can be used to soften hard water is evaporated salt. Despite the fact that this salt is the most expensive, it is also the cleanest salt to use, as it leaves absolutely no residue. This means that your water softening system will require very little maintenance and cleaning, and also makes it much more energy efficient as well. No matter which type of salt you decide to use, it is always very important to identify your demand and usage requirements, before finally deciding on a specific type of water softener salt to use.