Water hardness is one of the most common nuisances with water quality. According to research, 85% of American homes have hard water. As a result, those who have hard water in their homes turn to water softeners, which help remove excess minerals from the water. Adding salt to water softeners can facilitate the process of making the water soft, hence the need to use the best salt for water softener systems.
Choosing salt for your water softener can be daunting with the different brands available. That’s why we’ve curated the best salts you can add to your water softeners to remove hard water minerals.
Six Best Salt for Water Softener Systems
Hard water refers to water with a high concentration of dissolved calcium and magnesium minerals. A homeowner can check their water for hardness with a simple home test to determine the level of their water hardness. This can help pick the best salt for a water softener that meets their water needs.
Best Overall Natural Salt: Diamond Crystal Solar Naturals Salt Crystal
Diamond Crystal Solar Naturals Salt is a high-purity salt made from evaporating sea water using the sun and wind. It’s 99.6% pure, making it a good choice if you’re looking for a water-softener salt that can easily dissolve and has minimal additives. This salt has a white, opaque color and is suitable for all water softeners. It reduces residue build-up in the tank, resulting in less scaling in plumbing and extended life for appliances. Diamond Crystal Solar Naturals Salt Crystal is NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 certified.
Specs:
- Product form: Crystals
- Size (s): 25, 40, 50 pounds bag and 20 kg bag
- Salt purity: 99.6%
Pros
- Suitable for all water softeners
- High purity
- Available in different bag sizes
Best High-Purity Salt: Diamond Crystal Bright & Soft Water Softener Salt Pellets
Diamond Crystal Bright & Soft are compacted water softener salt pellets with 99.8% purity and water solubility of over 99.7%. The salt prevents mushing and bridging, keeping your water at tip-top performance. Diamond Crystal Bright & Soft helps prolong the life of your appliances, pipes, and fixtures. It also helps improve cleaning and keeps your laundry, hair, and skin bright and soft.
Diamond Crystal Bright & Soft comes with two handles; at the top and bottom, making it easier to lift and carry. Like the Diamond Crystal Solar Naturals Salt Crystal, Diamond Crystal Bright & Soft is available in four sizes and is NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 certified. This salt is recommended for most water softeners.
Specs:
- Product form: Compacted pellets
- Size (s): 25, 40, 50 pounds bag and 20 kg bag
- Salt purity: 99.8%
Pros
- Easy to handle
- Works as promised
- High-quality product
Best for Iron: Diamond Crystal Iron Fighter Water Softener Salt Pellets
If you’re worried about staining your appliances, Diamond Crystal Iron Fighter Water Softener Salt Pellets might be the solution you’re looking for. This salt is specifically manufactured for use in water that has iron. On top of removing iron, the salt also softens your water, ensuring your water softener is performing at its best.
Diamond Crystal Iron Fighter Water Softener Salt pellets are 99.6% pure salt and practically 100% water soluble, making them suitable for reducing scale and rust build-up, mushing, and bridging. With this salt, there will be no more orange stains on your faucets, bathtubs, showerheads, toilets, appliances, and clothing. With the two patented handles, lifting and handling are much easier. This water softener salt is FDA-approved and NSF certified.
Specs:
- Type: Sodium chloride
- Product form: Pellets
- Size (s): 40 and 50-pound bag
- Salt purity: 99.6%
Pros
- Perfect for iron-laced water
- FDA and NSF certified
- Value for money
Morton Clean and Protect Water Softener Pellets
Morton is one of the best manufacturers of water-softening salt. With their Morton Clean and Protect salt, you can easily get soft water at a fair price. Morten Clean and Protect are high-purity (99.8%) evaporated pellets that remove dissolved minerals from your hard water. Using this salt in your water softener improves water quality and reduces scale build-up. Morton Clean and Protect has an easy-to-carry, lift, and tear bag design that reduces loading difficulty. With its 4-in-1 feature, this salt helps extend your appliances’ life, reduce limescale build-up, improve cleaning, and soften skin and hair.
Morten Clean and Protect water softener pellets are available in 3 sizes, meaning you can buy them depending on your budget and water needs.
Specs:
- Type: Sodium chloride
- Product form: Pellets
- Size (s): 25 lb, 40 lb, and 44 lb bags
- Salt purity: 99.8%
Pros
- Effectively softens hard water
- Offers value for money
- High purity salt
Natural Salt: Morton Pure and Natural Water Softening Crystals
Morton Pure and Natural Water Softening Crystals are natural salt crystals for softening hard water. It’s among the highest-quality water softener salts on the market, harvested naturally from salt water. It’s a great option if you’re looking to improve your appliances’ performance, make cleaning easier, and enjoy soft skin and hair. The plastic handle makes carrying and loading easier.
Specs:
- Product form: Crystals
- Size (s): 40-pound bag
- Salt purity: Not indicated
Pros
- Value for money
- Fewer additives
- Works well with most water softener systems
Best Potassium Chloride: Morton Potassium Chloride Water Softening Pellets
Morton Potassium Chloride water softening salt is one of the best salt for water softener systems, especially if you have a sodium intake dietary restriction. These water-softening salt pellets help reduce sodium and add potassium to your water. Adding Morton Potassium Chloride to your water results in softer water and increased lathering when showering, cleaning, and laundry. In addition, potassium is an important mineral for boosting plant growth.
Specs:
- Product form: Pellets
- Size (s): 40-pound bag
- Salt purity: 99% sodium free
Pros
- Value for money
- Eco-friendly
- Excellent quality
What Is Water Softener Salt?
Water softener Salt is a salt type manufactured to soften hard water. It dissolves in water to create a brine solution that is flushed through the resin bed. This process removes accumulated calcium and magnesium ions and recharges the resin beads with sodium or potassium ions.
Water softener salt ensures your system is functioning at an optimal level by preventing scale build-up. It can also increase your appliances and fixtures’ lifespan and improve soap lathering and cleaning efficiency. Water softener salt can also result in benefits such as smoother skin and hair, brighter laundry, and reduced use of detergents and cleaning products.
Can You Use Any Salt in Your Water Softener?
No. It’s important to use salt that is designed specifically for water softeners. Salts not recommended for water softeners may contain high impurities and additives that might interfere with the proper functioning of water softeners.
How to Choose the Best Water Softener Salt
There are a few things to think about before picking salt for your water softener. This includes:
- Water hardness: Since water hardness differs, it’s good to determine the hardness level of your water. This will help you choose salt capable of removing hardness depending on its level. It also lets you know whether the size is adequate for your needs.
- Salt purity: Impurities can affect salt’s performance. This makes it crucial to check salt purity before picking one.
- Salt type: Water softener salt comes in the form of pellets, crystals, blocks, and solar salt. Choose the suitable form depending on your water softener and the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Availability: For convenience, choosing salt that you can easily find at your local store is important. This is also cost-effective, as it reduces shipping costs.
- Dietary restrictions: It’s important to consider salt-based alternatives if your health condition limits your sodium intake. A good example is potassium chloride, which helps lower hardness levels and adds potassium to your water.
- Budget: High-quality salt is expensive. Typically, potassium chloride is a lot more expensive than sodium chloride. However, it’s important to balance quality and affordability and meet your budget.
Tips for Maintaining a Water Softener
Your water softener needs regular maintenance to ensure excellent performance and increase longevity. Here are some tips for maintaining your water softener:
- Use the right type of salt as recommended by the manufacturer. Always go for high-quality salt, as it will reduce scale build-up.
- Check salt levels regularly to ensure enough is there to facilitate regeneration. Experts recommend you check your salt every month and adjust accordingly.
- Clean your brine tank regularly to remove sediment, sludge, and salt residue that may accumulate over time. Depending on your water hardness and usage, you can clean it once a year.
- Break up salt bridges/crusts, which create a gap between the water and the salt pellets. Salt bridges prevent proper dissolving, reducing water softener performance.
- Let an expert inspect and service your water softener periodically.
Improve Your Water Quality With Onit Home!
The best salt for a water softener system is the one that meets your home’s needs. So choosing an excellent and reputable brand is crucial. ONIT Home provides you with high-quality water softener salt from one the top manufacturers of water softening salt. Besides offering affordable prices, we provide expert advice to ensure you get the best solution for your water hardness situation. We also provide free testing for water hardness and other contaminants. Our company is well known for its top-of-the-line water filtration systems, which we design depending on your home’s water needs.
Buy the best water softener salt today, or call us at 1-833-433-0331 to speak to our experts about anything involving your water quality. Need clean and soft water? We’re ONIT!