You’ve got options, and they matter. Solar salt comes from evaporated seawater; it’s cheap and works fine. Evaporated salt is the premium stuff—it’s cleaner, so your tank stays less sludgy. And then there’s rock salt. Avoid it unless you enjoy cleaning rust-colored gunk out of your system every six months.
How Many Bags Of Salt For Water Softener? (Salt Quality Factors
I once bought rock salt because it was on sale for two bucks. The next month, my brine tank looked like the floor of a truck stop. Never again. Spend the extra three dollars. Your future self—and your water heater—will thank you.
The “Bridezilla” of Settings
Your softener’s control valve has a setting called hardness. You set it based on your water’s actual mineral content. If you live in an area with “moderate” hardness (say, 15 grains per gallon), you don’t crank it to 40 just to be safe. That’s like adding four shots of espresso to a single latte—you’ll get jittery water that wastes salt and empties your wallet.
I did that once. My water was so soft it felt like I was swimming in conditioner. My soap wouldn’t rinse off. I slipped in the shower. Twice. Now I just test my water with a simple kit from the hardware store—costs ten bucks and saves me from reenacting a cartoon slip-n-slide.
