A
water softener requires very little maintenance for it to keep delivering soft water throughout your house. The only thing you need to take care of is to add salt to the brine tank periodically. Without it, the ion-exchange based
water softener simply won’t work.
It’s very common to wonder how often and how much salt would a water softener require? With these tips, you can be sure of the amount you need to add to keep your water softening system running and producing soft water whenever you need it.
Factors Affecting Salt Usage
The amount of salt your household using in a year will depend on factors that are discussed here:
1. Water Hardness in Your Area
The amount of hardness in your home water influences how much salt will your household consume. If you live in a very hard water area, your softening resin will exhaust quickly and the system would require regeneration often.
As a result, more salt solution (brine) would be required to soften the water.
2. Water Consumption
A household with higher water consumption would require more water needs to be softened. As a result, this will cause the resin to exhaust quickly and the unit will regenerate frequently to keep functioning properly.
If you have a large family or have guests over for the holidays, you would likely see increased water usage.
3. Size of water softener
This is no brainer. If your water softener has a high capacity, it means the brine tank is also large enough.
It means it can hold more salt and would need to be filled less often.
4. Efficiency & Age of Equipment
The type of equipment determines how much salt a household would consume in a year. Generally, a volumetric (meter-controlled) softener such as
CWS Clack Water Softener would require much less salt compared to timed-controlled units.
As a result, they are more salt-efficient and would regenerate based on demand. On the other hand, timed-controlled units would regenerate at a fixed time regardless of the water usage and would require more salt.
Furthermore, the age of your water softener has a big impact on salt usage. If a unit is older than 10 years, it is very likely it would be less efficient compared to modern water softeners.
How much salt would your household require?
With these factors, most households have different schedules in regards to adding salt. Some homeowners refill their brine tank every few weeks while some do it every few months.
If you own a water softener, you should check your softener’s brine tank a least once each month to make sure you have enough salt.
The level of salt should be three to four inches above the water level in the brine tank or if you don’t see water levels, the salt should be above the halfway full mark in your tank.
An average household with 4-8 members would require around 6-8 bags of salt per year. This roughly costs around €60-80 per year on salt.
Water softener salt is easily available and can be purchased from our online store or from most hardware stores.
Research Before You Buy
Making an uninformed decision could cost you more in the long run. You may end up paying more on salt & maintenance if you buy the wrong system. It is critical to talk to an expert to understand what you need.
This is why, at Celtic Water Solutions, we follow a consultative approach to selling our units. We always talk to potential customers discussing their unique needs and then recommend a suitably sized system based on water hardness levels, water usage, and budget.
Talk to us today if you are looking for a solution to remove limescale from your home. We would happy to discuss your requirements.
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