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When you move into a new residential zone, chances are your first concern will be about the quality of water. Most people prefer water that is clean, pure, and filtered as well as free from contaminants, impurities and harsh chemicals, and minerals.
In most cases, the main concern of every household is the water being too hard for daily usage because the hard water not only destroys the health of your bathroom fixtures, faucets, showerheads, pipelines, and water supply system but it also affects your laundry, kitchen utensils, skin, body, and hair.
For this purpose, most people are drawn to buy water softener systems for their household so that they can achieve soft water by the elimination of harsh metals and minerals from the water. But most people are confused about what kind of salt they should be using for their water softener, crystals, or pellets?
This article will provide a guideline for those who are curious to know which water softener salt is better to use and more beneficial in the long run.
Here’s a video on how you can make the best salt selection for your water softener:
Crystal Or Pellets For Water Softener – Which One’s Better?
Here are some of the things you need to know if you want to know if UV-treated water is safe to drink or not:
Water softener salt basics
Salt is the basic building block of how the water softener system functions so, to begin with, let’s find out what it actually is. In a water softener system, the salt is supposed to transform the hard water into soft water. As mentioned above, hard water has a high mineral content in it, and though it is not dangerous to drink, the high amount of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium make it hard for a lot of people to consume it, it stains the metal fixtures in your house and clogs the water supply system.
The water softener salt uses an ion exchange system that converts the hard mineral ions to sodium ions and through this exchange of ions, the hard water is converted into soft water.
If you feel like your water hardness level exceeds the normal amount, which you can notice by the way your tap water looks, if it looks cloudy that means it has a lot of minerals especially if it leaves white stains behind on your laundry and affects the machinery such as washing machine or coffee machine, etc.
Also, if you notice that your skin is getting drier and your hair is getting brittle or you have a certain heavy feeling in your body after drinking the water, then you should either get your water tested by a professional or use a home test kit.
A proper water softener salt can be obtained from any hardware store or a renowned company that offers softener salts according to your preference. You can either order those online or get them yourself.
What is the difference?
Water softener salt crystals:
The salt crystals are made through a natural process in which they are laid out outside on ponds so that they can eventually evaporate and produce natural crystals. Naturally, if you do not use a lot of water that means you do not require it based on the hardness level of your water and family size, the salt crystals are the best choice, also great if you are using a dual system water softener system.
Water softener salt pellets:
The pellets are made through the amalgamation of small granules of salt which then form into capsules or tablets. If you have a large house with a lot of members and you need a constant supply of soft water, then the softener pellets are the ideal choice for you. They do not create a mushy and gooey mess inside the brine tank of the water softener. In addition, if you have a water softening unit that does it all, it is better to use the pellets for smooth water softening supply.
Which one’s better?
If your monthly water softening level is low, it is better to adapt to using the salt crystals which are natural crystals with 99.6 percent of sodium chloride. Although these softening salts are more prone to bridging, they are an affordable option.
If you have a high-water usage per month then using salt pellets is a wise decision as the pellets avoid mushing into each other, may be more costly but allows smooth softening of water.
Importance of selecting the right type
The importance of a good quality water softener salt is the core element of obtaining soft water because the purity level of that salt will determine how your water softener operates. If the salt is impure, then it will be more susceptible to mushing together and will end up creating a salt bridge that will affect the softener’s ability to soften water effectively. It has to be removed through manual actions such as breaking the solid salt or melting it through the use of hot water.
FAQS
How does a water softener salt affect the quality of water?
When the water is converted from hard to soft, you will notice the changes in soaps, detergents, etc. You will notice your skin and hair getting better and your machinery will also perform better than before. Your water plumbing system will also perform better for a long time.
Why is it necessary to choose a water softener salt?
Always make sure that you have a good quality softener salt so that you can rely on it because different softener systems have a certain requirement of what kind of salt works for them. In short, the performance of a water softener depends on the salt you use.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, both of the water softener salts are best and function well, depending on what kind of need you have, though one is expensive, and the other is affordable. Pellets are for those who prefer high water usage and are lazy at maintaining their softener system, also able to afford them. The crystals are better if you have a low water usage as well as a budget.