Can Pool Salt Be Used In A Water Softener

A water softener needs to use salt to regenerate its water softening resin.

Can pool salt be used in a water softener.

These actually soften the water from your well by removing the hard water ions calcium magnesium and iron. That means no dicing table salts or any salt of that kind. Do not use dicing or table salt. The salt has to be used in conjunction with a water softening system to produce soft water.

On its own or mixed with other ingredients it can t be used in cooking or for consumption but does have a few other uses. A salt free water softener does not exist. No to soften water you need a water softener. The water softener needs a coarser salt to function properly.

If you take the same salt that was used for pool salt and press it into pellets you have water softener salt. Ideally water softeners work best with salts that are specially designed for softening water. It is clean and pure and has no additives. Softener potassium chloride water softeners and conditioners work effectively with either sodium chloride commonly referred to as salt or potassium chloride actually a type of salt also.

There is no need to use water softener salt that has any additives in it if you are going to use it in your swimming pool. The salt used in the brine tank of a water softener does not directly soften the water but is used to regenerate the resin beads in your water softener. Water softener salt includes additional components that are very corrosive. Water softeners need a coarser salt to function properly.

So pool salt water softener salt and table salt all start with the same grade of salt. Salt crystals can be used to melt ice or snow clean some metals and kill weeds. Every manufacturer has its own opinion on which salt to be used for pools. First of all only salt or potassium chloride specifically designed for water softeners should be used.

The ion exchange process used by water softeners doesn t work without the sodium ions displacing the calcium and magnesium ions that create water hardness. Usually when you want to change the salt in your water softener you can choose from either sodium chloride crystals pellets and block salt or potassium chloride. A more accurate description of units commonly marketed as salt free water softeners would be a salt free water conditioner or scale inhibitor. How much salt your water softener will use depends on your water usage and the characteristics of your water.