One of the drawbacks of having a water softener is that they require salt in order to function, and salt comes as an ever-increasing cost! If you do not properly maintain your softener, then it simply will not work. Salt is an essential function for the performance of your water softener, so the cost of salt is something you should seriously consider before purchasing a water softener.

Salt prices have increased by a huge 192% in recent years, and are looking to still be rising! We couldn’t even get a price from a supplier we contacted to write this article as they told us the price might have gone up when we come to collect! Salt is an added cost on top of the other costs of running and maintaining a water softener. You can find out more information about salt prices and considerations when choosing a water softener here.

We have also written about the fact that using salt in some places in the USA has been banned. Often this is because of the amount of water they waste and/or environmental concerns about the salt entering river systems. All the salt you put in a water softener will most likely end up in your local river system as water companies can’t afford to remove it.

Why do you need salt in the water softener in the first place? This is because the sodium part of the salt is stored in the resin of the water softener. When the hard water passes through the resin the ion exchange happens and the sodium ion is replaced by calcium. This means you now have sodium in the water instead of calcium and therefore the water is classed as softened water. Soft water is naturally soft and therefore does not contain very much sodium. So there is a difference between soft water and softened water.

Water conditioners are fast becoming the most popular choice for households and commercial premises. They do not require any salt or create any waste, so they not only save you money and cupboard space, but they also help save the environment and our oceans too!