Comments on: MomAdvice Fridays: Water Softener Salt?

By: Mandi

Mandi — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:47:58 +0000

Although this forum is several years old, I feel the need to let all of you ladies know about Midwest Salt, they are cheaper than going to the store and buying the bags and they deliver right to your house and will even take care of your softener by filling it and making sure it is working properly. Give them a call and get a quote from Steve or Tony, tell them Mandi sent you 630-513-7575

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:40:00 +0000

I bought some water softener salt–Cargil’s Diamond Crystal brand Extra Course Crystals–from Lowes yesterday (4/29/09) for $5.19 (40 lb bag). Based on the posts I have just read, it appears I might be able to do better at Aldi’s, BJ’s or Sam’s Club. I’ll check them out. But I’ll be looking only for crystals. Our water softener supplier/installer (whom I trust) said to steer clear of pellets. I forget why.

By: Alain Mokbel

Alain Mokbel — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:36:00 +0000

I see many comments on your blog that ask: "What is a Water Softener?"

It's quite simple really. Water Hardness is defined according to the concentration of Calcium and Magnesium ions in your water. These ions combine with Bicarbonate and Sulphate ions to precipitate and forms deposits (also called LIMESCALE) in your home appliances.

A softener is basically a filter than interchanges the calcium and magnesium ions with sodium or potassium ions (hence the salt required for regeneration).

Don't be fooled though, softeners ONLY remove hardness ions and nothing else. If you have heavy metals or any other type of contaminant in your water, you should consider something more hardcore like a Reverse Osmosis unit. It will not only take care of your hardness but also remove a bunch of contaminants as well as virus and bacteria.

If you don't know how to install it, you should get a plumber with experience with this type of equipment (not all do) or hire an expert in the field.

You should be able to buy the salt wherever you bought your softener.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 01:03:00 +0000

I grew up with my parents’ having a water softener – well water seems to sort of require it. We never quite liked the taste of softened water, though, so the cold water from our kitchen sink was unsoftened. It really does seem to make a difference with my hair. I always notice the difference now when we go to visit them for a couple days that my hair is cleaner yet less frizz-prone. Of course, I’m dealing with Chicago city water, so not much I can do about that, LOL.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:49:00 +0000

Sears sells a full line of water soffteners, filters etc. You can go to their home improvement department and request a water testing kit for FREE! In it are instructions on how to gather you water for the test. You mail it in and the results come back to the store. (Ask for a copy)

Additionally what most people don't think about is the mineral build up in their water heaters. You can have literally pounds and pounds of build up in old heaters. Your electric/gas bill is higher because you are not only heating the water but the minerals too. The amount of water that can be heated is also diminished. If you replace your w/h be sure to get a self cleaning unit. They have a water inlet tube that is curved at the bottom so that it makes the water swirl and stir up the sediment thereby keeping your w/h clean and helping to stop the mineral build-up.

Hard water, mineral build-up can cost you a fortune in the end. I will destroy everything in its path. Where the water goes, so goes the damage. That mean is will effect water heaters, pipes, food disposers, faucets, fixtures, appliances, ice makers and the list goes on. It will wear out your clothes as if you washed them in sand.

Once you get a softner, you need to remember you can't drink the water without filtering it. You can't water your plants either.

You might want to consider an "under the sink" reverse osmosis unit for drinking water, cooking and watering plants.

Maybe my career in home improvements will help someone.

By: More than Survival

More than Survival — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:14:00 +0000

Thanks for visiting my site! We have VERY hard water…. our softener works overtime! We installed a “water boss” that we purchased at Lowes. It is very efficient on salt usage (unlike the nightmare of contraption we had before the “boss”). Anyway, we either buy our salt at Sams or Rural King… we are happy with the Rural King brand or we buy the name brand at Sams. I am half tempted to buy the salt at our local feed store (even though it costs more) because they will load it up for me!!!
HEather

By: Dooneybug

Dooneybug — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:00:00 +0000

Like others have mentioned, we buy our Morton pellets at Sam’s Club for $3.50 for a 40lb bag. We have a Kinetico softener and we only go through about 6 or 8 bags a year. So it is a minimal cost per year.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:26:00 +0000

We use potassium chloride instead of salt in our softener – better for watering whatever plants we might have at the time. The best price we have found is Costco. It used to be best at Sears Hardware but those stores are now closed down. We pay about $6.50 a bag so it is quite a bit more expensive than salt, but we feel it is worth it.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:01:00 +0000

Funny you should mention this! I just bought a pallet (yes…that’s 63 bags!) of salt for our system at BJ’s yesterday. We have well water and the water conditioner and salt are a necessity. I paid $4.69 a bag… We buy this quantity twice a year. I’m in Central Maryland and this is the cheapest I’ve found it. We only have one Aldi’s about 1/2 hour from us and I don’t remember seeing salt but will look next time I’m there ~ thanks for the tip! Michelle

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Ha! That is hilarious!

Sooooo….it looks like I might have an article idea here. I love talking about my appliances so this should be fun…