If you are being driven crazy by the deposits of salt in your beautiful black sink or if your clothes don't really get clean even in the washing machine, it's probably the water that is causing the problems. You may be getting hard water in your faucets, which is causing the ugly deposits of white on the dark sink. What is hard water and how to get rid of it? Well you can't really get rid of hard water. All you can do is convert it into soft water by using an effective water softener salt in a water softener system. You'll get to know which ones you can use, in the article below.
How a Water Softener Salt Works?
A water softener is a unit that is fixed in homes and industries with an intention of converting hard water into soft water. How does it do that? Let's understand. Hard water is basically water that has large deposits of magnesium and calcium in it. Both these are alkaline earth metals which cause the hardness in the water. What water softener salts do is, they react with the water to eradicate the positively charged calcium and magnesium ions. As a result, only the salt compounds remain in the water and it loses its hardness. These compounds are generally sodium or potassium compounds depending on the type of salt you use. Now that we know the procedure of water softening, let us see which are the different water softener salt types that can be used in the water softener system.
Types of Salt for Water Softeners
There are three basic types of salts that can be used in the water softener system. These salts react with the calcium and magnesium, and sometimes even iron in the water and flush them out at regular intervals. This keeps the water soft and soap and detergents can easily lather in it.
Evaporated Salt
Since salt is dissolved in water, it goes underground along with the water. When the underground water dries up, the salt remains behind. This salt, when dug out, by using specific mining techniques is called evaporated salt. This is because the water in the ground has evaporated away and left behind the salt. This type of salt has the maximum concentration of sodium chloride in it, which helps to soften the water the quickest.
Solar Salt
Salt is also collected on sea shores. What is done is, the sea water is trapped in a particular area of the shore during the day. When the water evaporates completely, all that is left behind in the salt pan, is the salt from the sea water. This salt is collected and sold in pellets or in a powdered form. Compared to evaporated salt, solar salt has a lower level of sodium chloride and slightly more insoluble substances in it. Hence, it can be said that it comes second in line to evaporated salt for softening water.
Rock Salt
Rock salt is the crudest form of salt that is available and hence the least favorable for water softening. It is acquired by a mining process. Since this salt is nothing but a mineral deposited directly into the ground, it becomes very difficult to separate the salt from the other substances present in the rock. As a result there are many foreign particles present along with the salt, making it difficult to dissolve in the water. And unless it dissolves in water, it cannot react with it to soften it. Hence this is the least favored water softener salt.
Remember, these are the three basic water softener salt types. You can combine evaporated salt and solar salt sometimes, depending on the level of hardness of the water. However, avoid combining rock salt with any salt, as prolonged deposit of unwanted insoluble materials may damage your water softening system.
How a Water Softener Salt Works?
A water softener is a unit that is fixed in homes and industries with an intention of converting hard water into soft water. How does it do that? Let's understand. Hard water is basically water that has large deposits of magnesium and calcium in it. Both these are alkaline earth metals which cause the hardness in the water. What water softener salts do is, they react with the water to eradicate the positively charged calcium and magnesium ions. As a result, only the salt compounds remain in the water and it loses its hardness. These compounds are generally sodium or potassium compounds depending on the type of salt you use. Now that we know the procedure of water softening, let us see which are the different water softener salt types that can be used in the water softener system.
Types of Salt for Water Softeners
There are three basic types of salts that can be used in the water softener system. These salts react with the calcium and magnesium, and sometimes even iron in the water and flush them out at regular intervals. This keeps the water soft and soap and detergents can easily lather in it.
Evaporated Salt
Since salt is dissolved in water, it goes underground along with the water. When the underground water dries up, the salt remains behind. This salt, when dug out, by using specific mining techniques is called evaporated salt. This is because the water in the ground has evaporated away and left behind the salt. This type of salt has the maximum concentration of sodium chloride in it, which helps to soften the water the quickest.
Solar Salt
Salt is also collected on sea shores. What is done is, the sea water is trapped in a particular area of the shore during the day. When the water evaporates completely, all that is left behind in the salt pan, is the salt from the sea water. This salt is collected and sold in pellets or in a powdered form. Compared to evaporated salt, solar salt has a lower level of sodium chloride and slightly more insoluble substances in it. Hence, it can be said that it comes second in line to evaporated salt for softening water.
Rock Salt
Rock salt is the crudest form of salt that is available and hence the least favorable for water softening. It is acquired by a mining process. Since this salt is nothing but a mineral deposited directly into the ground, it becomes very difficult to separate the salt from the other substances present in the rock. As a result there are many foreign particles present along with the salt, making it difficult to dissolve in the water. And unless it dissolves in water, it cannot react with it to soften it. Hence this is the least favored water softener salt.
Remember, these are the three basic water softener salt types. You can combine evaporated salt and solar salt sometimes, depending on the level of hardness of the water. However, avoid combining rock salt with any salt, as prolonged deposit of unwanted insoluble materials may damage your water softening system.
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