How Much Salt Should be in Your Water Softener

How Much Salt Should be in Your Water Softener
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How Much Salt Should be in Your Water Softener
It might seem obvious to some, but I often hear that there is confusion about how much salt should be in your water softener brine tank, especially families who have experienced a salt clog from over filling their brine tank. The short answer is that the salt level should be higher than the water level for the water softener to perform as designed, but there is more to it than just that. Also, what if your water softener is a "pre fill" model where there is no water in the brine tank after regeneration? Like a lot of things the real answer to how much salt is, "it depends".
First you should review my video "How Does a Water Softener Work".
Since a water softener sucks out all of the brine (water absorbed salt solution) during the regeneration process, the water must actually be touching the salt to absorb it. So if your water level is above the salt level the water above the salt will not absorb the amount of salt that was intended and you will not regenerate the media fully during the regeneration cycle resulting in hard water for your family.
So does this mean you should always keep the brine tank full of salt? No! Since water softeners are very efficient and just about all of them are metered, they use far less salt than ever before, especially high efficiency models like the Aquamaster water softeners.
The best water softener salts on the market right now are the ones that are very pure like Windsor System Saver Salt which although it works great, if it does not turn over often enough, it will bind together or clog because there is no dirt to keep the salt from forming clogs. Also, since the water softener's salt usage fully depends on how much water you use (less people = less water usage) and the level of your family's water hardness you can cause yourself considerable grief by keeping it too full, if you're a small family and or your hardness level is relatively low. Compounding this issue is that most water softener brine tanks are too large for the average family application.
So what's the bottom line? If your family is relatively small (3 people or less) and your water is not extremely hard (20 gpg or higher) keep your brine tank no more than 1/2 full. Larger families can go up to 3/4 full but no one (other than a commercial application) should keep their brine tanks 100% full.
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Please comment or ask questions below. #garythewaterguy #watersoftener #waterfiltration

[@mikesmith8851]

I just bought a house for the first time and have been struggling to understand the water softener system. Thank you for making and posting these videos, they are super helpful.

[@t0b0e]

My right ear appreciates this

[@parth1887]

I just owned a home and was really perplexed about excalibur water softener requirements. Couldn't obtain manual anywhere. Just came across your videos and they have helped me a lot. Thank you. :-)

[@Maveranger1]

Gary, I keep referring to your videos. They are ABSOLUTELY 'THE BEST' on TH-cam! You SET THE BAR. Simple, detailed, straight-forward. Perfect the DIYer as I am. I so very much appreciate you taking the time out of your day to explain everything and then go above and beyond to offer solutions. If I'm ever in Midland... will stop in and 'shake your hand'... in thanks. Keep up the great work! Mike from French River, ON.

[@marzzz1]

Thank you for this video! I have a Pentair/Fleck 5810 XTR2, and after the plumbers installed it they didn't explain ANYTHING. We are a two-person household with extremely hard AZ water, so I went with your suggestion of having enough salt to cover the water, about ½ way.

[@R.A.Keyser]

Thanks , I've been over filling my salt prior to this . Appreciate the video

[@masonmurphy3492]

New home buyer and your vids are a big help! Thanks from Michigan!

[@Samantha-jo7im]

You are absolutely the man! I love your videos they helped me understand the water softener in our newly purchased house! We have family up near Midland area kinda (stayner) and we will definitely be sending them your way if they require anything water related !

[@amcwing]

Great - you answered my question - thanks!

[@MasonMsotsos]

Thank you for the excellent video as always. Cheers

[@rayfrosti7849]

The water absorbs salt until is reaches saturation, which is about 3 lbs of salt per gallon. If it's had sufficient contact time to reach saturation, it doesn't matter in the least whether the water level is above or below the salt line. if you can see any salt in the water, and it's had sufficient contact time, you're all set.

[@barbaramorley8900]

your video was very helpful and you answered all my questions.

[@yonscott]

Solid selection of videos. Great job putting a big font title as the thumbnail which makes it easy to focus in on the right one. Cheers.

[@BuddyQuaid]

Your videos are great. They're helping me understand how this works. We have the same system.

[@dougpeters1625]

Excellent video thank you for posting!

[@supermike0822]

Thanks for the video. So by this, I'm deriving that during regeneration and fill, the water should come up just to the top of the salt for brining. If the salt is fully under water, you should add salt (especially for my family of 5, including 2 water-hogging teens). If the water does NOT come to the top of the salt, it's all good but I should be cautious about having TOO MUCH salt, as the weight of it could cause packing and bridging (an issue I just finished clearing up). I was always a 'fill it to the top, so I don't have to think about it' guy, but I just cleared a MAJOR mess -- about 8-10" of sludge/rock at the bottom of my softener. I'm hoping by clearing it all out and putting in a resin cleaner, and keeping less salt in the brine well, I can keep from having to replace it.

[@davedev927]

Does the amount of salt have any effect on the fact that we get a dry, white, flaky powder, that blows off easily, atop our ice cube trays?

[@juliekailihiwa8150]

OMG that was so short & simple and so helpful!!! MAHALO!!!

[@dc5duben96]

thanks for the info i had no idea i wasnt supposed to fill it up all the way

[@chefitaly7339]

Thanks a lot! Clutch video