Water hardness ranges anywhere from 15 gpg – 25 gpg in Washington County, Utah. Standards used by The Water Quality Association, put Southern Utah’s water as extremely hard as compared to other parts of the country.

When water contains a significant amount of calcium and magnesium, it is called hard water.  Hard water is known to clog pipes and prevent soaps and detergents from dissolving in water. Water softening is a technique that serves the removal of the ions that cause the water to be hard, in most cases calcium and magnesium ions. Iron ions may also be removed during softening. This process is called ion exchange. Water softeners are specific ion exchangers that are designed to remove ions which are positively charged. Softeners remove calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions. Calcium and magnesium are often referred to as hardness minerals.

A water softener collects hardness minerals within its conditioning tank and flushes them away by back washing & regenerating the resin bed. This process will replace the calcium and magnesium ions in the water with other ions such as sodium (NaCL) or potassium (KCL) salts.

Water softening is an important process, because the hardness of water in households is removed. Water softening can prevent these negative effects. Water softening means expanding the life of household appliances, such as dishwashers, laundry machines, linens and clothing and extends the lifespan of  many other water-based applications.

Salt mushing is when a salt production company loosely compacts its salt pellets or cube-style salt regardless of its purity. If the salt pellet is not compressed hard enough, water absorbs into the pellet and will form tiny crystals of evaporated salt, which are similar to table salt. The weight of the salt above then compresses the crystals, creating a thick mass in the brine tank. This phenomenon is commonly known as mushing and will at some point interrupt brine production.

Salt mushing is much more complicated for brine tanks than salt bridging. This is when a separate brine compartment reduces the difficulty in dealing with this issue.

A salt bridge is an empty space that forms between the salt and the water usually near the bottom of the brine compartment. It occurs only with rock or extra coarse salt. Changes in temperature, humidity, and regeneration frequency can contribute to salt bridging but is usually fairly simple to remedy.

One of the prime symptoms of salt bridging is the salt in the brine tank will appear to not be going down. Tap on the sides of the brine tank from top to bottom listening for hollow sections that are less dense. Be sure that there is not a salt shelf at the bottom of the brine tank that can be confused with a bridge.

Other ways to loosen up hardened salt bridges include using a broom handle or pouring water on to the top of the salt.

Though there might be many high quality water softening salt companies around the country, there is only one that has proven to be the best in Southern Utah. Blink Water Solutions recommends only Morton Brand, Clean & Protect Pellets. It can be purchased at Harmons Grocery, Albertsons Grocery, and Lowe’s. It is strongly advised NOT to purchase the Culligan chip-style salt from Costco. It appears to have the most problems associated with mushing compared to any other brand.

Many of the other brands in pellet form will break down, turning into mush—an undissolvable condensed pasty solution at the bottom of the brine tank that makes it difficult at best to remove. Extra course salt or rock salt can bridge. This is when a cavity below the salt is formed and the water in the tank is no longer in contact with the salt. It would appear that the tank is full of salt and or the salt is not dropping. There are many reasons for this happening but one of the most common is that many in our community leave or travel during the warmer months or have a second home. Most water softeners regenerate based on usage and therefore never regenerate while homeowners are away causing the salt to bridge or harden, thus not softening the water.

Through experience with and knowledge of the water quality in Southern Utah, we know that most water softening resins will last approximately 20 to 25 years. In most cases, the resin will outlast many of the mechanical components, or the water softener will become antiquated before it needs to be replaced.

Usually it is not necessary to clean out a brine tank, unless the salt product being used is high in water-insoluble matter, or if there is a lot of sediment in the culinary or well water supply. Water softeners that are contained in the brine compartment (cabinet models) such as Whirlpool, GE, Northstar, Kenmore and many others should be avoided because in cases where the brine tank needs cleaning or the salt has mushed, it is nearly impossible to remedy the problem without disassembling the entire system which is time consuming and costly.

There are cases to be noted, in which people with dry skin conditions have benefited from soft water. Hard minerals bond with soaps & detergents leaving an invisible film on hair and skin causing dryness. Depending on the hardness level of the water and a person’s skin sensitivity, extremely hard water can cause skin to be red, itchy and irritated by some of the fragrances and perfumes found in many soaps today.

Through many years of experience, delivering salt to hundreds of Southern Utahns with many different brands of water softeners, we have learned that the average family of four will use anywhere from 25 lbs to 50 lbs of salt (NaCL) depending on the water hardness, efficiency of appliances and water conservation habits. A typical bag of salt is 40lbs (Mortons – Clean & Protect is highly recommended) however, for those who struggle to lift the heavier 40 lb bags, Morton salt can also be found in 25 lbs bags at Albertsons Grocery Stores.

Note: When considering sodium or potassium –

Water softeners using potassium chloride (KCL) will use 20% more per month than sodium chloride (NaCL). Potassium is harder to locate and the cost runs upwards as much as $29 per 40 lb bag depending on the season and agriculture demands. Potassium is used as a fertilizer by farmers for crops. If you use potassium in your water softener for the purpose of drinking water. It’s much less expensive to take potassium pills or to eat a banana, which is high in potassium. 99% of the potassium used in a water softener is put right down the drain and requires an increased amount of 20% more potassium and water than salt to regenerate and backwash and is not any more effective in softening the water than sodium.

Every modern day water softener should have a bypass valve installed.

A bypass valve gives you the ability to shut the water softener off without shutting off the water to your entire home. The bypass valve will be located at the inlet/outlet of the water softener and should be clearly marked as BYPASS. This will stop the leak to the water softener until a service professional can arrive.

Nearly every home built in the last 20 years in the Southern Utah area is pre-plumbed for a water softener. This became a standard building practice in the early to mid 1990’s. There is usually a copper or pex pipe loop (looks like a horseshoe on the wall) near the main water supply, either in the garage or in the basement. Also, there will be an electrical outlet as well as a floor or wall drain.

However, not every builder pre-plumbs a home during construction for soft water. There are a handful of builders that don’t make this a standard practice and must specify it as an add-on at an extra charge.

In salt based water softeners (ion exchange), hardness minerals are actually removed from the water. In the salt free systems the minerals are retained in the water but their ionic structure has been modified so they won’t adhere as strongly to surfaces as they were in the original form. This molecular change is actually water conditioning and not water softening.

A hardness water test will show these results: if the water hardness is 15 gpg before treatment, the results would be the same hardness of 15 gpg post treatment. Typically, when a company that claims to provide salt free water softeners is met with a professional or a person familiar with water treatment systems, they will change the claim to be “similar” or “like” soft water without the slimy feel.

When water is softened and the hardness minerals are removed, soaps and detergents are free to work without difficulty. Soaps rinse away clean leaving the surface free of any invisible film or “soap scum” left behind. This film free surface such as skin and hair will feel slick to the touch and have the sensation of feeling slimy at first. After a few months of softened water the perspective is different and the hard water feels sticky and dry.

When soaps and detergents are added to hard water (calcium & magnesium) the soaps begin to curdle as it bonds to the surface—or as some people call it, “soap scum”.