What Are The Problems I Can Run Into With My Salt?

Q: What Are The Problems I Can Run Into With My Salt?

Most commonly, in water softeners, we find salt bridges forming. This is where the salt forms a layer above the water in the brine tank, so that no more salt can dissolve in water. You can solve this by dislodging the salt bridge. Other problems include: Block salt not decreasing in level; block salt decreasing at differing rates; and running out of salt in the softener.

Q: My Block Salt Is Not Going Down?

Block salt softeners could form salt bridges, which need to be dislodged. Make sure that the blocks are not propped between the walls of the brine tank; and ensure that the indentations on the salt blocks face the front and back of the softener respectively.

Q: My Salt Blocks Are Going Down At Different Rates?

This is normal, and you shouldn't worry. The standard rate of salt consumption is about 4kg per person per month. If it is significantly more than this contact your local dealer.

Q: My Softener Has Had No Salt For a While, Will It Be Okay?

Generally yes. Clean your softener out, put the new salt in, and then manually regenerate it. It may take up to two weeks for your water to become completely soft again.

In short: The most common problem we find is salt bridging. Carefully use a tool such as a broom handle to dislodge the salt from the edges of the tank. Make sure there is around a thumbnail's depth of water touching the bottom of the salt in your machine.

What is a Salt Bridge and How Do I Fix It?

Occasionally with tablet salt, a hard crust or 'salt bridge' forms in the brine tank. This is usually caused by high humidity along with salt creep. As seen in the diagram on the right, an air pocket is formed between the salt and the water at the bottom of the tank, such that the salt can no longer dissolve.

To solve this:

Get a large broom or other similar tool.
Poke at the particularly weak parts of the bridge to break it
Make sure there is around a thumbnail's depth of water at the bottom of the brine tank.

This problem is common, but not exclusive, to tablet salt. The purity of salt will have a large effect on the frequency of salt bridges forming. Check our salt quality page to make sure you have the highest quality salt on offer!

My Block Salt Is Not Going Down?

Block salt softeners may also, on rare occasions, form salt bridges, which can be broken using the method described above.

For salt blocks specifically, there are a few things you can do to ensure the salt is being dissolved and used by the softener:

Make sure the indentations on the blocks face the front and back of the softener
Make sure the blocks are facing straight down, sometimes they may get jammed on the sides of the brine tank!
Ensure there is little build up of salt residue on the inside or outside of the tank.
Check whether there is a salt 'sludge' at the bottom of the brine tank, and remove if there is.

Block salt often requires less maintenance than tablet salt, and tends to run into fewer problems.

My Salt Blocks Are Going Down At Different Rates?

This is normal! Due to the way things dissolve, sometimes one block ends up being used more by the softener than the other.

Have a look at your water softener specification sheet, to see, on average, how much salt you should be using per person per month. As long as it isn't significantly over, or under, you should be okay.

Any worries, contact us and/or buy a water hardness test kit to make sure your machine is functioning properly!

My Softener Has Had No Salt For a While, Will It Be Okay?

Generally, yes!

In the interim, before you put more salt in, we recommend cleaning the brine tank (where you put the salt), and then manually regenerating the softener. Your owner's manual should tell you how, or if you have a Kinetico or EcoWater water softener, you can learn how here.

If you are still unsure, give us a ring or an email and we will tell you what to do with your softener.

Salt is Appearing on the Outside of My Machine, What Can I Do?

This is called salt creep, and is normal.

Salt creep happens because the water in the well of your softener evaporates, taking salt particles dissolved within it as water vapour, which leaves out of the gaps in the top of your softener. The salt is then deposited around these gaps, making it look as though the salt is 'creeping' out of your machine.
To deal with it:

Get a damp cloth, and wipe away the salt residue.
If the creep is excessive, you may need to use a tool to break it apart.

For indoor softeners, it is not possible to completely solve salt creep, but in the summer whenever you put salt in your machine, if you give those gaps a wipe it should keep it down.

Excessive salt creep can lead to parts of the machine jamming and failing to function, and in some extreme cases the lid of the machine will seal shut so you cannot put any more salt in.