The salt for your water softener comes in different shapes and sizes. They can be hard and cannot be broken that easily by hand. How to crush water softener salt? Let us try finding out the steps involved in how to crush the water softener salt with ease and simple steps.
You can crush water softener salt using a mallet, or even by putting the salt in a blender. You can even consider dissolving it in warm water. Another option is to use high-purity salt forms and take care not to overfill the salt tank.
Do You Need to Crush Water Softener Salt Before Using It In the Water Softener?
No, in general circumstances, you do not need to break salt pellets to be able to use them in your water softener. If you have to store the salt, it will eventually get converted into blocks. It is in these circumstances that you are forced to crush the salt before use in the water softener or any other applications.
A few of the occasions that would make it important and necessary to crush the salt would include:
- The salt may not be stored properly: Storage of the salt in humid conditions can be one of the reasons that would result in the formation of the clumps. You will need to break them into small pellets or pieces before adding them to the brine tank.
- The salt may be of poor quality: A poor-quality salt can be yet another cause for concern and can result in the need for crushing it. The poor quality salts such as rock salt have a large amount of impurities and will need to be crushed.
- There may be too much salt in the brine tank: Too much salt in the brine tank can result in salt bridge. You will need to remove the salt bridge by crushing it down.
How to Crush Water Softener Salt?
We will discuss the different methods & tips to crush softener salt to help you arrive at the best consistency of salt for the use in a water softener.
Use a mallet or hammer
The best way to crush the salt is to use a mallet or hammer. It is the quickest method that works wonders in crushing the salt. You should exercise caution in breaking the salt with this method though.
Here is how you can use a mallet or hammer to crush the salt:
- Place the salt pellets in a sealed bag.
- Place a towel on the bag. This will help prevent the salt from exploding out of the bag.
- Put on a pair of goggles to help protect the salt from catching your eye.
- Place the bag on a hard surface that can withstand the beating.
- Bang the salt with the hammer.
That does it, and your salt will be crashed.
Blend or grind the salt
Yet another method is to blend or grind the salt. You do not need to break the salt yourself, but you can let the blender or grinder do the work for you. Even a coffee grinder should be a good pick for the purpose.
Here are the steps involved in how to crush the salt using a blender or grinder:
- Pour the salt into a blender or grinder vessel. Ensure that the salt is not filled to a level of more than three quarters of the size of the vessel
- Switch on the blender
- Wait till the salt has been crushed to a fine powder.
It may not be the right option to be used frequently. It can dull the blades of your blender or grinder vessel. If you have an old grinder or blender, it may be a good option to use it to crush the water softener salt.
Create a solution of salt
The next best option to crush the salt for use in a water softener is to dissolve it in water and prepare a salt solution. You can add the salt crumps to the water before adding it to the brine tank.
Here are the steps involved in how to prepare the salt solution:
- Fill a bucket with warm water.
- Place the clumps of salt in the water
- Leave it for around two to three hours to let the salt dissolve in the water
- Stir the water to help the salt to dissolve completely.
Now the salt water can be poured into the brine tank.
It is advisable to make a small amount of salt solution. You would, of course, not want to waste the salt solution by preparing a huge quantity of it.
Can You Avoid the Need to Crush Water Softener Salt?
The need for crushing the water softener salt can be quite time-consuming and something that you may not be comfortable with if you are forced to do it every time you add salt to the water softener.
I was very much annoyed with the frequent need to crush the salt and was looking for fixes and practices that can help me avoid the possibility of clumps. On analyzing the minute details of what causes the formation of clumps, I came across the best ways to avoid this possibility altogether.
You can avoid the need for crushing water softener salt by following the steps –
Store the salt properly
Storing the water softener properly can be one of the prime ways to help avoid the salt getting crumbled. Make sure that you have stored the salt in a dry place that is free from heat or humidity. This can help you keep the salt in good condition. You should also avoid storing the salt in the areas that are likely to experience freezing.
Storing the salt in the air-tight containers can be one of the practical solutions to help you fix the issue. Make sure that you have used the entire bag of the salt. If you have any bag of salt that is still left filled to some extent, pour the salt in a good air tight container and store it away from the humidity and freezing temperatures.
Buy high-quality salt
Buying the high-quality salt can be yet another option for avoiding the need for crushing the salt. Poor quality of salt and a lower purity can also be one of the reasons for the formation of clumps. The poor quality alt may form clumps even inside the brine tank.
It is always advisable to buy high-quality and high-purity salt for your water softener. It is also a good idea to buy potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride in your water softener.
Never overfill the brine tank
Do not fill the brine tank to the fullest capability. This can result in a higher concentration of salt in the brine tank, and that can further cause the formation of a salt bridge. You should ideally find a marker inside the brine tank for the optimum level to which you can fill the salt.
If you do not find a mark, it is a good idea to fill at least 6 inches gap between the top of the brine tank and the level of salt in the tank.
The Concluding Thoughts
Crushing the water softener salt may be one of the most annoying tasks. But, it may be a necessary evil in many situations. It may be a good idea to learn how to crush water softener salt easily. The steps that we have outlined in the above discussion are helpful.
Add Comment