MomAdvice Fridays: Water Softener Salt?
It has been awhile since I asked a question on Fridays, but I have one for today!
We purchased a water softener recently because our hard water was ruining everything in our house (plumbing fixtures, the dishwasher which had to be replaced, etc...) Our water is so much better now and I can't believe the difference in my dishes alone! Some of my glasses had looked like a lost cause, but now they are crystal clear... literally!
Since I am new to buying water softener salt though, I am not sure where to find the best deal on this. Could some of you more experienced salt buyers tell me where you buy this stuff or what is the sale price to look for?
Thank you for all your help!
Labels: MomAdvice Fridays
20Comments:
Tammy
"When my husband and I lived out in the country, and had a water softener, we bought our salt at Costco. However, around here I see it all over the place--stacked outside gas stations and Meijer."
Maggie
"I'm looking forward to seeing the replys you get as we are new to the water softener thing. I wish I would have known about it before it started destroying our fixtures and newer dishwasher."
"We use the yellow morton salt bags, and once in a blue moon they are on sale at Walmart for around $3.50. It's never advertised though. When they are on sale, we buy a ton of them. Sometimes Kroger has them on sale, but never Meijer."
*carrie*
"Amy,
I can't offer any advice, but I am fascinated about the change in your dishes. Our glasses are so cloudy that I feel embarassed when we have people over. I was thinking it was the detergent, but perhaps it's the water. Interesting!"
Melissa
"We buy our salt at Aldi. I think it is $2.49 or $2.69 a bag. Can't beat that!"
Audrey
"Love, Love, Love my softener! Cleaner clothes, sparkling dishes, soft skin, no cruddy build up. Anyway, we buy ours at Sam's for a little under $4 per bag. Oh and one time last winter when we were iced in for 9 (yes 9) days in Oklahoma, I used it on the driveway to de-ice the road. YEAH!"
MommySecrets
"Oh, like Carrie, I thought it was my detergent. What exactly is a water softener and how do you install it?"
Amy
"I pulled this definition of a water softener from Wikipedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_softener
I actually thought that it was our detergent too until we got the softener and I saw how clear my glasses were. I had tons of deposits and spots all over them and couldn't seem to rectify the problem. We bought a water softener from a local hardware store (I later saw that they have these for a really good price at Sam's Club) and we have a friend who does plumbing on the side who helped us install it. I understand that this is usually a simple process, but our old softener (that came with the house and was no longer working) was much taller so we needed the pipes redone and it ended up being a bit more work than the usual job :)
You can rent softeners too, if you can't afford paying for one up front, and I have a couple of family members that do this for $5 or so every month. That is another option especially if you don't plan to live in your house for any length of time :) Companies that specialize in selling water softeners usually offer rental programs. This wouldn't be cost-effective for us because we have no plans to move.
I hope that helps!"
Terri
"I am from the Michiana area and we have found the best deal on softner salt is Sam's Club...right around 3.50 per bag.
We are in need of a good system too. Our's is only 8 years old, but I think we got "taken" when it was sold to us. It's not a name brand, it's from a local mom and pop shop and we've never been happy with it.
I would love for my dishes to sparkle, again!"
Amy
"Teri-
I got our water softener from Menards in Mishawaka. I had my dad ask around at his work and the name that kept coming up was "The Water Boss." I have heard that they last a long time and we have been so happy with ours.
Are you sure those people sold you the right size? I understand that if the size is not correct for the amount of water usage that it won't perform as well.
I'm no expert, but that is what we have learned from our experience so far!!"
Amy
"Melissa- You know I see people come into Aldi all of the time just for salt, but wasn't sure if they had the best prices. So far, $2.50 is the lowest anyone has quoted. Thank you!!"
Pennies In My Pocket
"We're in the market for this as well, so I'll be reading through your comments. I just saw on TV yesterday this site www.easywater.com and it has me curious. Supposed to be better for the environment, uses no salt, yada yada yada...
I think you should do some research on it and get back to me! hahahaha Can you tell I'm being lazy? LOL Or, I think they should send us both one so that we can gab about it on our blogs. What do you think? ;-)
~melody~"
Amy
"Ha! That is hilarious!
Sooooo....it looks like I might have an article idea here. I love talking about my appliances so this should be fun..."
"Funny you should mention this! I just bought a pallet (yes...that's 63 bags!) of salt for our system at BJ's yesterday. We have well water and the water conditioner and salt are a necessity. I paid $4.69 a bag... We buy this quantity twice a year. I'm in Central Maryland and this is the cheapest I've found it. We only have one Aldi's about 1/2 hour from us and I don't remember seeing salt but will look next time I'm there ~ thanks for the tip! Michelle"
Dave
"We use potassium chloride instead of salt in our softener - better for watering whatever plants we might have at the time. The best price we have found is Costco. It used to be best at Sears Hardware but those stores are now closed down. We pay about $6.50 a bag so it is quite a bit more expensive than salt, but we feel it is worth it."
Dooneybug
"Like others have mentioned, we buy our Morton pellets at Sam's Club for $3.50 for a 40lb bag. We have a Kinetico softener and we only go through about 6 or 8 bags a year. So it is a minimal cost per year."
Simple Family Supper lady
"Thanks for visiting my site! We have VERY hard water.... our softener works overtime! We installed a "water boss" that we purchased at Lowes. It is very efficient on salt usage (unlike the nightmare of contraption we had before the "boss"). Anyway, we either buy our salt at Sams or Rural King... we are happy with the Rural King brand or we buy the name brand at Sams. I am half tempted to buy the salt at our local feed store (even though it costs more) because they will load it up for me!!!
HEather"
"Sears sells a full line of water soffteners, filters etc. You can go to their home improvement department and request a water testing kit for FREE! In it are instructions on how to gather you water for the test. You mail it in and the results come back to the store. (Ask for a copy)
Additionally what most people don't think about is the mineral build up in their water heaters. You can have literally pounds and pounds of build up in old heaters. Your electric/gas bill is higher because you are not only heating the water but the minerals too. The amount of water that can be heated is also diminished. If you replace your w/h be sure to get a self cleaning unit. They have a water inlet tube that is curved at the bottom so that it makes the water swirl and stir up the sediment thereby keeping your w/h clean and helping to stop the mineral build-up.
Hard water, mineral build-up can cost you a fortune in the end. I will destroy everything in its path. Where the water goes, so goes the damage. That mean is will effect water heaters, pipes, food disposers, faucets, fixtures, appliances, ice makers and the list goes on. It will wear out your clothes as if you washed them in sand.
Once you get a softner, you need to remember you can't drink the water without filtering it. You can't water your plants either.
You might want to consider an "under the sink" reverse osmosis unit for drinking water, cooking and watering plants.
Maybe my career in home improvements will help someone."
"I grew up with my parents' having a water softener - well water seems to sort of require it. We never quite liked the taste of softened water, though, so the cold water from our kitchen sink was unsoftened. It really does seem to make a difference with my hair. I always notice the difference now when we go to visit them for a couple days that my hair is cleaner yet less frizz-prone. Of course, I'm dealing with Chicago city water, so not much I can do about that, LOL."
Alain Mokbel
"I see many comments on your blog that ask: "What is a Water Softener?"
It's quite simple really. Water Hardness is defined according to the concentration of Calcium and Magnesium ions in your water. These ions combine with Bicarbonate and Sulphate ions to precipitate and forms deposits (also called LIMESCALE) in your home appliances.
A softener is basically a filter than interchanges the calcium and magnesium ions with sodium or potassium ions (hence the salt required for regeneration).
Don't be fooled though, softeners ONLY remove hardness ions and nothing else. If you have heavy metals or any other type of contaminant in your water, you should consider something more hardcore like a Reverse Osmosis unit. It will not only take care of your hardness but also remove a bunch of contaminants as well as virus and bacteria.
If you don't know how to install it, you should get a plumber with experience with this type of equipment (not all do) or hire an expert in the field.
You should be able to buy the salt wherever you bought your softener."
