TWSB is your ultimate resource for everything related to home water treatment and healthy, high-quality water. We provide expert advice on treating well water, city water, water contaminants, water filtration, water softeners, drinking water, product comparisons, reviews, and practical tips to help homeowners and DIY enthusiasts make informed decisions about water for their home, family, and lifestyle.
If you rely on a private well for your water supply, understanding the pH of your water is crucial. Whether your water is too acidic or too alkaline, or neutral, the pH level plays a significant role in how well your water treatment system functions and how it impacts your home's plumbing and appliances. In this "Water Filtration Series" article, we'll break down the pH scale , explain how pH affects water chemistry, and explore how to address both low and high pH levels in well water.
Water softeners are essential for households dealing with hard water and iron, which can damage plumbing, reduce the efficiency and lifespan of appliances, and leave residue on dishes, clothing, and plumbing fixtures. A key component in this system is water softener salt, which helps regenerate the softener's resin beads and keep the system running smoothly to provide worry free soft water.
Types of Water Softener Salt
Water softener salt comes in various forms, including pellets, crystals, blocks, and compacted flakes. Among these, Dura Cube and Hardi Cube salt—formed into small, compacted flakes—is popular due to its high efficiency in regeneration cycles and clean operation.
When shopping for water softener salt, consumers often encounter options like Morton, and DiamondCrystalPellet Salt, Diamond Crystal Solar Salt, Dura-Cube, and Hardi-Cube. While they may appear similar, there are notable differences in quality, purity, and performance of your water treatment equipment.
Morton and Diamond Crystal Pellet Salt
What it is: Pellet salt is often less expensive and available in bulk from various manufacturers. It serves the basic purpose of softening water by regenerating the softener's ion-exchange resin.
Pros:
Lower cost
Available in big-box stores, grocery stores, and hardware stores
Available with iron removing additives
Cons:
Contains more insoluble impurities (dirt, silt, minerals)
Can lead to salt bridging (hard crusts) or mushing (sludge)
Requires more frequent maintenance and semi-annual brine tank cleaning
Morton and Diamond Crystal Pellet water softener salt is available at box stores, grocery stores, and hardware stores.
What is solar salt: Solar salt is produced by evaporating seawater or brine from saltwater lakes using solar energy, leaving behind crystalline sodium chloride.
Pros:
Lower cost
Available in big-box stores, grocery stores, and hardware stores
Compatible with most water softeners
Cons:
Contains more insoluble residues that accumulate in the brine tank, forming sludge that may clog screens, injectors, or float valves.
Less soluble than sodium chloride, potentially leading to crusty deposits in the brine tank.
Requires more frequent maintenance and semi-annual brine tank cleaning to remove buildup.
Diamond Crystal Solar salt salt is available at box stores, grocery stores, and hardware stores.
What sets it apart: Dura-Cube is a premium brand of water softener cube salt known for its high purity and durability. Dura Cube Water Softener Salt is only sold by Water Treatment Dealers.
Features:
Typically 99.8% pure salt
Compressed under high pressure to reduce mushing and bridging
Available in regular, red-out (with rust remover), and potassium chloride options
Less insoluble material, which means cleaner operation
Best for:
Households looking for low-maintenance softener operation
Areas with high iron content (when using Red-Out Dura-Cube)
Protecting and extending the life of appliances
Dura-Cube water softener salt is only available at Water Treatment Dealers
What sets it apart: Hardi-Cube salt is the same as Dura-Cube. It is branded under Diamond Crystal.
Hardi-Cube name is sold by retailers and water treatment dealers. In terms of quality and target market but may offer slightly different compressions and additives depending on the brand.
Features:
High-purity salt, 99.8% pure salt
Formulated to reduce bridging and mushing
Also available with additives like rust remover
Best for:
Consumers wanting high performance and reliability
Systems that benefit from rust-removing additives
Consistent, long-term water softener operation
Hardi-Cube Water Softener salt is available from Water Treatment Dealers and Select Hardware Stores such as ACE Hardware
Feature Pellet Salt Solar Salt Dura-Cube Hardi-Cube
Purity
Lower (varies)
~99.6% ~99.8% ~99.8%
Additives Available
(rust remover)
No (Red-Out) (Red-Out)
Bridging/Mushing
Most likely
Less likely Less likely Less likely
Price
Cheapest
Lower Higher Higher
Maintenance Needs
High
High Low Low
While generic pellet and solar salt may be sufficient for some, investing in premium options like Dura-Cube or Hardi-Cube can offer long-term benefits. These include better water softener performance, reduced maintenance, and protection of household appliances. For those in areas with high iron or mineral content, these higher-purity options can make a noticeable difference in system efficiency, less system maintenance, consistent water quality, and longevity of the water softening system.
Choosing the right water softener salt isn't just about price—it's about optimizing your home's water system for reliability, water quality, and performance.
Water softening systems are basically an appliance that treats incoming water to the home to remove hardness minerals (Calcium, Magnesium) present in water and provide conditioned, softened water for the home to protect plumbing fixtures and water-using appliances to prevent hard water scale buildup and iron staining. Making the home run more efficient. Water softeners/conditioners are not the solution to every water treatment problem. There are a myriad of water chemistry problems such as high iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide, and low PH along with many other water problems that require different types of water treatment equipment to correctly treat the water. The first step in determining the proper water treatment solution is a complete water analysis to determine the hardness, iron, and other water chemistry issues that may need more treatment than a water softener. Water softeners have six main components: 1. Control Valve 2. Distributor Tube 3. Water Sof...
Water filters cover the gambit from simple faucet filters, refrigerator filters, in-line filters to filter housings with a replaceable filter cartridge to all types of whole house backwashing / regenerating filtration systems that remove, iron, odors, manganese, radium, lead, turbidity and a plethora of other water problems. This subject covers such a wide range of water problems it could take many blog articles to cover just the basics of water filtration. One thing I know for certain though is what the typical consumer considers a water filter and what a water treatment professional would consider a water filter are totally different.
In our Second Article of - "Whole House Water Filters" We will be looking at whole-house filtration systems for iron, manganese, and hydrogen sulfide removal along with iron bacteria. When to use a whole house filtration system, what to use, why use a particular type of filter system, and how to apply the right system for your water and family. Frequently, water treatment professionals refer to water that is extremely high in iron, manganese, and H2S as "problem water" because it can be a challenge at times to find the proper solution to treat particular water problems and, quite frankly, it can take some experimenting with different methods to finally find the right water treatment method that works effectively and consistently. ___________________________________________________________________________________ ✅ In our First Article - "Water Filters Part 1" We discussed using cartridge-style pre-filters. As discussed, they...
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Thank you, Ray