How Much Water Should Be In My Water Softener Brine Tank?

Water softener has different uses and different advantages. Some people use water softeners for the pure water, some do it for medical purposes while we suggest that you should use the best water softener salt for sensitive skin. Isn’t it amazing that this one machine has got all the benefits! Best water softeners filtration systems offer you better water quality, removing all those minerals that hard water carries. This will help you protect your home and save money at the same time. Because we know you want all the daily benefits of soft water, we will talk about a crucial element in your water softener, your brine tank. Specifically, how much water should be in the brine tank.

If you have no idea what a brine tank is, you can easily recognize it as the tank that is placed beside your water softener. Your brine tank must work properly at all times since it contains a solution that helps to replace calcium and magnesium ions for sodium ones. This ionization is what, as a result, produces soft water for your home. Knowing how vital your brine tank is, you need to know how much water should be in the brine tank as well as the amount of salt it should have.

We spoke to a representative from 2nd City Gas Plumbing and Heating, who is a Plumber in Redditch, they said, “Having a water softener is a huge responsibility. These systems are able to eliminate limescale issues in your home when you take care of them properly. However, water softeners can be maintained easily, the maintenance procedures are straightforward and simple. You’re simply required to add a bag of salt to the brine every two to three months and clean the system as recommended by the manufacturer. The brine tank is one of the important parts of a water softener but it’s also the most likely to have issues. Therefore it’s important to quickly diagnose the issue when it’s not performing correctly.”

How much water should be in my softener brine tank?

When asking how much water should be in my brine tank, first, you need to know how water softeners work. Read more here.

To summarize, there are two types of brine tanks, wet or dry. The best way to find out which kind of brine tank you have at home is by calling the provider or the company you hired to install it. Once you determine your kind of brine tank, you are ready to look inside your tank and see if it has the proper water level. However, one thing you need to remind, is that it doesn’t matter what type of tank you have; it should never be full of water.

Wet brine tank

These ones are usually old filtration systems. This does not mean your system won’t function properly. A wet brine tank is designed to contain water at all times. The exact amount of water depends on the size of your tank. Usually, they have around 3 to 6 gallons of water. If you are checking your wet brine tank, then the water level should be from 6 to 19 inches high.

In case you see your wet brine tank is half full of water, check out your drain is not blocked or frozen. If you discard this option and it’s still half full, then your tank might have a mechanical problem. It is also normal not to see the water level when there is plenty of salt inside your tank. Then how much water should be in my brine tank if it is dry? We will tell you all about it in the next section.

Dry brine tank

The easiest way to identify a dry brine tank is to check if they have digital valves that help regulate it. This type of tank only has water a couple of hours before the process starts and during the ionization. After the regeneration is completed, your tank should be completely dry. Remember that since dry tanks belong to a modernized system and if you recently changed or purchased a brand new water softener, chances are you have a dry brine tank.

Salt levels in your brine tank

Now that you have figured out how much water should be in the brine tank, the next step is learning how much salt you should put inside it. The amount of sodium inside the tank will mainly depend on three factors.

1. How much water you are consuming daily
2. The amount of minerals your water needs to eliminate. In other words, how hard is the water you are getting?
3. How many people live in your house

The minimum of salt you need to have in your brine tank is one-quarter full, which will translate into six inches you can measure from the top of the tank. This means when you have the right amount of water in your tank, it will rise above the salt a few inches. A common problem you might have with your tank is encrusted salts. You have two ways to solve your problem. You can either break the formation with your hands or take some hot water and pour it over. Then you can take out these crusted salts and add new.

Note: There are two types of brine solutions in the market. The majority of people tend to go for sodium chloride. However, in case you have health problems such as blood pressure, you can choose a potassium one.

Recommended amount of salt

To find out the exact amount of salt you should be using for your brine tank, we recommend asking a professional. It could be the seller or the company which helped you install it at home. If you live in a regular household, one where there are three to four people, the amount of salt could vary between 40 and 50 pounds a month. In a week, you could be using up to 10 pounds. However, it is essential to check your water levels every month to avoid any problems.

A great way to know if your salt is lower than it should be is by checking your softener’s amount of calcium carbonate. If it exceeds 60 mg, it could be due to low salt levels in your brine tank. Having the right amount of water and salt in your brine tank will ensure it works properly in the last phase of the ionization cycle when the tank receives hard water and starts the regeneration process. Checking your brine tank regularly is a must to prevent any issues. Also, it is important to have an efficient brine tank to get good quality soft water.

Learning how all the parts of your water softener function will help you understand how to take care of them. If you want to learn more about water filters then check out this guide on frizzlife vs waterdrop water filter. Getting familiar with this filtration system is easy and will improve your family’s health, bringing endless benefits for your everyday life.