Just came back from the home improvement center. I was shocked by the price of potassium chloride at $25.00 a 40 lb bag. That is insane! Sodium salt is $6.00 a bag. So I decided to blog about sodium chloride versus potassium chloride.
The most important thing to know about the two products is that THEY ARE BOTH SALT. One just happens to be potassium salt instead of sodium salt. Both are relatively safe, but if you think that potassium chloride is totally benign, you may want to look up its use in lethal injection. That is not to say that potassium chloride use in a water softener will harm you, but if you have switched to it in your water softener because a doctor has raised concern over elevated sodium levels, you should still ask your doctor about drinking potassium softened water because it can throw off potassium levels.
The average consumer who drinks several glasses of salt softened water a day will only raise their intake of salt by the equivalent of eating two saltine crackers. That is a relatively low amount unless you are on a sodium restricted diet. If you are on a totally salt restricted diet, you should consider drinking reverse osmosis purified water since there is a good chance that even if you don't soften your water, there is still some naturally occurring sodium. Another point about having a reverse osmosis device is that over time it will cost you far less than using potassium in the water softener.
In the case of watering plants with softened water, potassium is safer. Sodium can build up in frequently watered soil while potassium will be used as a nutrient by many plants. Of course, the most cost effective way to water is by using water that by-passes the softener altogether, and I always recommend to my clients that irrigation systems do not use softened water.
On effectiveness, sodium salt is more effective in softener regeneration. Potassium has a nagging ability to pack up much more easily in your brine vat and render your softener in-operable. This is due to its tendency to drop out of solution at a much higher rate at a much lower temperature drop and its in-ability to re-dissolve very easily, unlike sodium salt.
On septic issues; after almost two decades in the water business, I have heard many stories about how salt from a water softener ruined a septic. These are usually told to me by a septic cleaning service-person, or a homeowner using it as an excuse to not buy a water softener. When I ask these people to give me a name, date, and address of where this incident took place, they hem and haw and I never get an answer. True, 60 years ago, when inefficient water softeners used 35 lbs of salt and 150 gallons of water to regenerate, there was a possibility of septic damage, but it is not the case with today's efficient systems.
I look at potassium chloride as an easy way for salt companies and home centers to cash in on the green movement and not really achieve any greening.
The most important thing to know about the two products is that THEY ARE BOTH SALT. One just happens to be potassium salt instead of sodium salt. Both are relatively safe, but if you think that potassium chloride is totally benign, you may want to look up its use in lethal injection. That is not to say that potassium chloride use in a water softener will harm you, but if you have switched to it in your water softener because a doctor has raised concern over elevated sodium levels, you should still ask your doctor about drinking potassium softened water because it can throw off potassium levels.
The average consumer who drinks several glasses of salt softened water a day will only raise their intake of salt by the equivalent of eating two saltine crackers. That is a relatively low amount unless you are on a sodium restricted diet. If you are on a totally salt restricted diet, you should consider drinking reverse osmosis purified water since there is a good chance that even if you don't soften your water, there is still some naturally occurring sodium. Another point about having a reverse osmosis device is that over time it will cost you far less than using potassium in the water softener.
In the case of watering plants with softened water, potassium is safer. Sodium can build up in frequently watered soil while potassium will be used as a nutrient by many plants. Of course, the most cost effective way to water is by using water that by-passes the softener altogether, and I always recommend to my clients that irrigation systems do not use softened water.
On effectiveness, sodium salt is more effective in softener regeneration. Potassium has a nagging ability to pack up much more easily in your brine vat and render your softener in-operable. This is due to its tendency to drop out of solution at a much higher rate at a much lower temperature drop and its in-ability to re-dissolve very easily, unlike sodium salt.
On septic issues; after almost two decades in the water business, I have heard many stories about how salt from a water softener ruined a septic. These are usually told to me by a septic cleaning service-person, or a homeowner using it as an excuse to not buy a water softener. When I ask these people to give me a name, date, and address of where this incident took place, they hem and haw and I never get an answer. True, 60 years ago, when inefficient water softeners used 35 lbs of salt and 150 gallons of water to regenerate, there was a possibility of septic damage, but it is not the case with today's efficient systems.
I look at potassium chloride as an easy way for salt companies and home centers to cash in on the green movement and not really achieve any greening.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment