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Miele Question: Water Softening Salt - Can it be for a home unit?

14 years ago

I bought a Miele with a water softener. I've ordered some Somat but a friend told me to stop by a local company that provides water softeners for home use. I did, and was told it's the same salt but thought I'd check in with my trusted experts before taking the leap. The Somat cost nearly $9 for a fairly small box. The water softening company charged me $9 for a 50lb bag. If it can work...seems like the way to go.

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Comments (4)

User
14 years ago
It boils down to grain size and how pure the salt is.

Is it the same size or close to the somat? what does the lable say in regards to other ingredients in the bag?

of course the guy told you it would be OK , he wants to sell you something and it's not his $1200 dishwasher.

how often are you going through a box of somat?
tracy25
Original Author
14 years ago
antss...

That's exactly what ran through my mind when I thought to put up this post..lol. Thank you for your straight forward wisdom!

I've never had a diswasher with a water softener so I don't know how much or often it is needed. I also don't know what the grain size is with the Somat because it still hasn't arrived.

I've decided I'll run without the salt to get through the holiday. Thank you for knocking some sense back into me!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tracy
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For once I am going to have to agree with Aliceinwonderland. That unit is not what I recommend! Even though you are on city water, there is no guarantee that it is iron free, but chances are that it is very light. The 2040 will work but I would only recommend it if spacing were extremely limited, like in a hall closet on a shelf, or something. Some RVs and mobile homes fall into this dilemma. The estimate given was not your optimum choice. The stats given you for the 2040sOD were inaccurate. That particular unit, although falling within performance limits, would in my opinion not be the best for that much hardness. And given that there is no iron or extremely little iron, it would still work, but...I have my reservations and would choose a valve that would have to regen so often. I would suggest a 2060s, instead. This will give you much better performance and regenerate 1/3 as often as the 2040 on your water. The 2060sOD would also be a good choice if total gallons per minute were the real issue. The RO is an excellent model with many unique features leading to benefits other systems cannot provide. I put in a used 2060 (actually a K-60, earlier model) and it works great at 28gpg and 2ppm iron. The estimated daily average water consumption per person changes according to various sources but ranges from 50 to 75 gallons/person/day. As far as salt solution time is concerned, there is ample brine solution in excess of what is require per each regeneration, so even if you regenerate numerous times each day there should be no problem with adequate supply. These are factory tested running all day long at different flow rates. Andy Christensen, CWS-II
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He was incorrect. You will find that most residential water treatment "pros" have little, if any, technical training. Sodium chloride dissolves to an equilibrium of ~3 lb/gal of water, regardless of whether it is crystal or pellet. Crystalline sodium chloride will dissolve a little slower, but it won't matter because there will be more than adequate time for proper dissolution. The only difference of any matter is the amount of insoluble impurities which will build up in the tank over time. Reality is that the difference between pellet and crystal softener salt is so small that it just doesn't matter as long as you don't mix them.
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mrtimewise
14 years ago
We have about 35 grains of hardness (600 milligrams/gallon) in our well water. We used one box of Somat water softener salt (about 2.6 lb.) in a period of one month. I'm going to start using Morton System Saver II salt from now on, rather than the Somat brand. I've investigated the Morton System Saver II salt and called the company on the telephone. I am convinced that the Morton System Saver II salt is clean enough for the application and is of a particle size that will work fine. I'll save about $9 each month this way.

Here's the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) on the Morton System Saver II salt pellets. The pellets are all very even in size and they slide perfectly into the salt holder through the funnel provided with the dishwasher.

The salt in the Somat box is supposed to be 100% pure sodium chloride...at least according to the box label. Morton System Saver II salt pellets have some impurities. Apparently, the two listed impurities are used to clean the water softener resin of accumulated impurities from the salt itself as well as from the water (e.g., iron oxide, magnesium salts, etc.) Personally, I think this is a better system that just using 100% pure sodium chloride.

But a warning! DO NOT use any other Morton water softener salt other than the System Saver II Pellets.

Lowes carries the Morton System Saver II Pellets in a 40 lbs bag for about $6
User
14 years ago
mrtime - looks like you've got a winner there, especially at the volume you're using.

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