How much does water softener salt and service cost?
Updated
Short answer
Keeping a water softener in salt costs $5 to $15 a bag, and a bag goes in every 1 to 2 months. That's the whole running cost of the softener, apart from a little water for its recharge cycles. A yearly service visit from a water treatment company runs $100 to $200, and that's a different thing: a check of the resin, the injector and the settings, not a salt delivery. The monthly look and the top-up take 5 to 15 minutes.
Cost breakdown
| Item | DIY | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | $5 to $15 | included |
| Tools you may need to buy | none | included |
| Labor | your time | $100 to $200 |
| Total | $5 to $15 | $100 to $200 |
The DIY column is a bag of salt. A broom handle for breaking a salt bridge is already in the closet. The pro column is the annual service, which doesn't normally include the salt, though some companies deliver it on a plan.
What drives the cost
- The salt type. Pellets cost more than crystals and dissolve more cleanly. Potassium chloride, for a household avoiding sodium, costs several times what salt does.
- How much softening the house needs. Hard water and a big household mean more recharge cycles and more salt, which is where the 1 to 2 month range comes from.
- The softener's settings. A unit set to recharge more often than the water needs eats salt for nothing, and the service visit is where that gets corrected.
- The service company. A visit from the installer may be cheaper than from a company that didn't sell the unit, and a service plan can cost less per year than a single call.
- Letting it run dry. A softener left without salt lets hard water scale the water heater and the fixtures, which costs more than every bag it would have used.
DIY vs. pro
The salt is yours to carry, and that's all the job is. How often to add salt to a water softener is a check every month and a top-up every 1 to 2 months, and the bag is the entire cost. A salt bridge, if one forms, breaks up with a broom handle.
The service visit at $100 to $200 is worth it on an older softener, on one that's leaving hard water through with salt in the tank, or once every year or so to have the settings matched to the household's use. A technician who lowers the recharge frequency can save more salt over a year than the visit cost.
FAQ
How much does water softener salt cost?
$5 to $15 a bag, with pellets at the top of the range and crystals at the bottom.
How much salt does a water softener use per month?
It depends on the water's hardness and the household's use, but a bag every 1 to 2 months is typical. More than that means the settings may need adjusting.
How much does water softener service cost?
$100 to $200 for a yearly visit that checks the resin, cleans the injector and brine tank, and sets the recharge cycle.
Is a water softener expensive to run?
No. The salt is the running cost, and it's a bag every 1 to 2 months. The water for recharging adds a little to the water bill.