Why Does My Water Softener Water Taste Salty? (Causes & Fixes)
Number copied. Text it from your phone: 443-277-2204.
Properly softened water should not taste salty. When it does, the softener usually left salt water (brine) in its tank at the end of a regeneration, and the reasons are a short list of parts you can check. One caller told me, "just overnight my water became extremely salty." If the water stays salty with the softener bypassed, the salt is in your well water instead, and the fix is different.
Quick Answer
Salty water means brine is staying in the tank after regeneration
During regeneration, your softener deliberately floods the resin with concentrated salt brine, then rinses it all down the drain. When the water at your tap tastes salty, that rinse did not finish. The five common causes, roughly in order of likelihood:
- Clogged or restricted drain line (kinked tubing, frozen line, blocked drain line flow control)
- Clogged brine injector (venturi), so brine gets drawn slowly and rinses incompletely
- Interrupted regeneration (power outage or heavy water use mid-cycle)
- Too much water in the brine tank (stuck float or refill set too high)
- Low water pressure during regeneration (common on wells with weak pumps)
Work through the diagnostic below to find which one is yours.
Still salty with the softener in bypass? Then the salt is in your water, not the softener: see when it is not the softener.
Safe to drink in the meantime? Keep the salty water away from anyone on a low-sodium diet until it is fixed. Give them bottled water, or water from a tap the softener does not feed. The sodium table is further down.
What's in This Guide
Diagnose your salty water
Start with two clues: when the water tastes salty, and how much water is in the salt tank. The salt tank is the separate tank you pour the salt into (some people call it the brine tank).
| What you notice | What to check first |
|---|---|
| Salty after it regenerates, then it fades. The salt tank water looks normal. | The drain line, then the injector |
| Salty after every regeneration. Much more water than usual in the salt tank. | The salt tank float and refill |
| Salty once in a while | Run a full manual regeneration |
| Salty all the time, even with the softener bypassed | Your well water |
| Salty unless the softener is bypassed | A brine leak inside the valve: text me your valve model |
How Salt Gets Into Your Drinking Water
Salty-tasting water from a water softener means residual brine was not fully rinsed from the resin tank during regeneration. A working softener rinses the salt back out. As I tell callers, "It uses salt to recharge the resin filter beads, and then it rinses it out." The softener does add a little sodium in exchange for the hardness it removes. That is a separate thing from a salty taste; the sodium table is further down.
Three steps of the regeneration matter for a salty taste:
- Brine draw. The valve pulls salt water from the salt tank through the injector, and it "slowly rinses the bed and recharges it."
- Rinse. A quick rinse "removes the saline solution and sends it down the wastewater drain."
- Refill. The valve adds a set amount of water back to the salt tank, so the next batch of brine is ready.
Most of the causes below break one of those three steps: brine drawn too slowly (step 1), a rinse that is blocked or cut short (step 2), or too much water in the salt tank, so too much brine is made (step 3). I walk through the cycle on a Fleck 5600SXT in this video, starting at 1:29. For each stage in more detail, see Water Softener Regeneration: How It Works.
The 6 Causes, In Order of Likelihood
This table has the same five causes as the Quick Answer, plus a sixth: wrong settings or a leak inside the valve. The Fleck 5600SXT manual names four of them (the drain line, the injector, low pressure and a valve leak) as reasons a softener stops pulling in salt water.
| Cause | What's happening | Telltale sign |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Clogged or restricted drain line | A blocked drain line leaves brine in the tank | Little or no water comes out the drain during a regeneration |
| 2. Clogged brine injector | Brine is pulled in too slowly, so the rinse is not finished | The salt tank water level barely drops after a regeneration |
| 3. Interrupted regeneration | The cycle stops partway, so the rinse never finishes | One salty morning, then clean water after a full regeneration |
| 4. Too much water in the salt tank | A stuck float or a long refill makes extra brine | Much more water than usual in the salt tank |
| 5. Low water pressure during regeneration | Pressure is too weak to rinse the resin fully | The pressure gauge reads near 20 psi or below during a regeneration |
| 6. Wrong settings, or a leak inside the valve | Settings are off, or worn parts inside let brine leak through | Started after the valve was reprogrammed, or salty all the time |
Step-by-Step Fixes
Put the softener in bypass before you open the valve. Bypass means turning the bypass valve, where the pipes meet the softener, so your water skips the softener. Then work down the list in order. You can do most of these checks by looking, lifting a lid and pressing a button. Cleaning the injector means taking part of the valve apart; you can leave that one for your plumber.
The brand and model are on the label on your valve. On a Fleck 5600SXT, the three parts these fixes touch sit together on the back of the valve. Other brands have the same parts in different places. Your owner's manual shows where.
Check the drain line
Follow the small flexible line from the control valve to your drain. Look for kinks, crushed sections, or (in winter) frozen segments where it runs through unheated space. Then check the drain line flow control, a small restrictor in the drain fitting where the line meets the valve. The Fleck manual lists a plugged drain line flow control as a cause both for a salt tank that fills with too much water and for a softener that will not draw brine. Put the end of the drain line in a bucket during a manual regeneration: you should see steady flow while it rinses.
Clean the brine injector
The injector (also called the venturi) is a small nozzle and throat inside the control valve that creates the suction to pull brine from the salt tank. It can plug, and the Fleck manual lists a plugged injector or injector screen as a reason a softener stops drawing brine. Put the softener in bypass and let the pressure off. Remove the injector cap and screen, then unscrew the nozzle and throat; on a 5600SXT the cap is number 3 in the photo above. Soak the parts in warm water or vinegar. Never poke the nozzle with metal; you will change its bore size. While you are in there, check the brine line connection for air leaks. For the rest of the valve, see my Fleck 5600SXT owner's guide.
Run a full manual regeneration
After any interrupted cycle, start a manual regeneration at bedtime and let it run to completion with no water use in the house. On a Fleck 5600SXT, hold the Extra Cycle button for five seconds; on a Clack WS1, press and hold REGEN for about 3 seconds. Either one starts the regeneration right away. If the water tastes clean the next day and stays clean, you are done. One thing the Fleck manual points out: a 5600SXT saves its place during a power outage and finishes the cycle when the power comes back, so on that valve, look at the other causes first. My regeneration guide explains each stage so you can check that they all happen.
Check the salt tank water level
Lift the lid of the salt tank. Much more standing water than usual points to a refill that runs too long or a stuck safety float. The float sits inside the brine well, the tall tube standing in the salt tank. The Fleck manual also lists a plugged drain line flow control, a plugged injector and debris in the brine valve as causes of too much water in the salt tank, so the two fixes above count here too. Pull the float assembly, rinse it, and make sure it moves freely. Break up any salt bridge (a hard crust over a hollow space) with a broom handle. My water softener salt guide covers which salt to buy.
Check water pressure during regeneration
The Fleck 5600SXT and Clack WS1 manuals both call for 20 to 125 psi, and the Fleck manual lists low water pressure as a reason a softener fails to draw brine. Watch your pressure gauge while the softener regenerates. If it sits near 20 psi or below, the pump or pressure switch needs attention before the softener can rinse properly.
Then check the valve's programming: brine refill time, rinse times, and hardness setting should match your tank size and your actual tested hardness. If someone adjusted the valve recently, that is your suspect. If the softener is old and the valve itself is failing, How Long Do Water Softeners Last? helps with the repair or replace question. If you do replace it, the water softeners we sell are on one page.
Text me your valve model
Send the model on the valve label and what you saw at each check. I will help you with the next troubleshooting step, or tell you when it needs a technician to look at it.
8 AM to 5 PM Eastern, seven days a week. A real person, not a call center.When It Is Not the Softener at All
Before replacing parts, run the one test that separates softener problems from water problems: put the softener in bypass for 24 hours and taste the water.
- Salty in bypass too? The sodium and chloride are in your source water. Salty well water is not rare. About 1 in 19 of the lab tests my customers send in, from water that had not been through a working softener, comes back above 200 mg/L of sodium, the average taste threshold according to the World Health Organization. When a customer asks me why there is so much sodium in the well, I tell them it "comes up a lot in well water... Just picking it up in the aquifer." No softener setting will fix that. Before choosing treatment, get a lab test. Dissolved salt takes reverse osmosis to remove: a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink for drinking water, because a whole-house one is, as I told that caller, "like ten grand."
- Clean in bypass? The softener is the source, and one of the six causes above is your answer.
One sample shows your sodium level
One certified lab test, mailed to you, run by an accredited lab, reports sodium, chloride and total dissolved solids, plus the hardness your softener is set for. People send me their results so I can go over them. If you already have a lab report, skip this.
Is Salty Softened Water Safe to Drink?
Salty-tasting water from a failed rinse carries leftover brine, so keep it away from anyone on a low-sodium diet until it is fixed. Give them bottled water, or water from a tap the softener does not feed, in the meantime.
A working softener adds a small amount of sodium, set by how hard your water was. The Water Quality Association figure, as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension cites it, is about 8 mg of sodium per liter for every grain of hardness removed:
| Hardness removed | Sodium added per liter | In an 8-ounce glass |
|---|---|---|
| 5 grains | about 40 mg | about 9 mg |
| 10 grains | about 80 mg | about 19 mg |
| 13 grains (the middle of my customers' hard-water tests) | about 105 mg | about 25 mg |
| 20 grains | about 160 mg | about 38 mg |
| 25 grains | about 200 mg | about 47 mg |
So a working softener reaches the World Health Organization's average taste threshold, about 200 mg/L, only on water around 25 grains hard. Taste varies from person to person, and the EPA suggests 30 to 60 mg/L for taste because some people notice sodium sooner. Years ago I read an industry report that put it this way: the softener "only adds about as much salt to a gallon of water as you get out of two slices of white bread."
Two groups should plan around even the normal amount. The EPA's 20 mg/L guidance is for people restricted to 500 mg of sodium a day, not for everyone, and the Minnesota Department of Health says anyone with a history of high blood pressure should ask a doctor about drinking softened water. And softened water, salty or not, should not go into baby formula: the NHS says not to use artificially softened water to make up a feed. The simple ways to cut the sodium are in how to reduce sodium in softened water.
Frequently asked questions
Do water softeners make drinking water salty?
A working softener does not make water taste salty. The rinse sends the salt down the drain. It does add a little sodium, about 8 mg per liter for each grain of hardness it removes (see the sodium table). A salty taste comes from leftover brine that was not rinsed out, or from salt already in your well water.
How do I flush salt out of my water softener?
Run a manual regeneration and let it complete with no household water use (overnight is ideal). The rinse stages will flush residual brine down the drain. Afterward, run a cold tap for a few minutes to clear the plumbing. If the salty taste returns at the next automatic regeneration, the underlying cause (drain line, injector, or float) still needs fixing.
Why does my softened water suddenly taste salty?
Run a full manual regeneration overnight first. If the water is clean the next day and stays clean, one cycle did not finish. If the salt comes back after the next automatic regeneration, something is wrong every cycle; start with diagnose your salty water.
How long should a 40 lb bag of salt last in a water softener?
It depends on how much water you use. At home I go through about one bag every 30 to 45 days; some homes use one a week, others one every 2 months. I buy plain pellets for about $8 a bag at Walmart. More on choosing salt is in my water softener salt guide.
How to reduce sodium in softened water?
Three ways. Put a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink; reverse osmosis is what I tell people takes sodium out. Keep one unsoftened cold tap for drinking and cooking. Or use potassium chloride in the softener instead of salt. The last two are the Minnesota Department of Health's suggestions.
Aidan Walsh
Co-owner & Residential Water Treatment Specialist, Mid Atlantic WaterAidan Walsh has spent 32 years in residential water treatment, the first stretch of it installing and servicing well systems before Mid Atlantic Water became an online supplier. Mid Atlantic Water is a family company; every recommendation on this site is based on what actually failed in the field and what fixed it. If you have a question this page did not answer, call 800-460-5810 or text him at 443-277-2204.
Aidan answers calls and texts 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern, every day.Number copied. Text it from your phone: 443-277-2204.