All water is not created equal. In fact, the quality of the water you get from your tap can vary significantly depending on where you live. If you’ve ever wondered why your water tastes different than tap water in other parts of the country, it’s because each municipality has its own unique blend of minerals and contaminants in its water supply.

While most people are content to just drink whatever comes out of the tap, others prefer to buy bottled or filtered water instead.
Some people believe that because softened water contains sodium ions, it will taste salty – but this isn’t actually true. When water flows through a standard water softener, it passes over resin beads that have been soaked with potassium chloride or sodium chloride (both salts).
Since the salt is solid, it can’t dissolve into the water. Instead, it coats the surface of the resin beads and builds up over time until eventually all of the resin’s pores are filled. At this point, there isn’t any more room to attach additional ions – so once softened water starts flowing through your system, its flow rate will decrease.
This is what “softened” water actually is – the dissolved salt has been removed and cannot be tasted in your water. The only reason some people believe this water tastes salty is that it isn’t flowing as quickly through the tap as it would be if they were using unsoftened water.
When you drink softened water, its sodium content doesn’t make a difference in the way it tastes.
A whole-house water softener can also give your appliances and plumbing fixtures a longer lifespan by preventing mineral buildup.
Softened water is less likely to cause scale or limescale when it flows through your pipes, which means that calcium and magnesium ions aren’t deposited on the inside of cylinders (such as toilets).
While limescale won’t hurt you, they can damage your appliances and fixtures by sticking to the inner surface of showerheads, faucets, toilets, dishwashers, washing machines, and water heaters.
If you’ve already noticed mineral build-up on these items in your home’s plumbing system or had them repaired or replaced due to minerals affecting their function, you’ll want to install a whole-house water softener as soon as possible so that this doesn’t happen again.
How to fix a salty taste in water softener?
If you’ve just installed a water softener and find that your water has a salty taste, don’t fret! There are a few things you can do to fix the issue.
The first thing you should do is change the resin inside your softener to a different material. Although potassium chloride and sodium chloride are both salts, they have very different tastes.
If changing the type of salt doesn’t fix the issue, you may be able to resolve it by simply running some water through your system from each faucet until you notice things returning to normal. This will flush out any contaminants that were attached to the resin beads before they had a chance to build up.
Or, if none of these options work for you – go ahead and install a new whole-house water softener using different materials altogether.
There are several types available that can all help improve the taste of your water while preventing limescale build-up in your appliances and fixtures
One of the most common types that people choose is a salt-free water conditioner, which uses an ion exchange resin instead of sodium to soften your water.
There are also alternatives to salt that contain potassium salts, which won’t affect your taste buds but will prevent scale from building up in your plumbing system.
Is it safe to drink softened water?
Since you’re only spending a fraction of your day drinking water, many consumers prefer purified or filtered options because they believe it’s more beneficial for their health.
However, some filtration systems can actually make their waterless healthy by removing helpful minerals. In fact, the minerals located in unfiltered tap water may actually be good for your health
It’s important to note that the minerals present in softened water don’t pose a health risk to consumers – they’re actually good for you since they help fight tooth decay and promote strong bones.
There are several reasons why it may have a salty taste, including high sodium content or overly hard water being released from your faucet.
Softened water is often preferable because it doesn’t contain calcium, magnesium, or other minerals which can cause damage to appliances and fixtures over time if not filtered out before use.
For this reason, many people choose to have a whole-house water softener installed throughout their entire home so that all of their appliances can enjoy softened, clean water.
How to make softened water drinkable?
If you’re like most people, you probably think that the only difference between hard water and softened water is that your skin won’t feel as dry after taking a shower in the latter. But what if we told you that there are many other benefits to softening your water and you have options for making it more drinkable?
- Install a water purifier
The best thing you can do to improve the taste of softened water is to install a water purifier in your kitchen.
This way, the only water coming from your tap will be filtered and purified – making it more similar to bottled or filtered water from the store.
If installing a whole-house system doesn’t appeal to you, there are smaller countertop options available that can filter out chlorine and other contaminants before they leave your faucet. This may make it easier for you to enjoy soft water without any contaminants or salty aftertaste.
- Add Sodium Ions
Sodium ions can help balance out the negative taste of softened water. For example, if your drinking water tastes too flat, you can add a small number of sodium ions to help give it more zest.
The same is true if you notice that your home’s water tastes like salt – adding some sodium ions can make it easier for you to drink, cook with and use throughout your entire house.
- Add minerals
If the issue with softened water is a lack of minerals, rather than too many chemicals, you may be able to resolve this by simply running the faucet until the air has completely replaced itself in your pipes.
This will allow any contaminants that were attached to the resin beads before they had a change to build up dissipate into thin air.
- Distill your Water
Distilling your water can help you remove all contaminants and give it a fresh, clean taste.
When you distill your water, it’s passed into steam form in a separate container so that the remaining chemicals are left behind before being cooled off and collected in the other chamber.
This will leave your drinking water tasting pure and natural – just like when it first came out of the ground without any mineral build-up whatsoever
- Add ice cubes made from distilled water to regular tap water
If nothing else works, try adding purified ice cubes to regular tap water for an instant drink with no salty aftertaste or chemical buildup in sight! You’ll get to enjoy great tasting, softened drinking water without needing to buy any expensive filtration systems or bottled water.
Remember, it’s important to make sure you’re using the right type of ice cube tray since some trays can hold on to excess minerals and cause your softened drinking water to taste salty.
- Reverse osmosis
The most common forms of filtration used in residential settings include reverse osmosis (RO) machines which take out a specific percentage of contaminants from the source depending on what level of filtration you select, along with carbon filters which remove chlorine from tap water so that it tastes purer.
Both types of systems are effective at removing excess minerals from the water so that it doesn’t taste salty, but RO machines are slightly better for super sensitive palates which can’t handle the slight mineral concentration in carbon filtered water.
Water softeners and filters also remove fluoride during the process, if this is something you wish to avoid – and they eliminate 99% of heavy metals such as lead and mercury, along with other chemicals like nitrates, sulfates, and chlorides which may give your tap water a funny aftertaste.
Just make sure that you’re getting a high-quality filtration system (or whole house filtration unit) if you want to enjoy clean drinking water without any saltiness.
Final Thoughts
Drinking water isn’t always as pure as we think it is – that’s why there are various types of filtration systems available for homes and businesses that want cleaner water for drinking, cooking, showering, and washing clothes.
By doing your research and shopping around, you’ll be able to choose the best type of water filtration system for your home or business that meets any budgetary needs without sacrificing too much on quality.
Even if you’re not currently experiencing issues with salty tasting water, it’s always a good idea to invest in one of these systems; you never know when they might come in handy!