Whirlpool WHES30F 30,000 Grain Water Softener

You can use any high-quality softener salt. Some brands that produce high quality salt include Morton and Diamond Crystal.

Whirlpool water softeners use demand initiated regeneration — their efficiency with salt usage will not overload the septic system and will not impact drain field soil percolation. An undersized septic tank or exorbitant use of cleaning products is more likely to disrupt the general operations of your septic system.

Whirlpool water softeners are built with a battery-free, power-interruption backup feature that maintains the clock settings for eight hours in the event of a brief power outage. If the power outage is longer, the clock may need to be reset, but all other settings are retained.

A water softener will regenerate every 3-7 days for a typical household. All Whirlpool Water Softeners utilize demand initiated regeneration and regenerate only when needed — saving water and energy.

Softeners need to recharge for about 2 hours to rid themselves of mineral particles they collect in the resin tank during the water softening process. Generally, softeners use as much water as it takes to wash a load of laundry — it equates to about $4 per year.

Other water softeners use salt to clean themselves of the particles collected during the softening process. This is also known as regeneration. The amount of salt used in regeneration is called a “salt dose.” Some softeners have a defined salt dose, which means they have to be set to either “high capacity” or “high efficiency.” High capacity means the unit will regenerate less often but will use a significant amount of salt to regenerate. High efficiency means the unit uses less salt per cleaning cycle but regenerates more frequently. No matter the setting, the unit will consume a substantial amount of salt and water.

Our units employ a variable salt dose where the amount of salt used to regenerate the system varies depending on the amount of hardness it has collected. Similar to the benefits of demand initiated regeneration, the variable salt dose helps to reduce the amount of salt and water the system uses. Whirlpool units also contain exclusive technology that learns water usage patterns to employ a predictive algorithm that anticipates the level of water and hardness particles that will run through it. This feature helps the system regenerate when it is most optimal and also prevents the consumer from dealing with hard water.

Whirlpool units are certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), an independent third party. Our units are certified for structural integrity, grain capacity and efficiency. Other units may be NSF certified, but they generally only carry the certification for structural integrity, not efficiency or capacity.

Water softeners using sodium chloride (salt) for regeneration add a slight amount of sodium to the water. Anyone on a sodium-restricted diet should consider this sodium as part of their overall intake. If this intake is a concern, opt for a potassium chloride (KCI) salt for regeneration or invest in a reverse osmosis drinking water system.

For the best results, choose evaporated salt. Evaporated salt is the purest form of salt at 99.99% sodium chloride, and it is found in pellet form. This salt significantly reduces your chances of buildup so you will not have to clean the tank as often.

As a general rule of thumb, higher-purity salt leaves less storage tank residue, lowers the probability of salt bridging, and demands less maintenance. Other types of salt are available for specialized applications. Our water softeners use less salt than most competitive models.

Water softeners are often measured in cubic feet or grain capacity. The rated capacity of a softener is the maximum amount of grains of hard water the unit can remove prior to regeneration.

When choosing a size, you should take into account the number of people in your household, the average water use per person, and the hardness of your water. For best results, it’s important to know that the more people in your home and water being used, the greater the capacity your water softener should be.

Adding resin is not required. You only need to add softener salt when the system runs out and softener cleaner to maintain it.

The WHES30 uses salt pellets. Block salt typically takes longer to dissolve whereas salt pellets are more soluble, making them the most common type of salt used in water softeners.