Is Red-Out Salt Bad for My Softener or Plumbing?
If you live in an area with hard water, a water softener makes all the difference in the taste and texture of water. If your water also contains a lot of iron, you need a water softener salt that prevents its deleterious effects. Marketed by Cargill as "Diamond Crystal Red·Out Pellets with Iron Fighter Formula," the water softener pellets commonly known as Red-Out help prevent rust without harm to the water softener or plumbing. Does this Spark an idea?
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Iron
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High iron content in the water can quickly discolor or ruin laundry, china, tubs, toilets and sinks. The Red-Out formula, with a pure salt content of up to 99.6 percent, includes an additive to eliminate rust stains caused by high amounts of iron in the water. Red-out is completely water soluble, so it lessens rust accumulation in the softener's brine tank. Unlike some less soluble salts, it will not turn to mush in the water softener tank.
Benefits for Water Softeners
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Rather than harm water softeners, Red-Out helps prevent damage to the unit. Because of its solubility, it does not turn to crystals like less pure salt, which may stick together and clog the softener's brine tank. If the brine tank is not working properly, the water softener doesn't soften water. Red-Out also does not bridge, which means the salt clumps together and forms a "bridge" that doesn't allow it to pass into the water.
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High Iron Levels
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Red-Out removes iron from water containing a maximum iron level of 2 parts per million. If your iron levels exceed that amount, contact your water softener dealer to purchase single-dose iron cleansers, which may be used several times a year to get rid of additional iron. These products may be used in conjunction with Red-Out. If the water is extremely high in iron, you may need to purchase an iron filter for the water softener.
Formulation
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The salt used in Red-Out originates in underground deposits, brought to the surface by deep well mining. The Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture approve the addition of citric acid to the salt for rust discoloration prevention. It also contains sodium hexametaphosphate for mush and bridging prevention. Do not use this product with chlorine cleansers. Red-Out has zero microbiological activity. It is available in 25-, 40- and 50-pound bags.
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References
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