Using the right salt and maintaining the right level prevents the most common Kinetico problems. Here's everything you need to know.
| Pellet salt (recommended) | Clean, low impurity, less likely to cause bridging or mushing. Best for most Kinetico owners. |
| Crystal salt | Works but higher impurity content can cause more mushing over time |
| Block salt | Some Kinetico models are designed for block salt — check your model manual |
| Rock salt | Not recommended — high impurity, causes fouling and bridging |
| Solar salt | Good purity, works well in most systems |
Kinetico specifically recommends high-purity pellet salt or their own block salt (on block-salt models). Using high-purity salt reduces the risk of salt bridges and mushing that cause most regeneration failures.
Keep the brine tank between half-full and three-quarters full. Check monthly. Don't overfill — keeping the level lower allows you to verify that salt is actually being consumed (a sign the system is regenerating correctly).
Most households use 30–60 lbs of salt per month depending on water hardness and usage. If your salt level hasn't changed in a month, your system may not be regenerating.
Salt mushing occurs when dissolved salt recrystallizes at the bottom of the brine tank, forming a thick sludge that blocks water flow. If your brine tank has a solid mass at the bottom: