Over time scum will build up on the sides and bottom of your brine (salt) tank. This build-up or sludge residue occurs sooner if cube-style or pellet salt is used. Build-up in the brine tank can also occur sooner in areas of higher total dissolved solids, such as West Des Moines, Iowa. Generally, it is not necessary to clean the brine tank as impurities do not draw into the system during regeneration.
Solar crystal salt has the least amount of impurities of all the brine tank salt. The Ecowater brand of solar crystal salt has the lowest amount of impurities of all the solar crystal salt and helps to minimize build-up in your brine tank.
If you would like to clean out your brine tank, let the salt get low, take apart the tank, use a shop vacuum to get out old salt or just dump it out. Rinse and wipe out the tank with fresh water. Fill with two inches of fresh water and 3 tablespoons of unscented 5% chlorine bleach. Always refer to your softener manual to be sure cleaning instructions.
Our advice is this: If it is working well, don’t mess with it. The more you do this, the greater potential for something to go wrong.