You may need to do this several times. In severe cases it may be necessary to have the resin professionally cleaned or replaced. The amount of sodium added to your water is roughly equal to half the hardness of your water, measured in milligrams per liter. If your unsoftened water is not too salty, it should not taste salty after softening. After regeneration the salt brine is flushed out before the softener is returned to service.
Chloride is more responsible for a salty taste than sodium.
We recommend you drink unsoftened water. This publication is distributed in electronic format only. Printed copies are not available from the Distribution Center at Kansas State University. This text was extracted from the publication, EP-25.