Bought my first car this week!

[Electronic M]

We usually just buy a bag when low and dump it in as soon as we get home, so the bags rarely sit with their contents inside...But the salt dust cloud that is created when we dump them can't be completely contained...Leading to gradual rusting especially of things in/near the softener room. We would not even use the darn softener save for the fact that the ground water here is SATURATED with iron/rust, and even with the iron out pellets our plumbing fixtures tend to get rust stains often. I've often wondered why there is not an iron mine in the area AFAIK.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

We usually just buy a bag when low and dump it in as soon as we get home, so the bags rarely sit with their contents inside...But the salt dust cloud that is created when we dump them can't be completely contained...Leading to gradual rusting especially of things in/near the softener room. We would not even use the darn softener save for the fact that the ground water here is SATURATED with iron/rust, and even with the iron out pellets our plumbing fixtures tend to get rust stains often. I've often wondered why there is not an iron mine in the area AFAIK.

Do you find that problem with the nuggets. They refer to it as "Solar Salt".
I usually buy, whatevers on sale. If you look at the water piping circuit in the basement, you'll find, that the toilets and the cold water on the kitchen sink are not softened.
For drinking, coffee and cooking water, I use a Brita filter pitcher.

[WISCOJIM]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

If you look at the water piping circuit in the basement, you'll find, that the toilets and the cold water on the kitchen sink are not softened.

Maybe, but not always.

In my house (built 1993) the only hard water is plumbed directly to only the outdoor hose bibs.

My father's house (built 1954) had a third faucet valve added at the kitchen sink to allow for unsoftened drinking & cooking water. The only other hard water connections in his home ran to his outdoor hose bibs.

Neither home had hard water running to the toilets, and I can't see why anyone would want that. Toilets would likely be the first to show rust staining, and the homeowner would constantly have to be fighting that.

.

[ggregg]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

We usually just buy a bag when low and dump it in as soon as we get home, so the bags rarely sit with their contents inside...But the salt dust cloud that is created when we dump them can't be completely contained...Leading to gradual rusting especially of things in/near the softener room. We would not even use the darn softener save for the fact that the ground water here is SATURATED with iron/rust, and even with the iron out pellets our plumbing fixtures tend to get rust stains often. I've often wondered why there is not an iron mine in the area AFAIK.

Guys, guys, I mean unopened,completely sealed bags. No corrosion to worry about, as long as you don't cut or rip the bag and they are pretty strong these days. Open them and dump it in the softener in the spring.

You don't need salt. Anything will work but the smaller and the heavier it is, the better. 200-300# makes a big difference. Put in in the front of the trunk, as close to directly over the rear axle as you can get. It makes a big difference on rear wheel drive. Up here you can buy bags of sand and that works well but then you have to figure out what to do with it in the spring, or find dry storage until next winter. If your not driving in the slop and waiting until the roads are dried off then you won't need it though.

Either way, enjoy your new wheels. That is a beautiful car and it's in wonderful shape. I'm kinda jealous but I sold my motorcycle and bought a 1992 Saab 900 convertible so I have a new toy to play with in the spring. Drove it home and right into storage. This is the fourth 900 Turbo I've had over the years but the first convertible. Some people think I'm nuts but I really like those first generation 900 Turbos. And this one was too cheap to pass up although it does need some work, but nothing serious. Every time I post a photo with my phone the darn thing shows up sideways.