Salt Prices

[Don]

Does anyone know why the price of my water softener salt has gone up so dramatically? I use Morton solar salt.

[Oren]

The cost of oil to produce the salt, that's why.

Oren

"My doctor says I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."

[Chuck B.]

I buy the 25 lb. block of salt for about 3.50 at the local grocery store.

[Don]

That comes out a lot more expensive than I pay for the bags.

[Kevin Ricks]

I buy the 40 lb. bag of salt for about $3.50 at the local grocery store. Kevin

[Chuck B.]

How long does you 40lb bag last? I get my block every two weeks.

[David Martel]

Kevin,

That's a good price. Don did not post his price but I just bought salt a couple of weeks ago for $4.00/40 lb. bag. That's the same price I've paid for the last few years, so why does Don think the price is shooting up?

Dave M.

[HeyBub]

We're running out of salt?

[RobertM]

We're probably sending it to Iraq along with all the good lumber.

Bob

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Salt as a raw material is a low cost commodity. It is heavy and thus, cost a lot to ship and cost a lot to mine in terms of fuel use. As a percentage of total cost, the price of oil is going to affect it more than most items.

I'll have to check the price when I get my delivery on Monday. It went up a few weeks ago but I've heard nothing when I ordered today.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I buy 50# bags and use about 2 a day.

[mm]

At 3.50 a bag, isn't that more than 2000 dollars a year?

[Don]

I buy at Walmart where the 40 lb bag (blue bag) Morton Solar salt went from $3.96 to $4.58, a .62 increase. I use 3 bags every 5 weeks. It just seems like another example of gauging.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes, it is. Sometimes more.

The question I'm responding to asked how many bags were used. I gave an accurate answer. What has not asked was about hardness, gallons per day, or any other factor in the use of salt. My application is feedwater for two 125 HP steam boilers that use an average of 10,000 gallons and up to 14,000 gallons of water a day. If you think the salt is expensive the gas bill for last MONTH was $40,750. And that is not at full production capacity.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Who do you think is doing the gouging? My guess is that Wal Mart is making the same margin and Morton is probably doing about the same. OTOH, the cost of the bag the salt is in probably went up 10¢ in recent months (maybe more, I'm being optimistic), the fuel surcharges for freight hit 27%. The cost of fuel to process the salt skyrocketed also; increases of 15% to

70% are not uncommon. Healthcare costs for the Morton employees is probably up 15% or more if they are typical of what everyone else has seen. .

Just my opinion, but I don't think that Joe Homeowner has yet to see the real cost of the recent energy increases. Our heating bills have gone up, but other products will be jumping as manufacturers pass on the increased cost of doing business.

[RobertM]

Plain ol' rock salt in rural Tennessee is $12.50 per 40 pound bag, higher than that if it's during a snowstorm.

Bob

[mm]

I remember now You run a factory. :) Or a very big house. I can't remember everything! :-( Neither can some of the other readers you had fun with. !

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yep, similar to a home setup, but a much larger scale. Spending $2000 a year on salt saves a lot of money. Boilers must have good water and chemicals are needed to keep things in balance. Softeners cut down the amount of chemicals needed by about $5000 a year, plus reduces maintenance and increases tube life.

Steam heating re-circulates the water and little is lost. We use the steam in process and most is lost to atmosphere, some to the water cooling systems for machines.