Why does a central water softener need to add soft water salt? Can ordinary table salt be used?

Many families choose to use household water softeners to improve the water quality throughout the house.
Softened water is not only beneficial to the skin, but also can prevent the erosion of dirt on household appliances, extend their lifespan and reduce machine clogging. But why does a water softener need to add salt? I think many friends still don't know its principle. Let's talk about it next.
Soft water salt, also known as ion exchange resin regenerant. Its main chemical component is sodium chloride (NaCl), with a content of over 99.5%, and it is generally in the form of spherical agents. The above information is from Aike Business Network, a comprehensive B2B platform that focuses on enterprise products, industry exhibitions, franchise recruitment and other information. The Soft Water Salt community has collected more knowledge sharing from experts and is the preferred platform for marketing and promotion for millions of enterprise users.
The principle of softened water and why salt is added?
The most common water treatment process for water softeners currently available on the market is the ion exchange process. The ion exchange resin in a water softener is usually sulfonate type sodium ion exchange resin. After the raw water to be treated passes through the resin, the harmful impurities in the water can be adsorbed within the resin, achieving the purpose of purifying the water quality.
As the water treatment volume increases, the adsorbed impurities also increase, and the adsorption capacity of the resin gradually decreases. The resin gradually enters a faulty state. To remove the impurities adsorbed by the resin, the method of backwashing with sodium ions (i.e., the sodium ion component in the soft water salt) is needed. Through ion exchange, the impurities adsorbed by the resin are replaced, and the adsorption capacity of the ion exchange resin is restored
In conclusion, soft water salt plays a crucial role in water softeners. If a water softener lacks soft water salt, the resin will gradually lose its effectiveness, and accordingly, the water softener will also lose its function of softening and purifying water quality.
Why can't a water softener use ordinary table salt but must use salt specifically designed for water softeners?
Iodine has a strong penetrating power on the surface of resin particles. Long-term use of iodized salt will reduce the surface strength, hardness, mechanical strength, volume expansion strength and circular curvature of the resin. The resin is prone to breakage and its exchange capacity is reduced.
Why do water softeners produce salt Bridges?
Sometimes, salt Bridges form in the salt tank of a water softener, that is, a space is created under the salt layer. This phenomenon usually occurs due to excessive humidity or the use of the wrong salt. In this case, a space is formed between water and salt, allowing the salt and water to separate. During the regeneration process, the salt cannot dissolve in the water to make a salt solution, the expired resin cannot be regenerated, and the water softener cannot produce qualified softened water.