On 26/05/2020 21:05, Bert Coules wrote:
Andy Burns wrote:

Fill the kettle before you start ...

I have to admit that my understanding of water softeners is somewhat
hazy, but I didn't think that the water at the bottom of the main
compartment was the same water as is routed to taps, washing machine,
and the like.Â* Am I mistaken?

The water in the salt compartment (saline) is merely for regenerating
the resin beads and gets flushed to waste. Isolated from Domestic water
by valve trickery.

The encrusted salt in the container is fine doesn't cause any problems
either in-situ or falling off into the water at the bottom.