Check out our updated Ice Melt page! Read all about the fantastic selection of de-icing products offered by Peterson Salt

There may not be much need for ice melt yet this winter, but it’s Minnesota, so we know that eventually the snow will come. It always does. At this rate, we might just be shoveling our driveways into the month of May.

At Peterson Salt & Water Treatment we’re always thinking ahead and we want our customers to be prepared with a stock quality ice melt for the day when the snow arrives. Keeping your driveway clear of snow and ice will help prevent cracks or other damage to the concrete.

For more information on the sidewalk salts available at Peterson salt, make sure to look at our new Ice Melt product page. On our Web site you can now read detailed information about all of the de-icing products we carry including, Halite, Thaw Master, Power Thaw, Calcium Chloride, FreezGard and Ice No Mor.

If you order your water softener salt from Peterson Salt, make sure to ask about adding a bag of ice melt with your next delivery. Each of our de-icing products is available in 50LB bags, as well as some smaller, easier-to-handle sizes.

For more information on the ice melt products offered by Peterson Salt & Water Treatment, give us a call today: 952-929-0422.

Soft water brightens laundry colors, get your water softener today from Peterson Salt!

Nowadays most of us purchase our clothing from the department store, and we don’t really give much thought to how our clothes get their colors. What we do think about is how to take care of our clothes so that they don’t lose their shape or color.

If you have ever worked with fabric dye, you know that one trick of the trade is to add salt to your dye bath. Mixing a cup of salt into the dye bath will brighten the colors of natural fabric fibers to give you a more vibrant final product.

Did you know you can use a variation of this home remedy when washing laundry, too? A few pinches of salt dissolved with your laundry soap will help keep your colors bright. Adding salt to the laundry is especially beneficial if you are washing with hard water. Hard water originally got its name because of the difficulty it causes in washing. The minerals in hard water (like calcium and magnesium) cause the formation of an insoluable substance that prevents soap from lathering.

If you are washing with hard water, you should look into getting a water softener for your home. Softened water contains higher levels of sodium and will be more gentle to your laundry. Soft water will keep your whites whiter and your colors more vibrant. For a list of the water sofeners sold by Peterson Salt and Water Treatment, click here.

If you have more questions on the benefits of soft water, or if you would like to inquire about a water softener for your home or business, please send an e-mail to sales@petersonsalt.com or call us at (952) 929-0422.

Does your water softener add unhealthy ammounts of sodium to your diet?

I was reading this article about making healthier eating choices in the New Year and the author (a doctor)  pointed to water softeners as another source of sodium in a person’s diet. This intrigued me because I rarely find mentions of water softeners in news articles. 

The doctor’s proposed solution was to use potassium instead of salt for your water softener. Potassium can also be used to soften water and, as the doctor points out, it is a healthier option and, unlike sodium-softened water, it will not harm house plants.

However, potassium also happens to be much more expensive than salt, sometimes as much as four times the cost. While your health is definitely worth the extra cost and the doctor’s advice is good, it lacks some important information. I’d like to propose some alternative solutions to reducing sodium in your diet this year:

1. The cold water at your kitchen tap is typically not softened. So, if you are drinking the kitchen cold water you should not have to worry about extra sodium intake. The way I think of it is like this: All of the hot water in your home is typically soft. Whereas, the only cold water in your home that is soft is the water you wash with, like the bathroom, the wash tub, and the washing machine. Outside water lines and the cold tap in the kitchen do not typically go through the softener (unless the homeowner requests this).

2. Some of the sodium in your water is naturally occurring and this means that switching to potassium will not remove all of the sodium from your water. Installing a Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System is a better solution that has additional health benefits, too. RO systems remove the sodium as well as other naturally occurring substances that can give water a foul smell or unappealing color. Many of these substances, such as arsenic, aren’t exactly good for your health, either.  Click here for more information on RO Drinking Water Systems.

3. As for your plants, outside water lines are also not typically hooked up to the water softener. This means that the water you use for your garden hoses will not contain extra sodium and your plants will be safe. Just make sure that if you fill a watering can inside your home you use the cold water from the kitchen, as most of the other inside water lines are probably connected to your softener.

Peterson Salt earns 7th straight super service award from Angie’s List!

The employees at Peterson Salt & Water Treatment have some exciting news to share this morning! We would like you to celebrate with us as we glady accept our 2011 Super Service Award from Angie’s List.

Since 2005, Peterson Salt & Water Treatment has been recognized as a provider of “super service” by Angie’s List. Help us make it to ten years!

Peterson Salt is expanding to a new location!

Peterson Salt & Water Treatment has some big changes coming up. We will soon be moving from our storefront in Minnetonka to a new location with more room for our expanding office.

Right now we are considering offices in the following locations: St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, Plymouth and Hopkins. Our new location will help us to better serve our residential and commercial customers, but you still might be asking yourself: How will this affect my service? Will I still be in Peterson Salt’s delivery zone? We would like to reassure you that our services are staying the same, in fact, we may be adding a few new sales depending on where we move to. 

The “big move” is scheduled to take place in early November. Until then, here are some answers to questions you may have about the upcoming changes:

What Stays the Same?

1.      Our current phone number, fax number, and email addresses will remain the same.

2.      Our delivery zone will be the same as it has always been. Whether you’re a commercial customer in a southern suburb like Edina, Bloomington, Burnsville, Savage, Inver Grove Heights, Chaska or Richfield, or you live in a northern suburb like Osseo, Champlin, Anoka, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Fridley, Robbinsdale or Coon Rapids, you should expect your current delivery services to remain the same. As a general rule, we will travel to anywhere within a 45 minute radius of our shop in Minnetonka. We go as far south as Jordan, as far north as Blaine, as far west as Young America and as far east as Oakdale.

3.      Residents of Hopkins, Minnetonka, and St. Louis Park are already familiar with our Saturday Salt Sale, and they’ll be happy to know that this service will continue.

4.      Maple Grove residents have their own salt sale on Thursday afternoons, and this will continue as well!

5.      We will continue to offer the same services including water hardness testing, softener repair and maintenance, and new softener installation. We will continue our free delivery service to all cities including Plymouth, Eden Prairie, Brooklyn Center, Fridley, Roseville, Inver Grove Heights, Apple Valley, and everywhere in between!

What Will Change?

1.      Our physical address will change once we move. If you use an online billing program to pay your invoices, make sure that you update our address in your billing program so that your payments go to the right place.

2.      Because our new location will locate us closer to a different set of customers, it is possible we may be offering a new salt sale for residents of the city we move to. 

At Peterson Salt & Water Treatment we are committed to providing top customer service along with competitive prices. If you have any questions about our new location, or if you’d like to place an order for salt delivery, give us a call at 952 929 0422 or email us at sales@petersonsalt.com. Also, be sure to check out our blog in the coming months as we announce more exciting changes!