1. If both the cation and anion of an ionic compound are monovalent, the solute-solute attractive forces are usually easily overcome, and therefore these compounds are generally water soluble (NaCl, LiBr, KI)
2. If both the cation and anion are multivalent, the solute-solute interaction may be too great to be overcome by the solute-solvent interaction and the compound may have poor water solubility (CaSO4, BaSO4)
3. Salts of alkali metals (Na, K, Li) – usually water soluble