WATER SOFTENER MAINTENANCE TIPS

Water softeners work through a process of ion exchange where the positively charged ions of iron, manganese and calcium are exchanged for a similar amount of ions of sodium.  Thie sodium iremains soluble even in hot water and therefore the soft water is much more usable within the home.

Some tips for water softener maintenance:

Water softeners should have a pre-filter installed to keep sand, grit or ferric iron out of the softener.  If your pre-filter is a cartridge style, be sure to change this pre-filter every 3-4 months, or when a pressure drop is noted.  If the pre-filter becomes plugged with sediment the softener’s regeneration cycle may be affected.  The softener may not get a proper rinse, resulting in salty tasting water.

Most manufacturers prefer salt in pellets or “pellens”.  This is a more pure salt and is less likely to have bits of grit that might impact the brining system.  For sites where iron is being removed by ion exchange, use the salt with an iron cleaning agent in it; most manufacturers put this in a green bag.

Make sure you do not run out of salt, but do not fill the brine tank much more than 1/3 full.  In our humid climate over filling of a brine tank can lead to “salt bridging” where the salt melts and then reforms into a hard brick.

If you experience hard water or iron staining, check your salt level, and your ball valves and bypass valve to make sure they are in the proper position.

Check for salt bridging by gently pushing the end of a broom handle into the salt and stirring it within the pellets; make sure the pellets are loose.  If bridging has occurred you may notice the salt level drop when the salt bridge is broken up.

If you run out of salt, replenish the supply, give it a few hours to dissolve in the water, then run a manual regenration or two to clean the resin.

If you have an electric softener you must correct the clock after a power outage or when we change clocks.  This will prevent the system from backwashing at an improper time.

A preventive maintenance procedure involving running some “Iron-out” iron removal chemical through the softener by adding it to the brine tank may make sense on extreme high iron sites.  Customer service can provide instructions for this procedure.

Water softeners have “screens and injectors” that can be impacted by the impurities in the water.  Be sure to have your water softener professionally maintained to keep it running correctly and to avoid bleedthrough of the hardness, iron or manganese that the unit is designed to remove from your water.  Frequency of cleaning will depend on the style or brand of softener and the contaminants in your water.