A water softener is a very useful appliance that you must think about it. All salt-based water softener does their function in the same way without considering the tanks they have. The cold hard water passes water to the resin tank. There are resin beads in the resin tank. The tank permits the passing of only the soft water by the system.
Everything You Wanted to Know About How to Maintain Water Softener Systems, just read in detail.
The beads no longer hold minerals as they want to be cleaned. If the salt is stored in the resin beads the flow of the water goes down to the drain. This hampers the flow of water as there is salt to the resin beads. This is called regeneration or recharge meaning that you need to remove salt from the resin beads.
Avoid salt bridges and salt mushing
If there is a gap between the salt and the water softener, a slatted bridge may occur. So better to prevent the salt from dissolving.
Without the resin beads, your softener cannot do the function. There are some causes of bridging such as temperature change, humidity, or the wrong kind of salt. If the salt bread is full, bridges can occur.
You can use a broom handle or cautiously push to the top salt by applying pressure to break the bridges up if are solidified.
Salt mushing is a very serious problem. The thick layer of the salt resists the flow of water of the softener properly. It creates a great problem for the tank. If the salt bridges do not break well, push it. Remove all the old salt and add new salt to dictate the problem. You can buy a high-quality salt pellet that reduces many problems, particularly salt mushing.
Never use more salt in the salt brine. Keep salt to the half of the tank. It is a must to keep the softener with humidity level. If the humidity is much in the brine tank, the salt may bridge or bond together.
Be selective with your salt choice
There have three types of water softener salt: evaporated, solar, and rock. The Rock salt is the least expensive and conceives a high level of insoluble impurities and minerals. It can store in the tank and becomes muddy, decrease the efficiency of the softener, and leaves impurities in the water.
Solar salt is much more soluble than rock salt, comes from the evaporation of sweaters,s and obtain in crystal or pellet form. Moreover, the best kind of evaporated salt is found through a combination of evaporation and mining. It is the best form of salt that contains 99.99% sodium chloride.
Try to get the best kind of salt that leaves less storage residue in the tank. It also lessens the likelihood of salt mushing and salt bridges and needs less maintenance. This is high-quality salt and salts in pellet form, that aid to remove bridging problems. Some brands are offering salt products that address particular issues like high concentration sodium alternatives and rust stains.
Resin bed cleaner
Though the resin beads are recharged by the salt, it does not hurt the flow of water. You need to clean the beads to keep the flow of water quickly. Sometimes water softener is contaminated with silt, iron or heavy metals, or other organic compounds. For that contaminant, the efficiency of the softener is affected.
To keep the flow of water to a perfect position clean the softener manually with the suggestion of the manufacturer. In this way, the cleaner will be discharged with the normal flow of water softening procedure. This makes the resin clean and consumes a lot of magnesium and calcium during the lifespan of the softener.
Clean the venturi valve
The venture is sometimes plugged with dirt, sand, and sediment. So a clean valve is good to work properly with the water softener. Remove the screw from the valve cover, then open the internal parts, and wash them all with soapy water. You need to do it twice a year to function smoothly and efficiently of the softening process.
What is the way to know your system has failed?
How do you know the water softener is not running well? There are lots of ways to detect it. If you see your water is dirty, muddy, or cloudy and taking a lot of soaps, be sure the softener is not doing its job. Besides, you will see that you are not using as much salt as you used previously. These are the sign of the water softeners that are not in the right position.
To get your soft water flowing again, here are three fixes you can easily perform.
How to Maintain Water Softener Systems
Fix 1. Clean the brine (salt) tank
Be sure there is no hard dome and crust inside your brain tank. The frequent use of salt or adding more salt is the cause of salt doom in the brain. Use a broomstick to break the salt. After that dispose of it. By using a soap vacuum, remove all sediments. Pass water thoroughly to remove all sediments. You can add soap to make it cleaner.
Fix 2. Clean an iron fouled resin bed
If there is iron in the water, it will foul the resin bed. The bed removes water particles and adds sodium with water. To make the bed fresh, run iron out of the system. Follow the instruction well to clean the brine tank. After that use a manual regeneration to purgative the wastewater. At first the cover from the control valve and get a renewal knob. To reduce the knob, apply a flat blade screwdriver and turn it counterclockwise to service.
Fix 3. Clean the resin tank injector
The injector gets plugged into dirty salt for being sediment. Use the softener’s bypass valve to stop the water flow. By manual regeneration, remove the pressure of water by running a softener. Remove the caps on both sides of the water softener. Clean the screen of the injector and the injector very well.
Five Steps for Keeping Your Softener Healthy
- Use pure salt to remove iron from the water. The standard rock salt is not more expensive, but the contaminants may take much cost at last. Rock salt causes sediment build-up in the brine tank. The sediment then clogs the injector and the softener’s valve.
- Never use the salt unit as the tank is used up. Never refill the tank no more than 2/3 full.
- Use iron out in a year to remove iron from the brine bed and then apart from the control valve.
- Clean your brine tank once a year. Sometimes pure salt conceives contaminants.
- Do not push the softener down to the floor drain. The last section of the softener’s drain should be above the grate of the drain to resist the unwanted siphoning of sewage to the softener.
Troubleshooting your water softener system
There are many things you need to consider before you call in a plumbing professor. Remember, there are many reasons for water softener failure.
This suggestion will help to solve many problems. A softener that is lasting more than 20 years is not possible for you to repair by the professionals. In such a case, you need to replace a new one for your home.
If you do not get soft water, you need to check the setting of the system control. Most of the systems have an electronic maintenance system; it will help you to add the time and duration of the backwash cycle.
So before doing any work, you need to check the electrical power option and the set timer clearly. The best time to set water is in the morning at this stage you do not need to use water.
The harness may vary under certain conditions, especially in a good water system. If you find all are perfect, you can move to the next step.
Step two, This is the time to check the salt supply tank which feeds the unit. Sometimes salt may store in the salt tank if the salt is no longer being dissolved in the brine tank.
Means that the best are not adequately cleaned resulting in the hard water flowing through the plumbing system. You may take a broom handle and press it to the salt until it hit the bottom of the tank.
Do it constantly around the reservoir several times. If you hit the salt bridge, it will cave on itself. If you can hit accurately, then your problem will be solved. To see soft water, you have to wait for two or three days.
When you see there is no coming or bridging, make the tank empty and pay more attention to going to the bottom line. You will get grime or dirt at the bottom of the reservoir. If you get mushy elements, it will create a problem.
The mash salt does not completely dissolve, and it may clog the intake process and lessen the salt. If that happens, you will not get soft water.
You may discard and remove the mush, or you may dissolve it in a pail of hot water and keep it inside the brine tank. If the salt dissolves completely, that does work fine for the softener. After finishing the brine tank and removing the mesh, be sure the brine is clean and select the tube also.
The tube pulls the salt from the tank and sends it to the resin tank. If the tube is added with mush you will not be able to pick up the brine, then wash the resin.
When you are convinced, the tank is clean add a couple of bags of salt to the reservoir again. Wait for a few weeks to see the result. If you do not get soft water, then follow step three.
You have to give some time to clean the resin bed. You need to follow the instruction well for your particular unit. You need to buy a res
Water Softeners: How to Maintain Water Softener Systems -video
Sarah J. Gregory
352 Hershell Hollow Road
Anaheim, CA 92805
