The Benefits of Properly Maintaining and Repairing Your Water Softener

No matter where you live in the United States, your water softener often serves a vital role in your everyday life. It’s responsible for removing hard minerals from your home water supply and providing you with clean drinking water. Calcium and magnesium are often found in a municipal water source and they are not only harmful to your health, but they can also cause a great deal of damage to your home plumbing system. That’s why it’s important to perform regular maintenance and repair services to your water softener. You want your water supply to be free of hard minerals at all times so that you can go about your normal routine.

Regeneration is a process where your water softener will flush out the minerals that it removes from your home water supply. Once your water softener completes the regeneration process, it can continue to provide you with clean, potable water. Regeneration cycles typically take place about once a day, but you can also make adjustments according to the number of people living in your home and the concentration of hard minerals in your water supply. However, what will often happen is that even with a daily cycle, you’ll notice that your water is still hard. If that’s the case, then we suggest that you add more salt to your brine tank. You should also keep in mind that the time and length of the regeneration cycle will affect your output and usage.

A salt bridge will typically form along the sides of the brine tank and create a space between the water and the salt. This will significantly diminish the effectiveness of the regeneration process, which in turn will render your entire system ineffective. Dissolved salt can also recrystallize inside your brine tank, which will form a thick sludge that also prevents water from undergoing the regeneration process. When performing regular maintenance, you should always check to see if any salt bridges are developing inside your brine tank. Catching them early on will go a long way in preventing future damage.

The salt that you put inside your water softener will make a huge difference in terms of the performance and longevity of your system. You should always be careful about the type of salt that you are using. Although high-quality salts will do a lot of good for your water softener, you should consult with a professional to determine what’s best for you.

There are three types of salts used in the water softening process:

• Rock: Rock salts are cheap and they are commonly used in water softeners. However, they typically contain a lot of impurities that will accumulate inside your brine tank and cause damage to your water softener.
• Solar: Solar salts are originally made from seawater that underwent evaporation and then recrystallized into sodium pellets. Solar salts are a lot more soluble than rock salts.
• Evaporated: Evaporated salts are typically the best option for any water softener because they are the purest form of a salt that you can find.

The particles of resin in your water softener perform the ion-exchange process that swaps out calcium and magnesium ions and replaces them with sodium ions. During the regeneration process, your water softener is recharging the resin beads. Over time, mineral deposits will eventually render the beads ineffective. We recommend that you pour a water softener cleaner into the brine tank and then allow the system to run as it normally would. The cleaner will then begin to flush out any impurities. You can also manually clean your brine tank, and the best time to do it is when it’s almost empty.

Blockages found in your water softener are among the more common issues that you will encounter. Higher concentrations of salt and minerals from the brine will eventually create buildup inside your system and you will need to remove the impediment. Blockages will affect your system’s overall efficiency, and they are typically found in the filter screen. An indicator of blockage in your water softener is when you are receiving a lot less softened water throughout your home.

In some instances, we are to blame for our own mismanagement. The default settings in which your water softener operates tend to vary from system to system. Some units are a lot more complex than others. Any minor changes in the settings can end up backfiring. You should take the time to understand your water softener and learn how to optimize it. If you can’t seem to get a grasp on what’s wrong, you can always call a professional and they will help guide you through the process.

If you correctly install your water softener, then you can get by with minimal maintenance for many years. We still recommend, however, that you undergo regularly-scheduled maintenance and cleanings. This allows you to determine early on if repairs are required for any damage to your water softener. Early detection is critical because it ensures that your system is performing optimally at all times.

Cleaning, upkeep, and repairs are all part of the process when it comes to optimizing your water softener and maximizing its lifespan. Inspections are also crucial to detecting and diagnosing any damage to your system. If you have any questions about water softener maintenance and repairs, then you can always give us a call! One of our staff members will give you a full rundown on what you can do to keep your water softener running efficiently.