HOW WATER SOFTENERS WORK
- Water softeners work by using a negative charged ion exchange resin to collect the impurities from your water. The resin becomes charged when it mixes with a sodium solution. Water softeners don’t work because salt softens the water — the salt is what enables the resin to collect and remove the hardness from your water.
- Mixed bed systems soften your water, and also remove the chlorine taste and odor.
- Regeneration is the term for when the resin is being cleaned and recharged in the sodium solution.
SALT AND YOUR SOFTENER
- The preferred salt to get your water softener to work is a clean pellet or nugget type. Check with your dealer to see if they carry a specific type that you can purchase at their dealership or that can be delivered right to you.
- Avoid filling the salt tank completely. Filling to Level 5 is normally sufficient.
- If your water does not feel soft, and it appears the level of your salt is not ever decreasing, you could have a “salt bridge.” Contact us to ether set up a service check for you, or it could be something we can walk you through over the phone.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR DRINKING WATER SYSTEM AND/OR SOFTENER WHEN YOU WILL BE GONE FOR A WEEK, A MONTH, OR LONGER
- Your reverse osmosis drinking water systems does not require any adjusting prior to being unused for a short period of time. For longer periods of time, talk to your dealer for instructions.
- Placing the softener into bypass and unplugging the unit is a safe practice.
REGENERATING YOUR WATER SOFTENER SYSTEM
- When your water filtration system is regenerating, the water will bypass the unit.
- Avoid using hot water when the water softener or refiner is regenerating, as your hot water heater will refill with untreated water.
- If you are experiencing hard water sometimes, but not all the time, your system might be regenerating at an improper time. Check the softener display to be sure the current time is set correctly. Also check the scheduled recharge time. If you need assistance, refer to your owner’s manual or contact your dealer. If the times on the display are accurate and you are still experiencing problems, call your dealer and notify them of the problem.
- If you are running out of soft water at inconvenient times, talk to your dealer. You might need the regeneration cycle to be scheduled more frequently.