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GENERAL WATER SOFTENER MAINTENANCE AND
TROUBLESHOUTING
CHECKING THE SALT STORAGE LEVEL, AND REFILLING
Brine (salt dissolved in water) is needed for each and every regeneration. The water for
making brine is metered into the salt storage area by the softener valve and timer.
However, you must keep the tank full of salt.
NOTE
: In humid areas, it is best to fill with less salt, more often.
WHEN TO REFILL WITH SALT:
Check the salt level a few weeks after you install the softener and every week after that.
Refill when the brine tank is from1/3 to 1/2 full. Never allow the softener to use all the
salt before you refill it. Without salt, you will soon have hard water.
Use clean water
softener salts only, at least 99.5%
pure. NUGGET, PELLET or coarse SOLAR salts are
recommended. Do not use rock, block, granulated, and ice cream making salts. They
contain dirt and sediments, or mush and cake, and will create maintenance problems.
NOTE
: WATER SOFTENING SALT WITH IRON REMOVING ADDITIVES:
Some salts have an additive to help the softener handle iron in the water supply.
Although this additive may help to keep the softener resin clean, it may also release
corrosive fumes that weaken and shorten the life of some softener parts.
BREAKING A SALT BRIDGE
Sometimes, a hard crust or salt bridge forms in the
salt storage area. It is usually caused by high humidity
or the wrong kind of salt. When the salt bridges,
an empty space forms between the water and salt.
Then salt will not dissolve in the water to make brine.
If the brine tank is full of salt, it is hard to tell if you
have a salt bridge. Salt is loose on top, but the bridge
is under it. The following is the best way to check for
a salt bridge.
Salt should be loose all the way to the bottom of the
tank. Take a broom handle, or like tool, and
carefully
push it down into the salt, working it up and down.
If the tool strikes a hard object (be sure it’s not the
bottom or sides of the tank), it’s most likely a salt
bridge. Carefully break the bridge with the tool.
DO NOT pound on the walls of the tank. If the wrong kind of salt made the bridge, take
it out. Then fill the tank with nugget or pellet salt only.
CLEANING IRON OUT OF THE WATER
Your water softener takes hardness minerals (calcium and magnesium) out of the water.
Also, it can control some (see specifications, page 3) “clear water” iron. With clear water
iron, water from a faucet is clear when first put into a glass. After 15 to 30minutes, the
