Tips About Water Softeners to Keep Yours Running Smoothly

Oct 17, 2019

Your water softener can become like any appliance in your home that helps create a comfortable life that gets taken for granted. You often don’t think much of it until something goes wrong. Here are some of the top tips about water softeners that you should keep in mind to ensure that your softener continues working for years to come.

Don’t Forget It After Power Outages

After the power has finally come back on after an extended power outage, there are usually several things that you must take care of around the home. Things like turning off lights or appliances that had been left on or checking to see how much of your refrigerator and freezer needs to be tossed out usually come to mind. Don’t forget to reset your water softener. Your water softener typically is set to clean and reset at night, but this cycle may be disturbed after an outage. In this case, you’ll want to reset your timer. Each softener is a bit different in the proper procedure, so check your manual in case you’re unsure of the appropriate steps.

Avoid Poor Quality Salt

It may seem like a good idea in the short-term to purchase rock salt to use inside of your water softener since it’s a cheaper option, but it can end up costing you in the long-term. Rock salt isn’t meant to be used in water softeners, and often has impurities in it that can interfere with your water softener. Over time, these impurities can cause your water softener to stop working as it should. Eventually, you may end up with an expensive repair bill or must replace your entire system.

Look for Salt Bridges

Even when using the proper salt, some issues can arise. One is a salt bridge. A salt bridge forms at a higher level inside of the brine tank. It will cause your tank to look full because of this crusty bridge, but underneath it, the salt level will be low. You’ll need to break up the crust to see the actual level in your brine tank to fill as necessary to keep your system running right.

Each of these little tasks can have a significant impact on how well your water softener performs now and into the coming years. Contact us today if your water softener is experiencing issues or needs maintenance.