| This document is to assist you in troubleshooting your water softener if you are experiencing problems. The most
common problem we find people have with their system is that they do not reset the clock on the softener after
either extended power outages or after repeated outages. If you read through the question and answer section below,
you may save yourself a service call.
Should the softener be able to fix my problem?
It is important to make sure the softener is able to treat the problem that is found in the water. A softener
can be used to remove iron, manganese, hardness and color (with special resins) but the water must be clear. If
the water is cloudy a softener will not work. Softeners will not remove hydrogen sulfide(egg odor). On the other
hand the, the odor may be the result of a contaminated pre-filter or resin that can be cleaned simply by adding
a 1/4 cup of household bleach to the pre-filter and pressing manual regeneration on the softener.
Is the clock set to the right time of day and is the a.m./ p.m. setting correct?
The clock should read the current time. If the clock is not set to the current time, the system may be back-washing
while you are using water. Most softeners will by-pass raw water while they are regenerating. If you have a hot
water tank and you use water during the softeners regeneration, the tank will be filled with untreated water. If
the hot water tank gets filled with untreated water, it will take a few days for it get flushed out.
Is the unit plugged in to a live circuit that is not on a switch?
Although this seems obvious, it may not be. The unit could have been installed on a switched circuit or the
circuit may be shared with something else that may have either tripped the breaker or ground fault. Any easy test
is to watch the clock to see if it continues to keep accurate time. If more immediate results are required simply
plug in a radio that can be heard while the breakers and or switches are turned on and off to see what controls
the circuit.
Is there salt in the brine tank?
If there is less than 12" of salt in the bottom of the brine tank, the system may not be getting enough
salt during regeneration.
Are all the valves in the service position?
All the valves must be in the service position. If there has been work done on the
plumbing in the house, the by-pass valve(s) may not have been left in the proper position. Also, if the system
has been by-passed to water lawns, the by-pass valve(s) may not have been returned to
the service position.
Do you have to add salt periodically so that you know the unit is using salt?
If the system is not using salt, it can not be treating the water. The salt is what is used to regenerate the
bed to make it able to remove the dissolved materials from the water. If the system has not used any salt, try
rapping the side of the brine tank or the top of the salt pile to see if it settles. If the salt settles the salt
may have "bridged"1 and not allowed the system to use salt.
If the system is metered, is the meter working?
Usually electronically metered systems have a light that flashes during water usage. If running water does not
make the light flash, the system will not know when to regenerate. If the system has a mechanical meter, you will
need to observe the reading one day and then check it the next to be sure it is operating. The meter should show
a lower number of gallons remaining on the second day.
1. Under some conditions the salt will fuse together in a solid block. The block will prevent
the salt from settling into the water at the bottom of the brine tank. The fusing is called "bridging".
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