Education on Water Softeners

Morning and happy Monday if that is such a thing.  I’m more keen about Friday’s and/or days where it’s closer to a break or a holiday. 

Anyway I got to thinking about the Water Softener Battle.  I feel the need to explain a bit more.  Originally I thought that there shouldn’t be any water in the salt tank but obviously I was wrong.  What I had when this started was gallons upon gallons of water, which is NOT normal.  What I’ve learned in this process is that there should be some water at the bottom of the salt tank but it should be minimal and not Gallons upon Gallons.  I had a mush of salt & water (aka Brine) and with time that hardened and became a little like concrete.  It needed to be broken up and removed.  The best way to do this is with a broom handle and a shop vac.  It’s heavy so I should have probably had another person with me but that wasn’t an option.  Once I got the salt tank cleaned out that was 1/2 of the battle.  I spotted a leak in one of the hoses connected to the main water inlet.  That was the hardest part to fix because finding it locally was impossible.  I didn’t know what size fittings I was dealing with and when I came across that plumber a few weeks ago he told me what I needed.  Then it was on to Amazon where I found what I needed.  I got 2 one for hot and 1 for cold.  Glad I did this because when I fixed one the other started leaking.  Next came the test of the system and I still had way too much water.  That’s when I started pulling things apart and inspecting as well as doing some minor cleaning to make sure holes that water flows through as well as filters were not clogged.  Then I determined the brine pump was defective and the real culprit in all of this.  I ordered a replacement on Amazon.  Turns out the replacement part is about an inch shorter and part of the bottom support broke in transit but nevertheless the part works.  After a couple of recharges and taking the time to look up how a water softener actually works is when I learned that you need some water (not gallons upon gallons) in the salt tank.  I sucked out the water that was there, added salt and started one last recharge cycle.  Put the cover back on and I’ve peeked at it a couple times and all appears well. 

I also learned that most water softeners last about 8 years and they aren’t horribly complicated to work on but they do look intimidating.  The best place for parts is Amazon unless you happen to have a local mom/pop hardware store that stocks parts.  I could damn near rebuild the entire softener minus the tanks all from Amazon, which is kind of interesting.  However if your in way too deep it’s sometimes easier to just rip the old one out and replace it.  They all mostly work with the same type of plumbing setup up so if you have one, getting a replacement and installing it should be straightforward.  The hard part is muscling the old one out and getting the new one in. 

I know way more now than when I started and having that knowledge up front instead of learning the hard way would have been more valuable but considering how I learned chances I will forget it are slim to none.  I even downloaded the manual to my softener and have it stored on my computer incase I ever need to reference it. 

A new thing that I started doing back when I got a new Washing Machine is labeling new stuff.  I put the date of replacement, where I got parts and depending upon the item I may code in the price on the label.  It helps a lot because time gets away from you and details become fuzzy but with a label the date is easy to recall as well as the place of purchase  So the water heater has a label, my new UPS have labels as well as the one I replaced the battery in and the parts I put in the water softeners have labels.  I’ve had a repair person tell me that it was a good idea.  I’ve got a Dymo label printer and it’s used to address letters or packages but I don’t send nearly what I used to and figure the labels need to be used. 

I feel a little bit prouder of my accomplishment but still not the overwhelming sense of satisfaction I was hoping to get.  That’s mostly due to the fact that this took about a month, a bunch of time and a bit more money than I wanted.  However, I could have called a plumber and had them fix it probably in a few days but then I would have really sunk in the money. 

Another behavior that I am changing is that I used to fill the salt tank full of salt, it’s cheap and one less thing to think about.  However, I am keeping the salt level low so I can monitor if the water issue should come back.  It shouldn’t because the brine pump was replaced but with time salt builds up and things stick.  They need to be cleaned to get the gunk off. I’ve got 1 45 pound bag of salt in and I will probably pick up another but it will be kept as a spare and then I will swap out as needed.  Back when there were 2 of us and we each took way more showers and commuted to work the water usage was a ton.  As a single person who goes into work maybe 1 day a week and doesn’t take a shower every day the water usage here is minimal and that one bag of salt should last me easily 6 months to a year if not slightly longer.  I would fill it up but then if a problem arises with water levels I won’t know it until it’s far too late and emptying out salt mixed with water is something I never want to do again.  I damn near gave myself a heart attack and it took forever to recover from. 

There you have it everything and more that you probably didn’t want to know about a Water Softener.  We’ve always had Kenmore Softeners they work well.  If I had to replace it I would want another Kenmore but realize given that was a Sears brand it might not be available.  Kenmore designs are all in 1 units.  Where as other manufacturers have a 2 piece setup where you have 1 tank with the resin and the computer that runs it and attached is a salt storage tank.  I don’t have a lot of room and a 1 piece all in 1 setup fits quite nicely and frankly looks better, not that anyone will see it on a regular basis. 

Thanks for stopping by.