3 Common Causes Of Water Softener System Problems
If you live in an area with hard water, a water softener is an essential appliance for running your household effectively. Hard water is water that has a lot of dissolved minerals, such as calcium and magnesium. While this water can taste great and is not in itself harmful to drink — the added minerals are good for the human body — it's not so good for your mechanical systems, appliances, clothing, dishes, and even your body.
Saponins and pseudo-saponins are the substances in soap-like plants and soaps that create a rich, foamy lather. When you have hard water, it discourages soaps and detergents from lathering. This creates dingy clothing when you do the laundry. Hard water leaves soap scum on the bathtub and shower curtain. It leaves your hair coated and dull and your skin dry. When you wash your dishes with hard water, they are left with spots. Hard water also causes scale buildup in your pipes, water heater, and boiler, which can mean more frequent visits from the plumber.
The majority of the United States has water that is too hard. To soften water, minerals are removed and sodium is added. Water softening systems use deionization, distillation, or reverse osmosis to combat the sodium, creating better tasting, better acting, and safer water. Water softening systems occasionally require repairs to function properly. Here are three things that can go wrong with your system.
Broken Or Inaccurate Timer
A water softening system needs to regenerate each day. If it doesn't, you will end up with hard water rather than a softer, more balanced water. To see if this is your issue, reset the regeneration timer to daily. The next evening, you should hear the system kick in. If you don't hear anything, it's time to call the water softener service company to replace the timer.
Brine Tank Is Empty
The brine tank should never be full, in fact, it is usually nearly empty. But if you aren't seeing any water during the daily regeneration process, you have a problem. This is usually the result of a broken brine tank float switch, which will need to be replaced.
Dirty Resin Bed
The water softener's resin bed is the part of the system that essentially filters the water. If you have a septic system, the filter will usually become dirty quicker. It will filter out iron, bacteria, sulfur, and other sediments from the water. When the resin bed is dirty, the water will often smell and taste of rotten eggs from the sulfur buildup. Sanitizing or replacing the resin bed will solve the problem.
For more information, contact water softener repair services.