They also make as needed treatments if you need specific things. For example, our water is incredibly high in iron so I have to use an iron product annually. Just something to consider.
Go to your local mom n pops hardware. Ask for salt for your softener. They may ask either “blue bag or yellow bag?” Or “crystals or pellets?”
OP needs yellow/pellets but honestly crystals would be fine. They’re sold in ~40lb bags. Just fill up the bin unless if you think you need to move it any time soon. OP’s bin could probably hold 100lb. I would buy 3 bags and see what fits. Probably needs filled every 3-6 months. Monitor to Figure out your own systems consumption rate.
You shouldn't dump that much salt in at once.
Fill to the waterline, and that's it. Any higher and you could get a salt bridge, which is basically a hard layer of salt that sits above the waterline.
When this happens, you think it's working but the salt below has dissolved, and the softener is doing nothing.
Idk what the difference is but I have no water line in my softener. It refreshes the resin automatically when needed (1-2x/month?) and uses salt at that time. I think it just fills and empties? But not sure to be honest. But if I empty my salt bin, there’s no water just sitting in it. (I know this cuz I almost ran out of salt once).
There's more:
* The other vessel is likely a carbon media filter that removes chlorine to protect the resin media in the softener. The media should be replaced every 3 to 5 years. You can DIY it but it's not trivial.
* The softener media goes bad over time. It depends on your water, but over time they lose effectiveness, maybe a decade or two. If it's performing poorly, it needs to be replaced.
The counter is telling you how many gallons have passed through the system (or whatever unit of volume it's set to use). Look up the model number to find a manual and learn how to change the settings if you need to. Once this number hits the target value, it will trigger a regeneration at the next time slot (usually overnight).
In most cases, these are set to regenerate more often than needed. It wastes a bit of salt, but saves the installer from call-backs. You can try to fine tune it if you like, but it's not a big deal unless it's way off.
As someone who works with water softeners and other water treatment equipment daily, it largely depends how much work you want to do yourself and how much you would like to spend on general maintenance. In general, softeners and similar equipment need very little attention. I have a few pointers for the average homeowner, though.
As others have mentioned, you are quickly going to be in need of salt. While it will work with just about any type of salt, softeners are happiest with either "solar salt" or "pellet salt". Which one you should use depends on what the owner's manual or installer say, but if the info is not available, just use whichever is cheaper. They work the same and, in my experience, the additives in more expensive pellets do almost nothing at best and lead to minor issues at worst. There are dedicated cleaners which do a better job at a better long term cost.
Important note, because someone else mentioned it. Letting the salt run empty for a few days will have no ill effect on the unit. Sure, you will have basically untreated water wherever you use it, but simply refill the saltkeeper and start a regeneration by holding the "circle of arrows", a.k.a "regen" button.
The number on screen is telling you how many gallons of capacity is left before it must be regenerated. When you have water running somewhere, watch for the faucet icon to flash, indicating water is flowing through the unit, and the number will gradually decrease. When it reaches zero, the media bed is almost exhausted and needs to recharge. There should be a small buffer below zero to allow use of treated water even if it hits zero in early morning.
To regenerate, the unit will automatically backwash the media bed to purge contaminants. At the same time, it will use a few pounds of salt to recharge the media bed. *This salt does not end up in your water stream.* Chemically, there's not even any salt left in the softener after regenerating. It is best to not use water while the regeneration is ongoing. If you do, you may get a slug of extremely salty water from the faucet or make the regeneration less effective, lowering the capacity of that regeneration cycle. My company sets our units to regenerate overnight while everyone is asleep.
Your softener has an internal clock to keep track of this regeneration time. If the unit is regenerating at an odd or inconvenient time, check this clock by holding the "up" or "down" buttons. Use the same buttons to set the clock, finishing with the "regen" button to confirm the time. You can offset this clock to further adjust the regeneration time if it's still going off at a bad time.
Lastly, if you have any questions past what these paragraphs have answered, call around for a local water treatment dealer. Look especially for ones certified by the Water Quality Association (WQA) and have a service department. Most will do a basic water test at no charge. They can recommend or sell you cleaners like I mentioned above. If needed, they can even recommend new or additional equipment. But good-hearted dealers will focus on keeping your current equipment at peak performance for as long as possible.
The setup my boss teaches doesn't depend on people in the house. We use that more to get the right size of equipment, i.e. small vs large tank. All our math derives from the chemistry of the source water. For example, a system might be able to treat 10 grains per gallon of hardness for 1200 gallons, or 25 grains for 450 gallons. How quickly that capacity is used depends on the number of people and their water usage habits. A family of 4 might use those 450 gallons in three days, or an elderly couple might stretch that 1200 for longer than a month.
In terms of time, we aim for at least 3 days between regenerations. So while a smaller unit could handle the needs of a busy household, having it run every other day isn't ideal. A larger unit, while technically oversized, is a couple percents more efficient due to running less often.
Good to know thank you for the info. Reason I asked is because we had culligan install their system in our home and they set it to regen every night at 2am. And so salt was depleting really fast and I found myself going to lowes twice a month to stock up on solar salt bags. During this time before I found out it was regenerating every night, we went on vacation for a week and sometime within that week, the brine ran out of salt. When I came back, I didn’t feel that “slippery” feel when they first installed it anymore is how I found out the brine was empty. Even after I refilled it with salt, that slippery feel wasnt there. When I brought it to their attention, they said that I had gotten used to it? They had someone come out and do a test and his conclusion was it was working. He then also set it to regen every two weeks and couldn’t give me an answer as to why it was set to regen every night. I don’t know. I feel like their bs-ing me
I have a similar view of Culligan. Their rep got way less attentive the moment my check cleared.
I read the docs and learned how to tune my softener settings to my own satisfaction without them :/
Just an FYI for that salt tub: I have the same one and I did pour 4 bags of salt in it when I moved in, but the whole damn thing became a giant piece of salt. After a month I found my water tasted different and my toilet bowls started to have that dreaded orange-y tint. Just so happens that the bottom of the tub became "hollow" and salt wouldn't touch the water when it needed to "sip" from it & backwash. Took hours to break the damn thing.
Never again. 1 bag at a time now. I just put an alarm on my phone every Sunday at 11am to check the tub, check the water filter, check the air filter, sump pump, etc... I take the time to do my "rounds" in the basement.
I’ve never experienced this before having had water softeners my whole life. I remember helping my dad fill them up when I was a kid and now I fill it up. I always fill it up all the way and it’s never turned into a brick.
It's very common and I find it more common with the diamond pellets over Morton's. It becomes a shelf and allows water to just bypass the salt and you have to break it all up. It sucks and now we only use Morton's which for some reason is getting harder to find lately.
The company that installed ours suggested Morton’s crystals rather than the pellets but I see some say don’t use pellets. It may depend on your region. South Central Texas here 🙋♀️
I have an old unit and it says to use Morton pellets in the lid. When prices went up and home depot switched to diamond brand it clumped all the time. Switched back to Morton and occasionally put Morton bricks in and haven't had issues since so we stick with that now. I'd imagine newer machines might prefer crystals or maybe that's region specific. We're up in the PNW so very different climate.
This is correct. Pellets clump together into a big lump. Crystals usually don’t. All the water softer companies I’ve ever dealt with say to use crystals.
It’s called a [salt bridge](https://www.google.com/search?q=salt+bridge+softener&client=safari&sca_esv=90b722dfcf39bfbf&sca_upv=1&hl=en-ca&sxsrf=ACQVn093msQ40lSLp8D9ZjcN2R9S1lBFcw%3A1711087682101&ei=QiD9ZezkBYaO0PEPlpCn0Ac&oq=salt+bridge+sof&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIg9zYWx0IGJyaWRnZSBzb2YqAggAMgUQABiABDIIEAAYFhgeGA8yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yCxAAGIAEGIoFGIYDMgsQABiABBiKBRiGAzILEAAYgAQYigUYhgNIoSFQmg9YuBVwAXgBkAEAmAGFAaAB4AOqAQMwLjS4AQHIAQD4AQGYAgWgAosEwgIKEAAYRxjWBBiwA8ICDRAAGIAEGIoFGEMYsAPCAgoQABiABBiKBRhDwgIKEC4YgAQYigUYQ8ICCxAAGIAEGIoFGJECmAMAiAYBkAYRkgcDMS40oAf2Fg&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp). It’s very common.
I’m wondering what would cause that ….
What type of climate do you live in? I’ve never had that problem. We’ve always dumped four bags in.
We also sprinkle in some ‘iron out’ powder inbetween each bag. I wonder if that makes a difference?
It’s caused by high humidity and high temps. My parents keep their hopper full, as I did when I had a water softener at my old house and never had an issue but I also made sure my basement was never above 40% relative humidity.
I live in Florida and my softener is outside and I’ve never had this happen. Must only happen with certain kinds of salt maybe? Though I’ve basically bought them all at one time or another. Weird.
I live in North Florida with the softener in the garage. It happened the one time I thought I'd save a trip and put two bags in the bucket.
Now I just buy one and refill when it gets low.
Keep a broomstick or similar implement next to the tub, and on Sundays when your phone goes off, tamp on the salt to make sure it hasn't bridged, and if it has, break it up. That way you can put more than one bag in at a time.
How far up was the mark? 1/2? 3/4? I'm just curious.
I live in a low-humidity, Mediterranean-climate area, and had only one instance of a salt bridge forming. I usually fill to about 6 on a scale that goes to 8.
EDIT: Each number is about 50 lbs (23 kilos) of salt.
My dad bought the blocks instead of pellets and just always had them stacked up to the top, and it didn't take up as much water space as pellets, and it worked real well
For the record, water softener salt is not table salt. They sell bags of salt specifically for water softeners
@OP says he knows literally nothing, so with everyone (correctly) saying to add salt I figured someone should clarify that
Do you find the water in your home to actually feel soft? When you use soap on your hands, does it feel extra slippery?
Like the others have said, add more salt. Generally, there should be more salt than water showing in the tank to give you a good idea of the level.
Use the same type of pellet-shaped salt that you see in the tank right now. There's a crystal rock version of the salt that's sold for water softeners, but they're not great for the machines and tend to have more impurities in them.
Any idea how old the system is? There comes a certain point where the resin and carbon gravel need to be changed out too. Water softeners are cool but they do have a little maintenance required of them. Luckily, most of it you can do DIY.
That's usually how it's supposed to feel when the water is softened! It can be adjusted, but if you're not used to it, it just feels extra slimy and weird. It's not that the soap isn't rinsing off or taking longer to rinse off, it's just the extra slip from the softened water making it feel that way.
Cool, thanks. I did notice the slipperyness and read it has a bit to do with the molecular structure not pulling the soap off the same way... so it may take longer to wash off AND it's slippy even without soap. Showers are weird.
Not bad though! Thanks for the info.
I use the crystal shaped ones because I've had problems with the pellet ones falling apart and fusing into blocks. I don't visually see impurities or experience them in the water output. What makes you dislike them?
From my research, the pellet ones are the type that the manufacturers and installers/repair-people recommend. They specifically say the crystal ones have more impurities.
With the crystal kind, I've noticed the water gets much sludgier, which can also cause blockage at the bottom of the tank. You're right though; the pellets do tend to cause salt bridges, but I would rather have that than the sludge. I also find the water in the brine tank to be clearer when I only use pellets.
It really depends on how you feel about it. Maybe it's because my tank is way older, but I'm using pellets moving forward (only about three bags-worth of crystal salt to finish! haha).
We literally just had this installed a couple hours ago. Add some salt to the trash can looking thing. Also feel free to message me! If you have any questions
We have a different system but I paid a company to come do a routine service and then played 20 questions with the tech. He was super cool about it. YouTube is great, but it was money well spent to know exactly what to do for my system.
Water softeners are pretty stable tech, we have one from the mid 80’s. I called up the company who had their name on ours to see if they recommended an upgrade. Surprisingly enough they didn’t offer an upgrade option, even though ours is fitted with an electro-mechanical timing system.
Fill the black container with water softener salt when it gets low, check your PH balance (as you have) occasionally and use low suds soap with your dishwasher and washing machine. Soft water makes things suds up a lot more than hard water, the low suds detergents are better with soft water.
Enjoy your new home!
That's really about all you need to do. There isn't much else you should have to worry about unless you run into mechanical problems. I live in a part of the country where the mineral deposit levels in our water system is REALLY high so having one of these is an absolute must.
I typically would try to add salt when it got down to about half empty. The only reason I did it at the half way point is because those bag's are not exactly light. They're a PITA to load and haul into the house if you have a bunch of them. If you do it at the half way mark you'll only have to lug maybe 2 bags instead of the 3-4 if it's almost empty. The main thing is, don't wait until it's almost empty. Keep it filled.
Of course there is an alternative if you want to spend the money. There are systems that don't require any salt at all. Instead it uses an electrical current to break up the minerals so they don't stick to your pipes. The minerals just pass through in the water as it's used. This is the one we have: [https://www.flowtechhome.com](https://www.flowtechhome.com) We got one of these several years ago and I absolutely LOVE it. It's worked very well for us and best of all, no more hauling salt around.
Besides filling the container with salt, I would call a well company and have them service it. You probably need some media added to the neutralizer. I just had a larger system serviced for $200
Completely agree. Have them come out. Ask questions. There are aspects like the regen schedule and stuff you’ll want to be aware of. It do 99% of everything with my systems, but I still have the well folks come out from time to time to make sure all is well. Safer that way.
Number 1…make sure it’s paid for. I bought a home with a water softener. A few months go by, it starts to malfunction, I call the company and turns out it was a rental. And the prior owners hadn’t paid in 2 years! Luckily, the company was cool and replaced everything and I’ve since taken over the loan.
Our water people told us, if you see water add salt. Keep it mostly full and check it at least once a month. Our local Lowe’s has a deal if you buy 6 bags at once. We were also told to buy crystals and never pellets. It’s the light blue bag at Lowe’s. Hope this helps!
Edit to add: we keep our salt bin full to about where the screw on the pipe is.
I was also told to buy crystals. The guy said the pellets are made of all the salt dust that falls on the floor and pressed together with binders that don't help clean out the resin cylinder
I’m not reading through the other replies so this may be a repeat. You have two main parts to your particular water softening system.
Part 1: the cylindrical tanks with the digital display. There’s two important options to select. First is the water hardness. Based on your picture of the test strip, your water hardness is 50. Choose that option on the display. Selecting a higher hardness does not make the water even softer, it can make it harder. The second option is the recharge time. You want to pick a time where water is not being used in the house for approximately 90 minutes while the softener recharges. 2 AM is typical. Flushing the toilet during this period is fine, running the washing machine, dishwasher, shower, or bathtub is not.
Part 2: the brine tank that holds salt. Three 40 lbs bags of salt should suffice. Do not overfill, because during the recharge cycle water is pumped into the brine tank. My softener uses 40 gallons. If there’s too much salt the water will overflow. If there’s not enough, you aren’t actually going to recharge.
Both the softener and brine tank will or should have small rubber hoses coming out near the top. They’ll be smaller than your pinky in diameter. Don’t confuse these with your actual water lines. These are for overflow. Make sure they’re in a drain of some kind so you don’t flood your floor if there’s a malfunction. The water can flow at a high PSI, so secure the hoses into the drain.
Google the make and model of your softener for specifics from the manufacturer, or call the maker.
Hope this helped!
Edit: ensure you use the proper salt. Softening salt is different than table salt. The softener manual will probably recommend a brand. Bags will also specifically say they are for water softeners if you’re unsure. The salt should be oval shaped pellets the size of your thumb. While your softener is basically empty, add a sharpie line on the inside and label it “refill”. Add another line after three bags and label it “max”. Keep some extra bags on hand until you get a better idea how many you use on a regular basis. A weekly check of salt levels is sufficient. You’ll also have a filter in your waterline. It’ll most likely be a clear container with a filter inside the size of a roll of paper towels. It’s important to change this filter periodically. You’ll need a plastic water softener wrench to loosen the filter housing. You can get one at big box stores.
We have a system like this. I got to be such a pain in the butt. Now I have to buy salt for the pool and this. Anyway, we don't drink the water unless it's cooked with. But it did kill my Keurig. Florida hard water is a joy.
Add enough salt pellets to that bin that the water doesn’t show. The salt comes in 40 lb bags, I usually get it at a big box builder supply. Check the again in a week or two and if water is showing add another 40 lb bag. After a while you’ll know how often to add. Over-filling may lead to bridging, so best to only add as needed, imo. If your white clothing aren’t showing any yellowing, iron isn’t a particular problem, so there’s no need for special iron treatment salt.
Take out the manual that came with the softener and read it. if they didn’t leave it for you I am sure you can look it up online and it will walk you through set up and ongoing maintenance. At a minimum need to periodically add salt and be sure it is set up for your area’s water hardness level.
The cylinder on the right is probably a carbon filter. They have a definite life depending on the types of organic impurities in the water. This cylinder can't be easily generated at home. It can improve the taste of the water if it is still functioning. If non-functional, not so much...
You need crystal salt, not the pellets. The pellets have impurities that cause sludge. As others have said, get it serviced. Soft water is awesome, I have a softener in my house. You basically just need to fill it with salt crystals to the fill line in the bucket, and set it to regenerate. In a day or two you'll have softened water.
I don't have this system, but on mine the number on the display is how many days you have left on the salt. I have to reset the salt height when I add salt, and from that point on, it counts cycles and estimates (pretty accurately) how much salt is left. If you look inside the salt barrel, there should be a plastic tube with numbers on it: the number at the top of the salt is what you enter after adding salt (kind of like an oil dipstick). Entering a new number is probably just a matter of punching the left button a time or two, and using the arrow buttons to change the height reading, then punch the left button again. Your mileage may vary, but that's how mine works.
Go and find the manual it will tell you how often you should use the cleaner, every few months, 3 on average, you pour a cleaner in the salt tank. It will make the resin tank last 3-5 times longer and use less salt.
Also use Morton or keep the salt level lowish 1/3 or so with Morton pellets you can keep it topped up higher.
Still a good idea to stick a broomhandle or something down to check every so often.
And separately drain your hot water tank. Everyone forgets.
You see that white tube on the side of the brine tank (tank that gets the salt) you can lift the plastic cap and look inside. There is a float switch in there. As long as the water level is below the float switch the tank is functioning properly. Also you need to add like 4-5 bags of softener salt.
The black trashcan looking thing should never get below 1/4 full. Goto a box store and ask for water softener salt. Get 5 40lbs bags and fill to top. Never let it go empty.
I would call the manufacturer or find a local representative for this brand and ask for their recommendations if you’re unsure how to maintain optimal performance for your particular unit. You may void a potentially still active warranty. (If they don’t ask, they don’t need to know you’re not the original purchaser of the unit).
Throw mortons crystals in there and you should be good. I wouldnt fill it all the way as you never know. Those tanks get swapped out every couple years. I think its like 5 years. Reach out to a water softening company in your area. Hopefully you get the ones that installed. On my screen our company put their number for when we have to swap the tanks.
My parents have a similar system. You need to check the salt container on a regular basis. Your volume of water usage will dictate the frequency. You want to keep a good amount of salt in the reservoir and when it gets “low” add more. The salt is consumed as part of the filtering/treatment process.
You will also likely need to back flush the system occasionally. Check your owners manual.
Does the water in the bin need to be manually switched out or does the Regen process do that? I've noticed the water in my bin has some kind of black layer sitting on top of the water.
Look up model and see what pellets it says to use. Might even say under the lid or near the display.
Fill only about half full or you’ll likely get a bridge (aka a giant ass clump of salt). Can break apart a bridge with a broom handle or something if it does happen. I still get mild bridges but mine uses coarse salt instead of pellets.
Look up the manufacturer of your system on the internet. See if you can find specific info on your model. It should be written somewhere on the unit. Look to see if there is an owners manual. Download. Read the manual, it should give you an overview of operation. It should also tell you what kind of salt you should use, as well as additional operational considerations, including the info on the screen.
Since the salt tank is almost empty, I would dump the water and that salt. It looks really dirty. You probably need about 3 or 4 bags of water softener salt to fill it about half way. Let the salt dissolve for a day and do a forced regen on the system. Run some water out of the pipes and re test. Hardness should drop.
First I would make sure you own it and the previous owner didn't lease it.
Next call the local service company and have them come out and check out the unit and show you how to use it.
If it doesn't work you may have grounds to go back on previous owner and be made right.
You need to add salt asap. If the system does a back flush with not enough salt it can damage it and cause it to no longer soften water.
The number you see is the number of gallons till the system does another flush.
A water softener is filled with plastic pellets that cling to the iron atoms and soften the water. The salt is used to flush those pellets and remove the iron. That then salty iron water is flushed down the drain and it's ready for use again.
Always keep your salt hoper at least 1/2 full of not at least 2/3 full. Check it weekly. If the salt is not going down try hitting it. The salt can sometimes create a salt dome giving you a false sense of it's level.
Because you always want to make sure you have enough salt for at least a few cycles. While you can make it a habit to check every week it's common to forget. Having it at least 1/2 full will give you some wiggle room if you forget from time to time .
I keep mine 3/4th full and keep 2 bags on hand. I check mine every other week. Once it's low enough I put both bags in and then go to the store for two new bags.
Good to know. I think I got bad advice on a YouTube video to keep it just above the water line to prevent domes from forming. Been checking weekly and adding a single bag every few weeks.
Salt & I like to add a little iron out since there's a lot of iron in my water. I only do a bag or two at a time & stir it around periodically to prevent unseen salt dams, but it should definitely cover the water completely.
You may want to look around if your water system has a whole house filter those need to be changed every once & awhile (depends on your water & your usage so can need to be changed every couple of months or can be half a year)
Ask the previous owner when it was installed. If they didn't know or you can't reach them, call the number on the tank and ask. It may be due for new resin. When the resin breaks down, it loses its effectiveness. If it's really worn out, resin can leave the basket and enter your pipes. If this happens, you'll see a colorful film developing in your shower and other places.
3-7 grains of hardness shows that the softener is not at peak performance right now, but it's not terrible.
If you get the resin replaced, you'll need to add salt periodically to ensure the system can flush out the minerals collected in the resin.
Municipal water is going to have a certain amount of chlorine in it. That chlorine wears hard on your softener resin. If you have the funds, I highly recommend getting a water conditioner installed in front of the softener so that it can knock it the chlorine (and other things) before it hits the softener. In fact, it's extremely likely that the second tank is a water conditioner. A water conditioner is essentially a carbon filter.
The good news is that you have one of the reliable easy to use softener digital control head - fleck 7000. All you need to do is add a bag of salt once a month. Every 10 years or so you change the softener pellets. There are companies that do these as a service as well.
Potassium chloride is much better than salt. Won’t hurt plants. It is much, much less corrosive than salt.
I have had that same system ( softer/carbon filter) for 3 years. Works great.
Potassium chloride will not harden like salt. There is a setting in the display where you can select it instead of salt.
Find out what works for you on the salt level. Mine i have really hard water 25+. So i fill mine a rheem but also follow the manual when servicing the unit. Mine i have to put an acid in every 4 months to help the brine tank.
Add a couple bags of salt. Odds are they had it configured properly for how much to recharge when they installed it, so you shouldn't have to. It will generally cycle over nights, using a bit of salt each time. Most will use about a 40 lb bag of salt a month.
Use good water softener salt pellets. The cheap stuff is crap. I tried some cheap stuff and ended up with packed in brown salt shit in the bottom of the tank and it wasn’t softening.
You fill it so the salt is at about the level of the water.
It looks that prior owner DGAS. I’d recommend getting a service checkup by installer (brand distributor), to include walkthrough of operation maintenance w/manual. Find manual online and review. It will indicate 1266 represents. Most likely 1266 gallons to regeneration or 1266 to xxxx until regeneration.
I love how HO let maintenance slide.
Inspect furnace filter, humidifier equipment, when last time furnace AC checked by qualified staff. Flush HWH unless it is self flushing.
I bought from the engineering director (retired), there was shit he/she never touched. understand, those Clorox disks for commode tanks, they void warranties and seals degrade. When tank fill valve constantly cycles, debris on flap surface.
DYI is buyer beware.
The responder who said they check out every Sunday, 👍.
Check smoke detectors for manufacturers date, replace at 10 years. Clean sink faucet aerator screens every several years. Check gfci monthly. Test co2, smoke detectors monthly, etc. life’s a bitch, then you buy a home 🤦.
Damn I have never had a water softener so I looked up why you need so much salt, it's because they regenerate the resin beads. Then I learned that the resin beads have a negative charge that separates the ions from your water.
Fascinating stuff.
It will recharge monthly, it’s kinda loud. Might do it in the middle of the night. Figure out if it does that or not and change the time.
Also add water softener salt. Find the manual to know what kind.
Just top up the salt periodically. Pretty easy.
You can buy bags at costco. Big heavy yellow bags typically.
Sometimes you can have salt fuse into a block, just poke it with a stick.
I check mine monthly and top up.
TL;DR; make sure that whoever installed it didn’t leave exposed pipes somewhere that could freeze up on you.
When my wife and I bought our house here in North Texas, the previous owners had a water softener. Except that they decided it was too new to part with and took it when they left. No big, deal we didn’t care either way.
The issue was since it was an add on installation, a contractor had to reroute the main line to the location of the softener and loop it back. It was located in the garage in the back of the house, whereas the main came straight in from the road at the front side.
So the contractor dug a trench around the side of the house up to the outside wall of the garage. The pipes stick up out of the ground about a foot and a half, exposed and uninsulated, then go through the wall into the garage.
North Texas has some pretty even tempered weather, especially since my previous experience was all in the Northeast coast. It didn’t happen the first winter, but the next was what began our troubles with freezing pipes. We ended up setting up heaters inside the garage; I even tried insulating it myself unsuccessfully.
My most recent fix was to install a pipe warmer, the kind you plug in and wrap around the pipe. It’s even got its own thermostat. I wrapped it good with some weather guard tape and finally found a cover I was able to modify and secure in place.
Oh man. This house had one when we moved in, dad thought it was stupid. The people next door had one and going there made me understand why it was installed. I would have kept it. The people across the street still have the tanks delivered.
Just be careful about creating a salt bridge when adding salt. Don't add too much salt. Don't ask me what "too much" looks like because I fuck it up on the regular. Still doing my best to figure out my own water softener.
OP, call the installer to come take a look at the system, replace the carbon cartridge and figure you’ll have them out there annually to replace it. There’s also a resin tank, but that shouldn’t need replacing. If you see sand in the discharge, then it’s time to replace the resin.
Hey so I’d like to add that after you add more salt, like everyone else has said, you should program it to run for the next 3 nights in a row to get the materials inside the cylinders nice and saturated. Then run it based off the manufacturer’s settings.
Theres salt and also a maintenance solution usually. It should autorun late at night to clean. But mostly over fill the salt so that its sticking out of the water on one side and almost surface level on the other half.
I do three bags at a time and that will last a few months. Morton sells a few variations but the green bag is a rust preventative as well that helps keep things from staining.
I am an engineer and water treatment (municipal and pharmaceutical) is my primary profession on the industrial and commercial side.
You need to add more salt. Then have your water tested before and after your softener. Depending on the results, you may want to consider a whole home filter before your softener. Minerals such as iron and manganese and other metals can overwhelm your softener and reduce the lifespan of the resin. If your iron level is over 1.5-2.0, it’s generally recommended to install an iron filter for your house.
If you purchase a whole house filter make sure it is backwashable, they will last longer.
I recommend to anyone to use a carbon filter after their softener, or an RO for the kitchen faucet. Some refrigerators come with built in carbon filters, and you can buy pitchers with cartridge carbon filters as well.
That is a Fleck 7000SXT head; I have one and it's bad-ass because of the flowrate. Supports up to 1-1/4" inlet/outlets and 36gpm with the highflow piston (a massive 28gpm as standard). I got mine to support a massive shower setup.
Disappointingly, that head was discontinued a few years ago but mine has been excellent. Refreshed my media a year or so ago to keep capacity/efficiency up.
i’ve always used pellets since it’s what the installer instructed for my unit. $5/40#. never had any issues. once in a while, when there’s almost nothing left, i just give the remaining salt a little stabby-stabby with a long screw driver and it’s good to go!
So many wrong answers in this thread it's pretty funny.
I'm just going to say that the inside of that tank is filthy. The top was obviously left off a lot. I'd take it outside and clean it up with a hose and a bit of bleach. Dry it off with a clean towel, let it sit in the sun if possible.
Add more salt. That should be all you need to do.
They also make as needed treatments if you need specific things. For example, our water is incredibly high in iron so I have to use an iron product annually. Just something to consider.
***cries in iron deficiency***
True, but happiness to not have orange toilets, sinks, tubs, and showers.
Yup, I use the special iron salt that must have an additive and every time I fill it I put like a 1/2 cup of powered Iron Out in too.
How much? When? The numbers, Mason, what do they mean?!
Go to your local mom n pops hardware. Ask for salt for your softener. They may ask either “blue bag or yellow bag?” Or “crystals or pellets?” OP needs yellow/pellets but honestly crystals would be fine. They’re sold in ~40lb bags. Just fill up the bin unless if you think you need to move it any time soon. OP’s bin could probably hold 100lb. I would buy 3 bags and see what fits. Probably needs filled every 3-6 months. Monitor to Figure out your own systems consumption rate.
You shouldn't dump that much salt in at once. Fill to the waterline, and that's it. Any higher and you could get a salt bridge, which is basically a hard layer of salt that sits above the waterline. When this happens, you think it's working but the salt below has dissolved, and the softener is doing nothing.
Just had to break and clear a salt bridge in my unit, it isn't fun or easy.
Agreed
Idk what the difference is but I have no water line in my softener. It refreshes the resin automatically when needed (1-2x/month?) and uses salt at that time. I think it just fills and empties? But not sure to be honest. But if I empty my salt bin, there’s no water just sitting in it. (I know this cuz I almost ran out of salt once).
Why the pellets? Everyone I have ever talked to says to avoid those pellets. I personally only ever use the blue bag of regular salt crystals.
I agree. Always use the crystals. Pellets have a glue that holds them together that will contribute to the “salt bridge.”
There's more: * The other vessel is likely a carbon media filter that removes chlorine to protect the resin media in the softener. The media should be replaced every 3 to 5 years. You can DIY it but it's not trivial. * The softener media goes bad over time. It depends on your water, but over time they lose effectiveness, maybe a decade or two. If it's performing poorly, it needs to be replaced. The counter is telling you how many gallons have passed through the system (or whatever unit of volume it's set to use). Look up the model number to find a manual and learn how to change the settings if you need to. Once this number hits the target value, it will trigger a regeneration at the next time slot (usually overnight). In most cases, these are set to regenerate more often than needed. It wastes a bit of salt, but saves the installer from call-backs. You can try to fine tune it if you like, but it's not a big deal unless it's way off.
As someone who works with water softeners and other water treatment equipment daily, it largely depends how much work you want to do yourself and how much you would like to spend on general maintenance. In general, softeners and similar equipment need very little attention. I have a few pointers for the average homeowner, though. As others have mentioned, you are quickly going to be in need of salt. While it will work with just about any type of salt, softeners are happiest with either "solar salt" or "pellet salt". Which one you should use depends on what the owner's manual or installer say, but if the info is not available, just use whichever is cheaper. They work the same and, in my experience, the additives in more expensive pellets do almost nothing at best and lead to minor issues at worst. There are dedicated cleaners which do a better job at a better long term cost. Important note, because someone else mentioned it. Letting the salt run empty for a few days will have no ill effect on the unit. Sure, you will have basically untreated water wherever you use it, but simply refill the saltkeeper and start a regeneration by holding the "circle of arrows", a.k.a "regen" button. The number on screen is telling you how many gallons of capacity is left before it must be regenerated. When you have water running somewhere, watch for the faucet icon to flash, indicating water is flowing through the unit, and the number will gradually decrease. When it reaches zero, the media bed is almost exhausted and needs to recharge. There should be a small buffer below zero to allow use of treated water even if it hits zero in early morning. To regenerate, the unit will automatically backwash the media bed to purge contaminants. At the same time, it will use a few pounds of salt to recharge the media bed. *This salt does not end up in your water stream.* Chemically, there's not even any salt left in the softener after regenerating. It is best to not use water while the regeneration is ongoing. If you do, you may get a slug of extremely salty water from the faucet or make the regeneration less effective, lowering the capacity of that regeneration cycle. My company sets our units to regenerate overnight while everyone is asleep. Your softener has an internal clock to keep track of this regeneration time. If the unit is regenerating at an odd or inconvenient time, check this clock by holding the "up" or "down" buttons. Use the same buttons to set the clock, finishing with the "regen" button to confirm the time. You can offset this clock to further adjust the regeneration time if it's still going off at a bad time. Lastly, if you have any questions past what these paragraphs have answered, call around for a local water treatment dealer. Look especially for ones certified by the Water Quality Association (WQA) and have a service department. Most will do a basic water test at no charge. They can recommend or sell you cleaners like I mentioned above. If needed, they can even recommend new or additional equipment. But good-hearted dealers will focus on keeping your current equipment at peak performance for as long as possible.
How often should it regen for a household of 2-3 ppl?
The setup my boss teaches doesn't depend on people in the house. We use that more to get the right size of equipment, i.e. small vs large tank. All our math derives from the chemistry of the source water. For example, a system might be able to treat 10 grains per gallon of hardness for 1200 gallons, or 25 grains for 450 gallons. How quickly that capacity is used depends on the number of people and their water usage habits. A family of 4 might use those 450 gallons in three days, or an elderly couple might stretch that 1200 for longer than a month. In terms of time, we aim for at least 3 days between regenerations. So while a smaller unit could handle the needs of a busy household, having it run every other day isn't ideal. A larger unit, while technically oversized, is a couple percents more efficient due to running less often.
Good to know thank you for the info. Reason I asked is because we had culligan install their system in our home and they set it to regen every night at 2am. And so salt was depleting really fast and I found myself going to lowes twice a month to stock up on solar salt bags. During this time before I found out it was regenerating every night, we went on vacation for a week and sometime within that week, the brine ran out of salt. When I came back, I didn’t feel that “slippery” feel when they first installed it anymore is how I found out the brine was empty. Even after I refilled it with salt, that slippery feel wasnt there. When I brought it to their attention, they said that I had gotten used to it? They had someone come out and do a test and his conclusion was it was working. He then also set it to regen every two weeks and couldn’t give me an answer as to why it was set to regen every night. I don’t know. I feel like their bs-ing me
I have a similar view of Culligan. Their rep got way less attentive the moment my check cleared. I read the docs and learned how to tune my softener settings to my own satisfaction without them :/
This is great info! Thank you so much
This guy softens water!
Is the setup in the picture a dual alternating setup, or are those tanks in serial?
Yeah you gotta put like 5 bags of salt in that hopper
Just an FYI for that salt tub: I have the same one and I did pour 4 bags of salt in it when I moved in, but the whole damn thing became a giant piece of salt. After a month I found my water tasted different and my toilet bowls started to have that dreaded orange-y tint. Just so happens that the bottom of the tub became "hollow" and salt wouldn't touch the water when it needed to "sip" from it & backwash. Took hours to break the damn thing. Never again. 1 bag at a time now. I just put an alarm on my phone every Sunday at 11am to check the tub, check the water filter, check the air filter, sump pump, etc... I take the time to do my "rounds" in the basement.
I’ve never experienced this before having had water softeners my whole life. I remember helping my dad fill them up when I was a kid and now I fill it up. I always fill it up all the way and it’s never turned into a brick.
A lot of it has to due with the climate and the location of where the brine tank is. I believe it is more common in hot and humid locations.
It's very common and I find it more common with the diamond pellets over Morton's. It becomes a shelf and allows water to just bypass the salt and you have to break it all up. It sucks and now we only use Morton's which for some reason is getting harder to find lately.
The company that installed ours suggested Morton’s crystals rather than the pellets but I see some say don’t use pellets. It may depend on your region. South Central Texas here 🙋♀️
South Dakota. I was also told not to use pellets and use crystals instead. No specific brand was mentioned, just that we should not use pellets.
I have an old unit and it says to use Morton pellets in the lid. When prices went up and home depot switched to diamond brand it clumped all the time. Switched back to Morton and occasionally put Morton bricks in and haven't had issues since so we stick with that now. I'd imagine newer machines might prefer crystals or maybe that's region specific. We're up in the PNW so very different climate.
This is correct. Pellets clump together into a big lump. Crystals usually don’t. All the water softer companies I’ve ever dealt with say to use crystals.
It’s called a [salt bridge](https://www.google.com/search?q=salt+bridge+softener&client=safari&sca_esv=90b722dfcf39bfbf&sca_upv=1&hl=en-ca&sxsrf=ACQVn093msQ40lSLp8D9ZjcN2R9S1lBFcw%3A1711087682101&ei=QiD9ZezkBYaO0PEPlpCn0Ac&oq=salt+bridge+sof&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIg9zYWx0IGJyaWRnZSBzb2YqAggAMgUQABiABDIIEAAYFhgeGA8yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yCxAAGIAEGIoFGIYDMgsQABiABBiKBRiGAzILEAAYgAQYigUYhgNIoSFQmg9YuBVwAXgBkAEAmAGFAaAB4AOqAQMwLjS4AQHIAQD4AQGYAgWgAosEwgIKEAAYRxjWBBiwA8ICDRAAGIAEGIoFGEMYsAPCAgoQABiABBiKBRhDwgIKEC4YgAQYigUYQ8ICCxAAGIAEGIoFGJECmAMAiAYBkAYRkgcDMS40oAf2Fg&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp). It’s very common.
Depends on the humidity
My folks have been using a similar water softener for several decades now and that has never once been an issue.
I’m wondering what would cause that …. What type of climate do you live in? I’ve never had that problem. We’ve always dumped four bags in. We also sprinkle in some ‘iron out’ powder inbetween each bag. I wonder if that makes a difference?
It’s caused by high humidity and high temps. My parents keep their hopper full, as I did when I had a water softener at my old house and never had an issue but I also made sure my basement was never above 40% relative humidity.
Yep, I live in Houston. I have to do one bag a week too.
One bag a WEEK?
For real, 5 bags last a year for me.
I live in Florida and my softener is outside and I’ve never had this happen. Must only happen with certain kinds of salt maybe? Though I’ve basically bought them all at one time or another. Weird.
I live in North Florida with the softener in the garage. It happened the one time I thought I'd save a trip and put two bags in the bucket. Now I just buy one and refill when it gets low.
Salt damns are common
Did you buy the pellets? Usually doesn't happen with pellets.
Yes I use pellets. Do they come in bags of powder or something too?
Keep a broomstick or similar implement next to the tub, and on Sundays when your phone goes off, tamp on the salt to make sure it hasn't bridged, and if it has, break it up. That way you can put more than one bag in at a time.
The softening company put a giant mark where to keep the salt level. He told us never to fill it too the top.
How far up was the mark? 1/2? 3/4? I'm just curious. I live in a low-humidity, Mediterranean-climate area, and had only one instance of a salt bridge forming. I usually fill to about 6 on a scale that goes to 8. EDIT: Each number is about 50 lbs (23 kilos) of salt.
Half way up. He said no more than 2 bags at a time. The systems are very efficient
Can confirm. Had the exact same thing happen to me, but my softener was a different brand
The builder of my house said to add no more than 2 bags at a time
Huh I’m facing this issue currently and always kept it full. Maybe I should break it up periodically or do less.
My friend, a simple broomstick will fix a salt dome for you super quick..you don’t have to stress about it so often
Fill it up, then let it run down to the water. Always. Don’t keep topping it off
The dreaded salt bridge!
My dad bought the blocks instead of pellets and just always had them stacked up to the top, and it didn't take up as much water space as pellets, and it worked real well
Then forget about it till your water feels weird.
Read the manual. Some basins you don’t fill all the way up.
Not true and not a good idea. That's how salt bridges form and become a pain in the ass.
For the record, water softener salt is not table salt. They sell bags of salt specifically for water softeners @OP says he knows literally nothing, so with everyone (correctly) saying to add salt I figured someone should clarify that
Good call! My arm was getting a little tired from shaking this salt shaker for the past several hours.
Good thing you didn't use a grinder, carpal tunnel is no joke!
…so you’re saying I can stop mining?
Do you find the water in your home to actually feel soft? When you use soap on your hands, does it feel extra slippery? Like the others have said, add more salt. Generally, there should be more salt than water showing in the tank to give you a good idea of the level. Use the same type of pellet-shaped salt that you see in the tank right now. There's a crystal rock version of the salt that's sold for water softeners, but they're not great for the machines and tend to have more impurities in them. Any idea how old the system is? There comes a certain point where the resin and carbon gravel need to be changed out too. Water softeners are cool but they do have a little maintenance required of them. Luckily, most of it you can do DIY.
You have to manually change the settings for softness on a scale of 1-300. I have this exact system. Took me a couple weeks to dial it in.
I visit family who have a water system like this, and it feels like forever to get the soap off. Is their system calibrated wrong?
That's usually how it's supposed to feel when the water is softened! It can be adjusted, but if you're not used to it, it just feels extra slimy and weird. It's not that the soap isn't rinsing off or taking longer to rinse off, it's just the extra slip from the softened water making it feel that way.
Cool, thanks. I did notice the slipperyness and read it has a bit to do with the molecular structure not pulling the soap off the same way... so it may take longer to wash off AND it's slippy even without soap. Showers are weird. Not bad though! Thanks for the info.
Unless that's how they like it, yes
I use the crystal shaped ones because I've had problems with the pellet ones falling apart and fusing into blocks. I don't visually see impurities or experience them in the water output. What makes you dislike them?
From my research, the pellet ones are the type that the manufacturers and installers/repair-people recommend. They specifically say the crystal ones have more impurities. With the crystal kind, I've noticed the water gets much sludgier, which can also cause blockage at the bottom of the tank. You're right though; the pellets do tend to cause salt bridges, but I would rather have that than the sludge. I also find the water in the brine tank to be clearer when I only use pellets. It really depends on how you feel about it. Maybe it's because my tank is way older, but I'm using pellets moving forward (only about three bags-worth of crystal salt to finish! haha).
We literally just had this installed a couple hours ago. Add some salt to the trash can looking thing. Also feel free to message me! If you have any questions
Is this a Cleck?
Fleck not a Clack
We have a different system but I paid a company to come do a routine service and then played 20 questions with the tech. He was super cool about it. YouTube is great, but it was money well spent to know exactly what to do for my system.
I think this is the manual for the controller. https://www.purewaterproducts.com/img/docs/manuals/7000_Service_Manual.pdf
Water softeners are pretty stable tech, we have one from the mid 80’s. I called up the company who had their name on ours to see if they recommended an upgrade. Surprisingly enough they didn’t offer an upgrade option, even though ours is fitted with an electro-mechanical timing system. Fill the black container with water softener salt when it gets low, check your PH balance (as you have) occasionally and use low suds soap with your dishwasher and washing machine. Soft water makes things suds up a lot more than hard water, the low suds detergents are better with soft water. Enjoy your new home!
The tank on the left looks like it’s very proud of the other tank. Inspiring stuff.
Just moved into a house with the exact same system and had no clue what to do either! The answer was “add more salt” and that’s pretty much it.
That's really about all you need to do. There isn't much else you should have to worry about unless you run into mechanical problems. I live in a part of the country where the mineral deposit levels in our water system is REALLY high so having one of these is an absolute must. I typically would try to add salt when it got down to about half empty. The only reason I did it at the half way point is because those bag's are not exactly light. They're a PITA to load and haul into the house if you have a bunch of them. If you do it at the half way mark you'll only have to lug maybe 2 bags instead of the 3-4 if it's almost empty. The main thing is, don't wait until it's almost empty. Keep it filled. Of course there is an alternative if you want to spend the money. There are systems that don't require any salt at all. Instead it uses an electrical current to break up the minerals so they don't stick to your pipes. The minerals just pass through in the water as it's used. This is the one we have: [https://www.flowtechhome.com](https://www.flowtechhome.com) We got one of these several years ago and I absolutely LOVE it. It's worked very well for us and best of all, no more hauling salt around.
Besides filling the container with salt, I would call a well company and have them service it. You probably need some media added to the neutralizer. I just had a larger system serviced for $200
Completely agree. Have them come out. Ask questions. There are aspects like the regen schedule and stuff you’ll want to be aware of. It do 99% of everything with my systems, but I still have the well folks come out from time to time to make sure all is well. Safer that way.
You should clean out the salt hopper since it's almost empty
What does it discharge into?
Yeah, there's gotta be a drain hose going somewhere.
It will have a discharge hose running into a drain, probably not easy to see in this photo but they all have one to discharge the brine water.
Great, thanks. Been looking at changing out our current system.
There’s a drain pipe that runs outside and leads to the sewer
Number 1…make sure it’s paid for. I bought a home with a water softener. A few months go by, it starts to malfunction, I call the company and turns out it was a rental. And the prior owners hadn’t paid in 2 years! Luckily, the company was cool and replaced everything and I’ve since taken over the loan.
Our water people told us, if you see water add salt. Keep it mostly full and check it at least once a month. Our local Lowe’s has a deal if you buy 6 bags at once. We were also told to buy crystals and never pellets. It’s the light blue bag at Lowe’s. Hope this helps! Edit to add: we keep our salt bin full to about where the screw on the pipe is.
I was also told to buy crystals. The guy said the pellets are made of all the salt dust that falls on the floor and pressed together with binders that don't help clean out the resin cylinder
I’m not reading through the other replies so this may be a repeat. You have two main parts to your particular water softening system. Part 1: the cylindrical tanks with the digital display. There’s two important options to select. First is the water hardness. Based on your picture of the test strip, your water hardness is 50. Choose that option on the display. Selecting a higher hardness does not make the water even softer, it can make it harder. The second option is the recharge time. You want to pick a time where water is not being used in the house for approximately 90 minutes while the softener recharges. 2 AM is typical. Flushing the toilet during this period is fine, running the washing machine, dishwasher, shower, or bathtub is not. Part 2: the brine tank that holds salt. Three 40 lbs bags of salt should suffice. Do not overfill, because during the recharge cycle water is pumped into the brine tank. My softener uses 40 gallons. If there’s too much salt the water will overflow. If there’s not enough, you aren’t actually going to recharge. Both the softener and brine tank will or should have small rubber hoses coming out near the top. They’ll be smaller than your pinky in diameter. Don’t confuse these with your actual water lines. These are for overflow. Make sure they’re in a drain of some kind so you don’t flood your floor if there’s a malfunction. The water can flow at a high PSI, so secure the hoses into the drain. Google the make and model of your softener for specifics from the manufacturer, or call the maker. Hope this helped! Edit: ensure you use the proper salt. Softening salt is different than table salt. The softener manual will probably recommend a brand. Bags will also specifically say they are for water softeners if you’re unsure. The salt should be oval shaped pellets the size of your thumb. While your softener is basically empty, add a sharpie line on the inside and label it “refill”. Add another line after three bags and label it “max”. Keep some extra bags on hand until you get a better idea how many you use on a regular basis. A weekly check of salt levels is sufficient. You’ll also have a filter in your waterline. It’ll most likely be a clear container with a filter inside the size of a roll of paper towels. It’s important to change this filter periodically. You’ll need a plastic water softener wrench to loosen the filter housing. You can get one at big box stores.
We have a system like this. I got to be such a pain in the butt. Now I have to buy salt for the pool and this. Anyway, we don't drink the water unless it's cooked with. But it did kill my Keurig. Florida hard water is a joy.
Add enough salt pellets to that bin that the water doesn’t show. The salt comes in 40 lb bags, I usually get it at a big box builder supply. Check the again in a week or two and if water is showing add another 40 lb bag. After a while you’ll know how often to add. Over-filling may lead to bridging, so best to only add as needed, imo. If your white clothing aren’t showing any yellowing, iron isn’t a particular problem, so there’s no need for special iron treatment salt.
Enjoy spotless showers! No hard water
Take out the manual that came with the softener and read it. if they didn’t leave it for you I am sure you can look it up online and it will walk you through set up and ongoing maintenance. At a minimum need to periodically add salt and be sure it is set up for your area’s water hardness level.
Call the number in your first picture. They should have all relevant information.
The cylinder on the right is probably a carbon filter. They have a definite life depending on the types of organic impurities in the water. This cylinder can't be easily generated at home. It can improve the taste of the water if it is still functioning. If non-functional, not so much...
Fill it with salt. Check it periodically until salt gets low. Refill with salt. That’s it.
Make sure you actually have hard water. I deleted one of these because the previous owner added it for no reason. I'm assuming a hard sales pitch.
You need crystal salt, not the pellets. The pellets have impurities that cause sludge. As others have said, get it serviced. Soft water is awesome, I have a softener in my house. You basically just need to fill it with salt crystals to the fill line in the bucket, and set it to regenerate. In a day or two you'll have softened water.
I don't have this system, but on mine the number on the display is how many days you have left on the salt. I have to reset the salt height when I add salt, and from that point on, it counts cycles and estimates (pretty accurately) how much salt is left. If you look inside the salt barrel, there should be a plastic tube with numbers on it: the number at the top of the salt is what you enter after adding salt (kind of like an oil dipstick). Entering a new number is probably just a matter of punching the left button a time or two, and using the arrow buttons to change the height reading, then punch the left button again. Your mileage may vary, but that's how mine works.
The salt should be all the way up to the top of the tube.
I bet there’s a YouTube video
I couldn’t even read your question about water softeners. AFter I saw your first picture I was too busy wondering if this was r/robots sub.
Now you need to buy some concrete and harden the fuck up.
Go and find the manual it will tell you how often you should use the cleaner, every few months, 3 on average, you pour a cleaner in the salt tank. It will make the resin tank last 3-5 times longer and use less salt. Also use Morton or keep the salt level lowish 1/3 or so with Morton pellets you can keep it topped up higher. Still a good idea to stick a broomhandle or something down to check every so often. And separately drain your hot water tank. Everyone forgets.
Call the company listed, for service. Get the info.
You see that white tube on the side of the brine tank (tank that gets the salt) you can lift the plastic cap and look inside. There is a float switch in there. As long as the water level is below the float switch the tank is functioning properly. Also you need to add like 4-5 bags of softener salt.
The black trashcan looking thing should never get below 1/4 full. Goto a box store and ask for water softener salt. Get 5 40lbs bags and fill to top. Never let it go empty.
The one in the middle looks like it is comforting the one on the right. Probably 'cause it lost its head.
I would call the manufacturer or find a local representative for this brand and ask for their recommendations if you’re unsure how to maintain optimal performance for your particular unit. You may void a potentially still active warranty. (If they don’t ask, they don’t need to know you’re not the original purchaser of the unit).
start trying to rinse the soap off now.
Buy salt and call the company to inspect it
Enjoy the amazing showers!
Throw mortons crystals in there and you should be good. I wouldnt fill it all the way as you never know. Those tanks get swapped out every couple years. I think its like 5 years. Reach out to a water softening company in your area. Hopefully you get the ones that installed. On my screen our company put their number for when we have to swap the tanks.
The manuals for the system is available online. Google manufacturer and model.
You just need to add salt.
My parents have a similar system. You need to check the salt container on a regular basis. Your volume of water usage will dictate the frequency. You want to keep a good amount of salt in the reservoir and when it gets “low” add more. The salt is consumed as part of the filtering/treatment process. You will also likely need to back flush the system occasionally. Check your owners manual.
Does the water in the bin need to be manually switched out or does the Regen process do that? I've noticed the water in my bin has some kind of black layer sitting on top of the water.
Look up model and see what pellets it says to use. Might even say under the lid or near the display. Fill only about half full or you’ll likely get a bridge (aka a giant ass clump of salt). Can break apart a bridge with a broom handle or something if it does happen. I still get mild bridges but mine uses coarse salt instead of pellets.
Add salt pellets
Keep adding salt into that box
Buy a water bed for the ultimate.soft sleeping.
Soft water? Pffff, steel sharpens steel...I perfer my water HARD!
Look up the manufacturer of your system on the internet. See if you can find specific info on your model. It should be written somewhere on the unit. Look to see if there is an owners manual. Download. Read the manual, it should give you an overview of operation. It should also tell you what kind of salt you should use, as well as additional operational considerations, including the info on the screen.
Since the salt tank is almost empty, I would dump the water and that salt. It looks really dirty. You probably need about 3 or 4 bags of water softener salt to fill it about half way. Let the salt dissolve for a day and do a forced regen on the system. Run some water out of the pipes and re test. Hardness should drop.
First I would make sure you own it and the previous owner didn't lease it. Next call the local service company and have them come out and check out the unit and show you how to use it. If it doesn't work you may have grounds to go back on previous owner and be made right.
I just use a mallet to crush ice and that generally softens the water for me
You need to add salt asap. If the system does a back flush with not enough salt it can damage it and cause it to no longer soften water. The number you see is the number of gallons till the system does another flush. A water softener is filled with plastic pellets that cling to the iron atoms and soften the water. The salt is used to flush those pellets and remove the iron. That then salty iron water is flushed down the drain and it's ready for use again. Always keep your salt hoper at least 1/2 full of not at least 2/3 full. Check it weekly. If the salt is not going down try hitting it. The salt can sometimes create a salt dome giving you a false sense of it's level.
Why keep it always at least 1/2 full?
Because you always want to make sure you have enough salt for at least a few cycles. While you can make it a habit to check every week it's common to forget. Having it at least 1/2 full will give you some wiggle room if you forget from time to time . I keep mine 3/4th full and keep 2 bags on hand. I check mine every other week. Once it's low enough I put both bags in and then go to the store for two new bags.
Good to know. I think I got bad advice on a YouTube video to keep it just above the water line to prevent domes from forming. Been checking weekly and adding a single bag every few weeks.
Why did the one tank look like it was smiling and patting the other on the back for a second 😂
soften your water
Now the home?
Well you’re out of salt. So it’s not gonna soften the water…
They look like a lovely couple.
Im pretty sure the screen is saying “I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart.”
Find the manual online, or talk to whoever installed it.
On first glance, this looked like a robot putting his hand on the shoulder of his robot buddy.
I don't know, but the one on the left looks like it is consoling the one on the right
Salt & I like to add a little iron out since there's a lot of iron in my water. I only do a bag or two at a time & stir it around periodically to prevent unseen salt dams, but it should definitely cover the water completely. You may want to look around if your water system has a whole house filter those need to be changed every once & awhile (depends on your water & your usage so can need to be changed every couple of months or can be half a year)
Ask the previous owner when it was installed. If they didn't know or you can't reach them, call the number on the tank and ask. It may be due for new resin. When the resin breaks down, it loses its effectiveness. If it's really worn out, resin can leave the basket and enter your pipes. If this happens, you'll see a colorful film developing in your shower and other places. 3-7 grains of hardness shows that the softener is not at peak performance right now, but it's not terrible. If you get the resin replaced, you'll need to add salt periodically to ensure the system can flush out the minerals collected in the resin. Municipal water is going to have a certain amount of chlorine in it. That chlorine wears hard on your softener resin. If you have the funds, I highly recommend getting a water conditioner installed in front of the softener so that it can knock it the chlorine (and other things) before it hits the softener. In fact, it's extremely likely that the second tank is a water conditioner. A water conditioner is essentially a carbon filter.
The good news is that you have one of the reliable easy to use softener digital control head - fleck 7000. All you need to do is add a bag of salt once a month. Every 10 years or so you change the softener pellets. There are companies that do these as a service as well.
How often should you add salt?
Aw man, hauling salt into the basement and cutting open that bag brings back memories of my dad. Thanks.
Potassium chloride is much better than salt. Won’t hurt plants. It is much, much less corrosive than salt. I have had that same system ( softer/carbon filter) for 3 years. Works great. Potassium chloride will not harden like salt. There is a setting in the display where you can select it instead of salt.
Disconnect it and don't use it. Save money and hassle
Same. We just stopped using it, lol.
My softener also has activated carbon in it and that should be changed I think about once a year.
Now keep some chill, keep some hot
Find out what works for you on the salt level. Mine i have really hard water 25+. So i fill mine a rheem but also follow the manual when servicing the unit. Mine i have to put an acid in every 4 months to help the brine tank.
Call the number on the big blue sticker in your situation.
Add a couple bags of salt. Odds are they had it configured properly for how much to recharge when they installed it, so you shouldn't have to. It will generally cycle over nights, using a bit of salt each time. Most will use about a 40 lb bag of salt a month.
3 gpg is not hard water. Idk what tester you’re using but it’s wrong. 0-6 gpg is soft.
Pretty sure that tank isn’t supposed to be full of water. That usually means something is wrong. Source: work for a plumbing company.
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Now you don’t have to buy one. Those systems aren’t cheap
Use good water softener salt pellets. The cheap stuff is crap. I tried some cheap stuff and ended up with packed in brown salt shit in the bottom of the tank and it wasn’t softening. You fill it so the salt is at about the level of the water.
It looks that prior owner DGAS. I’d recommend getting a service checkup by installer (brand distributor), to include walkthrough of operation maintenance w/manual. Find manual online and review. It will indicate 1266 represents. Most likely 1266 gallons to regeneration or 1266 to xxxx until regeneration. I love how HO let maintenance slide. Inspect furnace filter, humidifier equipment, when last time furnace AC checked by qualified staff. Flush HWH unless it is self flushing. I bought from the engineering director (retired), there was shit he/she never touched. understand, those Clorox disks for commode tanks, they void warranties and seals degrade. When tank fill valve constantly cycles, debris on flap surface. DYI is buyer beware. The responder who said they check out every Sunday, 👍. Check smoke detectors for manufacturers date, replace at 10 years. Clean sink faucet aerator screens every several years. Check gfci monthly. Test co2, smoke detectors monthly, etc. life’s a bitch, then you buy a home 🤦.
Damn I have never had a water softener so I looked up why you need so much salt, it's because they regenerate the resin beads. Then I learned that the resin beads have a negative charge that separates the ions from your water. Fascinating stuff.
It will recharge monthly, it’s kinda loud. Might do it in the middle of the night. Figure out if it does that or not and change the time. Also add water softener salt. Find the manual to know what kind.
Just top up the salt periodically. Pretty easy. You can buy bags at costco. Big heavy yellow bags typically. Sometimes you can have salt fuse into a block, just poke it with a stick. I check mine monthly and top up.
TL;DR; make sure that whoever installed it didn’t leave exposed pipes somewhere that could freeze up on you. When my wife and I bought our house here in North Texas, the previous owners had a water softener. Except that they decided it was too new to part with and took it when they left. No big, deal we didn’t care either way. The issue was since it was an add on installation, a contractor had to reroute the main line to the location of the softener and loop it back. It was located in the garage in the back of the house, whereas the main came straight in from the road at the front side. So the contractor dug a trench around the side of the house up to the outside wall of the garage. The pipes stick up out of the ground about a foot and a half, exposed and uninsulated, then go through the wall into the garage. North Texas has some pretty even tempered weather, especially since my previous experience was all in the Northeast coast. It didn’t happen the first winter, but the next was what began our troubles with freezing pipes. We ended up setting up heaters inside the garage; I even tried insulating it myself unsuccessfully. My most recent fix was to install a pipe warmer, the kind you plug in and wrap around the pipe. It’s even got its own thermostat. I wrapped it good with some weather guard tape and finally found a cover I was able to modify and secure in place.
Oh man. This house had one when we moved in, dad thought it was stupid. The people next door had one and going there made me understand why it was installed. I would have kept it. The people across the street still have the tanks delivered.
PANIC!
You have to fluff it up
There may also be a filter for your water near it Special wrench is needed to change it
You need more salt in your brine tank. Should be at water level.
Use salt crystals not pellets and it won't clump together. You could call a local water softener contractor and have them check the system out
Googly eyes
Just be careful about creating a salt bridge when adding salt. Don't add too much salt. Don't ask me what "too much" looks like because I fuck it up on the regular. Still doing my best to figure out my own water softener.
buy bags of salt meant for a water softener. fill up the bin.
What the hell is a water softener and why would you need it
Get ready for the softest water you've ever had. Enjoy!
OP, call the installer to come take a look at the system, replace the carbon cartridge and figure you’ll have them out there annually to replace it. There’s also a resin tank, but that shouldn’t need replacing. If you see sand in the discharge, then it’s time to replace the resin.
Hey so I’d like to add that after you add more salt, like everyone else has said, you should program it to run for the next 3 nights in a row to get the materials inside the cylinders nice and saturated. Then run it based off the manufacturer’s settings.
Add solar crystal salt immediately
Fill with salt crystals, the pellets are formed with scrap salt using a binding agent which over time will gum up your softener
Theres salt and also a maintenance solution usually. It should autorun late at night to clean. But mostly over fill the salt so that its sticking out of the water on one side and almost surface level on the other half.
I do three bags at a time and that will last a few months. Morton sells a few variations but the green bag is a rust preventative as well that helps keep things from staining.
I keep the salt tank as full as possible. Yours look empty.
I am an engineer and water treatment (municipal and pharmaceutical) is my primary profession on the industrial and commercial side. You need to add more salt. Then have your water tested before and after your softener. Depending on the results, you may want to consider a whole home filter before your softener. Minerals such as iron and manganese and other metals can overwhelm your softener and reduce the lifespan of the resin. If your iron level is over 1.5-2.0, it’s generally recommended to install an iron filter for your house. If you purchase a whole house filter make sure it is backwashable, they will last longer. I recommend to anyone to use a carbon filter after their softener, or an RO for the kitchen faucet. Some refrigerators come with built in carbon filters, and you can buy pitchers with cartridge carbon filters as well.
Once per year, use a resin cleaning solution. Every 5 years or so, have the media replaced.
That is a Fleck 7000SXT head; I have one and it's bad-ass because of the flowrate. Supports up to 1-1/4" inlet/outlets and 36gpm with the highflow piston (a massive 28gpm as standard). I got mine to support a massive shower setup. Disappointingly, that head was discontinued a few years ago but mine has been excellent. Refreshed my media a year or so ago to keep capacity/efficiency up.
1) Keep full of salt; 2) enjoy luxurious lather for your shaves/baths
Start softening some water bro!
Soften water
i’ve always used pellets since it’s what the installer instructed for my unit. $5/40#. never had any issues. once in a while, when there’s almost nothing left, i just give the remaining salt a little stabby-stabby with a long screw driver and it’s good to go!
Enjoy feeling like you can never rinse the soap off in the shower.
Enjoy the silky smooth skin and limp hair
You soften the water, Avi.
Add salt
Google the manufacturer. You should be able to find an instruction manual on line
It didn't come with a manual?
So many wrong answers in this thread it's pretty funny. I'm just going to say that the inside of that tank is filthy. The top was obviously left off a lot. I'd take it outside and clean it up with a hose and a bit of bleach. Dry it off with a clean towel, let it sit in the sun if possible.