Water Softener Maintenance Guide: Lifetime Cost

Water softeners eliminate hardness, so you don’t have to worry about your water causing a skin condition flare-up or calcium build-up. Soft water is easier on your skin, plumbing system, and water-based appliances. Taking care of a water softening system is simple. You don’t have to do much to maintain a water softener aside from adding salt occasionally. If you want to avoid future hiccups or problems, it’s smart to take a couple of additional steps.

We’ve put together this guide for you on water softener maintenance tasks and when to take care of them.

Salt Refills: Weekly

Refilling the salt in your water softening is an essential maintenance task. Your water softener uses salt to recharge the resin beads that absorb hardening minerals, hard metals, and other contaminants.

How frequently you need to add salt depends on your water’s hardness and how much you use. On average, a family of four needs to pour in about 10 pounds of softener per week if the hardness is between 7 to 10 grains per gallon.

Softening salt ranges in price from $5 to $25 for a 40-pound bag. There are three types of salt that you can choose from: evaporated, solar, and rock. Evaporated salt is the purest. It is 99.9% sodium chloride. Solar salt is the second-best option. It’s a good idea to avoid using rock salt. Rock salt is the least expensive because it is of the lowest quality. Using rock salts can cause salt bridges or salt mushing to develop. These problems can dramatically reduce the effectiveness of your softening system.

Resin Bead Cleaner: Quarterly

While salt recharges the resin beads in your water softener, it doesn’t remove the contaminants that the resin beads pick up, like silt, iron, and heavy metals. If your water softener system has too many of these minerals and organic compounds in it, it can become less effective. It’s smart to use a resin bead cleaner every couple of months or once a quarter to cleanse them.

All you have to do is follow the instructions on the resin bead cleaner container. The freshly cleaned resin beads will be able to absorb more calcium and magnesium.

Venturi Valve Cleaning: Twice per year

The venturi valve is what pulls water through the water softener system. It creates enough suction power to move water from the brine tank to the resin tank. It can get clogged with dirt, sediment, and sand from the water that passes through it, so it’s a good idea to clean this valve about twice a year.

 

Cleaning the venturi valve is simple. All you have to do is unscrew the valve and remove the internal pieces. Then wash them in soapy water. Once clean, dry them off and reassemble the valve.

We hope that this guide helps you keep your water softener running smoothly and efficiently. If you’re weighing the benefits of a water softener and want to speak with an expert, give us a call! Our team at Tri-Florida Water Treatment is happy to answer customer questions about water softener installation process and costs.