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• How to adjust a home water softener - control settings
• Proper water softener settings & maintenance to reduce risk of septic system damage
• How to clean a home water softener and water softener brine tank or salt tank
• How to sanitize a water softener & get rid of rotten egg smells

Homeowner's Guide to Water Softener Adjustment - how to set the water softener controls

As we discussed at SALT OR WATER INTO SEPTIC, using the proper settings that control water softener operation, and performing proper water softener maintenance will assure that the water softener is effective in treating hard water, it will avoid wasting water, and if a private septic system is installed it will significantly reduce the chances that a septic system will be damaged by flooding or by excessive salt due to water softener malfunction.

At REDUCE IMPACT OF SOFTENER we provide suggestions for reducing the impact of water softeners on septic systems. Below we provide the details of how to adjust and maintain a residential or light commercial water softener for proper operation.

Guide to Setting the water softener controls: Our photo above shows the standard controls on a water softener, permitting the user to specify the days on which a recharge/backwash cycle will occur, the salt dose, and also the time of day.

• Set the water softener clock: Setting the clock on the water softener control is important for two reasons: first, you won't be bothered by hearing it run if it recycles when you are asleep or out of the home, and second, since the water softener recharge cycle uses plenty of water, it's a good idea to send that discharge to the septic system at a time when other plumbing fixtures are not in use - thus spreading the wastewater load on the septic system out over a longer period.

  
  Set the clock dial to the accurate time of day and set the water softener regeneration time to an hour when the building occupants are least likely to be using water, such as at 2AM - the standard factory pre-set regeneration hour. On units with a clock dial, the silver colored section corresponds to daytime hours and the black colored portion corresponds to night time hours.

  Usually the "clock dial" is adjusted by lifting it up and turning it to the proper position, or turning a dial to line up the correct hour of the day with an indicator arrow (lower right in our photo).

• Set the water softener salt dose: Your water softener's instructions (available from the manufacturer or from a local water softener service company) will tell you what salt dosage to set on the softener as a function of how many grains of hardness your water supply shows.
  
  The salt dose scale on a typical water softener indicates the number of pounds of salt to be used in each water softener recharge cycle.
  
  On water softener models where the salt dose is readily adjusted by the consumer/owner, a set-screw is loosened on the salt dose dial and the dial is rotated to line up a pointer with a numeric salt dose on a scale on the dial. Then re-tighten the screw. Do not change the salt dose that is already set on your water softener by your installer unless a new water test report indicates that a different level of salt treatment is needed.
• Set the water softener recharge frequency: your water softener's instructions will tell you how often the system should be recharged as a function of your estimated daily water usage in gallons. See Water Quantity Requirements for some general water usage numbers.
  
  Typically a water softener control includes a seven-day recharge frequency dial with tabs that can be pushed-in or pulled out to cause the water softener to use a recharge cycle on that day. Harder water and higher quantity of water usage means more frequent recharge cycling is needed. If your water softener has an automatic sensor of the hardness of water leaving the treatment tank (such as the Culligan Soft-Minder®), it can decide for itself when a recharge or regeneration cycle is needed.
  
• If your water softener has a manual or clock driven backwash control, you can install a flow meter or hardness meter to determine when the system needs to be backwashed.
• Adjust the backwash frequency and salt dose to the lowest level necessary.
• But do not turn off the water softener entirely. If your water is hard and you leave it off, you can expect to face expensive plumbing repairs when the water supply piping, water heater, or tankless coil become clogged with minerals.

How Often does the Water Softener Need to Run a Backwash & Regeneration or "Recharge" Cycle?

Your water softener manufacturer will provide a Salt Dosage/Frequency Chart along with the softener's installation and maintenance instructions.

A water softener recharge frequency and salt dose example is provided by Culligan:, "If four individuals live in the household, and the water has a total hardness of 18 grains per gallon, the salt dosage per recharge for the water conditioner will be 5 pounds (2.5 kg) and the recharge frequency will be 3 (or every 2 days). Monthly salt usage can be estimated, using these figures, at about 75 pounds (37.5 kg).

IBC in Australia provides this simple formula that can calculate the regeneration cycle for a water softener if you know all of the required parameters:

Number of Days Between Water Softener Regeneration Cycles = N

Maximum capacity of the treatment tank in grams of CaCO3 or NaCL = C

Volume of water passing through the treatment tank per day = Q (Kiloliters per day) or (Gallons per day)

Hardness of the incoming water measured in micrograms/Liter (mg/L) or in PPM = H

N = C / (H x Q)

This should be taken only as a rough calculation - set your backwash frequency to this number of days or less.

How Much Salt do We Need to Use in a Water Softener Regeneration Cycle

We recommend taking a look at the table of salt dose and backwash frequency provided in the installation manual for your water softener. If you want to check their table or generate your own salt dose numbers for comparison here is a formula from IBC.

Total number of grains of hardness to be removed, measured as grams of CaCO3 or NaCL = A

A = N x H x Q

Owner's Guide to Cleaning & Sanitizing the Water Softener Brine Tank

Our photo at left shows the interior of a water softener salt tank. Notice that brown soil line marking where dirty water has risen in this tank? Our photo at right shows a closeup of the inside of the float tube in the water softener tank - it's the same yellow tube you see in the left hand photo.

Although the salt you dump into the water softener's salt reservoir tank looks clean, the salt you have purchased is usually mined from the earth and will contain small amounts of soil and other debris. The debris accumulates in the water softener salt tank over time and can become filthy and possibly unsanitary. Debris in the salt tank can also clog water softener controls.

We recommend waiting until the salt in the tank has been consumed, or nearly all consumed. This will leave a water softener salt reservoir tank which is nearly empty and which is quite light, making it easy to disconnect, carry outside, and hose out.

Be careful not to break the float controls in the softener tank, but if you do break something or if you find that the float no longer moves freely, this part can and should be replaced.

Check the brine tank for salt crusting

A salt crust may form on the sides or across the whole interior surface of the brine tank. Periodically you should break up and remove this scale as it may prevent proper water softener operation. For example a thick salt crust may prevent salt in the tank from falling freely to the tank bottom where it is needed to mix with water during the regeneration cycle.

Check for dirt and debris build up in the brine tank

When salt is low in the tank check for an accumulation of dirt and debris. Salt is a naturally-mined mineral that is dug out of the ground. Although it looks (and is) pretty clean when you dump salt into your brine tank, a bit of soil (earth, dirt) comes along with it and may accumulate in the bottom of the brine tank. When your tank looks dirty just empty it out and wash its interior with an ordinary household cleaner or detergent.

How to Sanitize a Water Softener

Every year or two we let the softener use up its salt so that we can inspect and remove any dirt or sludge that may have accumulated at the bottom of the salt tank. The following procedure is based on maintenance recommendations from Culligan™.

If your water softener has been shut down for a week or more, if you are restoring to service a building that has been winterized, or if your building water supply both hot and cold water have a stinky sulphur smell or "rotten egg" smell (caused by harmless but nasty smelling sulfate-reducing bacteria), you'll want to try the sanitizing procedure we describe below. If only the hot water supply in the building smells like rotten eggs, see Check the Sacrificial Anode on the Water Heater. Also see How to Identify Odors in Drinking Water.

To sanitize a water softener (and its salt reservoir or brine tank):

1. Turn off any other water treatment equipment that uses Sodium hydrosulfite, Sodium bisulfite, or any other reducing agent and disconnect that device temporarily. If you're not sure what your other water treatment equipment is, ask your plumber or water treatment company who installed it. If you are not the original owner of the building and don't know who installed your equipment, look on the equipment for its name, model number, and for a sticker that may identify the local installer.
2. Run a manual regeneration cycle to flush out the equipment;
3. Add bleach to the brine tank: Pour a one cup of household bleach (if your water softener is a 9" diameter unit) or two cups of bleach (if your water softener is a 12-inch diameter unit) right into the salt tank.
   
   We pour the bleach into the yellow tube that houses the float assembly but don't do this and let the bleach sit there for days since it might be so concentrated as to damage water softener parts. Just go ahead to the next step.
4. Run an extra manual water softener recharge cycle: set the water softener to perform an extra (manual) recharge cycle.
   
   This will flush salty chlorine disinfectant through the equipment. (No, using the recommended quantity of bleach will not harm the septic system.)

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WATER SOFTENERS
  DETECT HARD WATER
  MEASURE WATER HARDNESS
  HOW SOFTENERS WORK
  HEALTH RISKS & WATER SOFTENERS
  SALT OR WATER INTO SEPTIC
  REDUCE IMPACT OF SOFTENER
  SOFTENER ADJUSTMENT & CLEANING
  OTHER SOFTENER METHODS
  Winterize Water Softener & Treatment Equip
  Restoring Water Softener & Treatment Equip

• North Dakota Standards for Water Softeners, North Dakota General Authority Law, Chapter 62-04-08, Water Softener Units http://www.legis.nd.gov/information/acdata/pdf/62-04-08.pdf. "The objective of this chapter is to provide a standard of quality, capacity, and performance for water softener units. Water softener performance is to be based upon referee tests procedures described in section 62-04-08-09."
• Culligan Mark 10 Water Softener 1994-1998 Installation and Operating Instructions (covering models manufactured after 1995) (1-96) 01881948.pdf available from www.culligan.com
• Water Softeners, CMHC, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/wawa/wawa_005.cfm - October 2008. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation acknowledges the contribution of Health Canada to the development of this document. For further questions regarding water treatment and water quality, contact Health Canada at watereau@hc-sc.gc.ca or call 613-957-2991 or 1-866-225-0709.
• "Commercial Water Softener Installation and Operating Instructions", IBC Filtration & Water Treatment Products (Australia) for commercial, industrial and residential application www.ibcwater.com.au (07) 3219 2233
• "Non electric water softener, Installation and Operating Instructions", IBC Filtration & Water Treatment Products (Australia), op.cit.
• "Water Softener Twin Tank Installation and Operating Instructions", IBC Filtration & Water Treatment Products (Australia), op.cit.
• Our Water Hardness Table used at originated with but was edited and added to from http://www.bestfish.com/tips/110598.html and also from http://www.water-research.net/hardness.htm
  

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• The Septic System Information Website home page for this topic
• Septic Systems Inspection, Testing, & Maintenance- online textbook. Detailed how to inspect, maintain, repair information
• The Home Buyer's Guide to Septic Systems


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• Septic Tank Pumping Guide: When, Why, How to pump the septic tank
• Tank Location - How to Find the Septic Tank, how deep will the cover be, how to document its location


• Additives & Chemicals: Septic System Maintenance - Are they even needed? Are they even legal?
• Biomat Formation in the Septic System Drainfield Absorption System - what leads to drain field clogging and expensive drainfield repairs
• Buyer's Guide Home Buyer's Guide to Septic Systems Inspection & Testing - What to Do, Step by Step.
• Cheating on Water Tests - (Chlorine in Wells and Septics) Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - Water Test Cheating Warnings for Home Buyers and Home Inspectors
• Clogged Drain Diagnosis - is the problem the septic system or the Building drain system?
• What is a Septic System An Engineer's View & Septic System FAQ's
• Contamination in Buildings how to test buildings for bacterial contamination from Sewage and Septic backup, remediation, & references
• Leach Field Inspection Procedure Septic Leach Fields - how to inspect and diagnose septic drainfield failures - what causes septic field failure?
• Maintenance: Ten Steps to Keeping a Septic System Working, suggestions from the U.S. EPA, edits and additions by DJF
• Sewage & Septic Backups and what to do about sewage spillage in buildings
• Tank Location - How to Find the Septic Tank, how deep will the cover be, how to document its location
• Tank Pumping Frequency Guide for Septic Tanks: When, How, What to Watch For when pumping or cleaning septic tanks
• Water Usage: Capacity: Determining Needed Septic Capacity - Typical residential water usage for people, appliances, and activities.

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