FAQs help fix a water softener or water conditioner - set #7.

This article series describes procedures for diagnosing and repairing water softener or water conditioner problems including water conditioner control settings and adjustment or repair, brine tank and brine tank float cleaning and repair, and the proper amount of water softening or conditioning that is needed.

Page top photo and photo below: water softener resin beads, magnified by the author.

Recent Water Softener Diagnostic Q&A #7

Water conditioner roubleshooting & repair Q&A posted originally at DIAGNOSE WATER SOFTENER PROBLEMS - home. For an organized approach to diagnosing and fixing a water softener, please check out that article.

[Click to enlarge any image]

On 2019-05-21 by (mod) - RainSoft EC4 drains water constantly

I don't know for sure but it sounds like a bad control board or control head. It sounds as if you're stuck in backwash mode.

Try dropping power for 5 minutes, then off bypass see if a manual regen will re-set the control.

On 2019-05-20 by Sherm

Ran a check on my RainSoft EC4. After pulling and cleaning all the valves, I went back off bypass and the water is constantly draining. Timing motor is rotating, and readout says the system is OK. What would cause this?

Water Softener Resin Loss

Question: Diagnose resin loss from a Fleck 5600 softener. Brine tank taking on air causing resin to discharge out of the drain during regen cycle.

2016/03/22 Jonny said:

I have a Fleck 5600 softener that appears to work through all cycles of regen and uses the appropriate amount of salt. The problem is after the water is sucked out of the brine tank it sounds like it is taking on air which is leading to resin coming out the drain during the following phase.

The air noise sounds like it is coming from the head unit, not the float valve in the tank. Any suggestions as to what could cause an air leak from the head unit?

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At above/left: water flow through a typical water softener, adapted from APSwater's water softener diagram cited below.

Reply:

Good question, Jonny. Please see the following article dedicated to the question of causes & cures for loss of resin from the water softener.

WATER SOFTENER RESIN LOSS - symptoms of resin loss from a water softener and how the problem may be repaired.

On 2018-01-22 by Matt

I have a plumbsoft ultra which has 2 resin tanks so both regen separately....

on tank 1 regen it works all fine but when it needs to regen Tank 2 it doesn’t fill the brine tank back up after? So when it moves back to regen tank 1 it has no salt water to suck up meaning it hasn’t cleaned so I have hard water?

Seems weird it works on 1 tank but not the other even the it’s the same equipment??

On 2018-01-16 by (mod) -

Jim

A few installers opined that standing water was "normal" but in general I disagree - it's over-dissolving and probably wasting salt. I suspect that a regen cycle has been missed, or that a timer has got out of synch, or a brine tank float control valve has stuck.

In the cases I've dealt with recently, re-setting the water softener and then running through an extra regen cycle solved the problem. Try that first.

On 2018-01-16 by Jim

Salt tank has standing water in it at all times. Is the water supposed to empty out during the softening cycle, or does it always stay in the tank? I don't remember it being in there when I put salt in it.

On 2017-12-30 by (mod) -

Have you tested your water supply for iron?

On 2017-12-24 by william_hollinger

two filters and a brine

hey why is my water taste like rust and and my water softner keeps running I would like to know what is going on and it is rainsoft siver and gold editon year is 2001

On 2017-12-19 by (mod) -

Leon

Your Rainsoft Silver water softener is stuck in regeneration mode. Try cycling power off and back on; try a manual regen cycle; if the problem continues look for and repair or replace the control valve in the control head.

On 2017-12-19 by (mod) -

Speed

Have you checked for a sticking brine tank float valve? That's usually the trouble.

On 2017-12-18 by Speed426

Have a Flec 5600 water softener and the brine tank is over flowing. I have cleaned the line filter, the glitter in the side of the head, checked the jets for clogs, cut off both ends of the brine tubing and moved the compression fittingsto a new position, what else should I be looking for.

On 2017-12-17 by Leon

I have a Rainsoft Silver series water softner. it is constantly dumping water to the drain. Has anyone had this problem or can anyone help me to diagnose the problem and make the repair?
Thanks

On 2017-12-05 by Pat

Installed a water boss 380 water softner and the hot water is white.

On 2017-08-22 by (mod) -

That sounds right for many water softeners like the Fleck line. But you may need to review all of the programming in the control head. Meanwhile just unplug it to stop extra regen cycles.

On 2017-08-17 22:57:01.815898 by HOMEFARM / KATE

My water timer batterie ran out of power & thus water sprinkler didn't shut off & flooded my polytunnel a fair bit, so I checked my water system & saw that regen today flashing

so I pressed the regen button but nothing happened then I left it to look up youtube to see what I should do so I pressed & held the regen button & it went into regen, backwash rinse etc & it took about 90mins or so

when the brine tank filled with water to the same mark as before & time returned to correct time the regen today kept flashing so I left it & now I don't know what I should do next reading some of your data did I see if you manually press regen today & it starts up immediately & when it ends that I should have pressed the regen button again & that the regen would take place at 2am,?

I started at approx 18:45pm & it had all finished about 20:15 or so, will it regen at 2am tonight?

What if the regen today is still flashing in the am what should I do next going on vacation aug 28th 2017, so I don't want to leave it like that in case of pump burn out etc have my own private well please advise

On 2017-08-01 03:56:24.302318 by Roberta

I decided to empty out salt and ended up with 3 five gal buckets of nuggets then the rest of the salt had turned to fine sand like consistency. About 5 inches deep. I dug that out and won't put it back. Used a shop vac to get it all.

Then added 3 gal of water, 3/4 cup bleach and about 6 cups of nuggets. am recharging now and will add more salt and do another recharge. Also pulled out the brine well and checked the float - all looked ok.

I think the overload of salt pulverized the bottom layer and the water could not soften. This is the rest of my question - first part posted before I could finish. What do you think?

On 2017-08-01 by Roberta

I have a Sears Kenmore water softener model 625.3483400 about 20 years old. For many years I would manually recharge it (my water usage varies. I also cleaned the venturi valve several times a year (water has a lot of iron).

Also used Iron Out. The past 3 years I did not maintain it well. Had surgery recently and before my daughter left for home I had her dump as many bags of of white pellet salt as she could fit in it. After that I could not get the soft water I used to have. Cleaned venturi. no luck. decided to

On 2017-06-29 by Ken

Should the brine tank be full of water?

On 2017-06-25 by Theresa

My WaterBoss keeps running, screen flashing 02. What does this mean?

On 2017-06-17 19:29:00.940879 by Dora

I bought a Rain Soft EC4 series Oct 2012. I had them put it inside the house and when they installed it, the water color never changed and they said it needed time to cycle through.

No one could show me this color change on 3 consecutive visits. I went out of state for a year, and someone else was in the house)

Finally after 2 years, a service person came out & informed me it had been hooked up to a pipe that provided water to the outside and clothes washer only.

He connected it to the indoor pipe. After about 5 months I noticed the black tube going from the system in the house to the pipe in the ground flowing water and the tank never filled.

When I purchased the rainsoft, I was to get 3 free service calls, but was told by the service dept that they would charge me because they had been out several times already. NOTE: It was never connected to the inside and 5 months afterward the tank didn't fill & water is flowing outside

. I was frustrated with the whole thing and just turned it off. So it has been off for 2 years. Do you think I can get this going without calling the service people. Can you advise me on what I should do to get this thing going? I'd really appreciate it.

On 2017-06-10 18:40:33.118707 by (mod) -

Lee,

I would check that the brine tank float is moving up and down freely and that there are no kinks or obstructions in the tubing through which brine is removed from the brine tank.

Then I'd try another manual regen cycle.

If you see air bubbles in water entering or leaving the brine tank I'd look first for an air leak in the plastic tubing and fittings, then at the control head or valves of the water softener; I figure if air is from some other source you'd see it

as AIR DISCHARGE at FAUCETS, FIXTURES

On the question "is ANY water left in the brine tank acceptable" I've wavered from thinking the answer was basically no -

at least no water ought to be above the peforated platform usually found at the bottom of a brine tank (that lets dirt settle down out of the brine solution) - to thinking that I'm no longer sure since several new water softener installations I've fooled with showed about 6" of water in the bottom of the tank at the end of the first cycle.

Half full of water- yes I'm sure that's a problem. If you can't get rid of the excess water by running a couple of extra regen cycles I'd use a scoop or a pony pump.

Or see BRINE TANK WATER TOO HIGH at https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water_Softener_Brine_Tank.php where we list all of the causes of too-high water level in the brine tank

When you get down that far look into the bottom of the tank; if you see a lot of dirt and sludge then I'd empty the tank completely and clean it.

See SOFTENER CLEANING & SANITIZING https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water_Softener_Cleaning.php

On 2017-06-10 by Lee

Had a house water pressure drop, then immediately noticed a brine tank filling and ended up half full of water.

Manually regenerated it a few hours later to clear it. Now my tank still has water about a quarter full and the salt is greatly reduced. Water from the tap is foamy.
Good chance there is air in the line.
So:

how many gallons of water do I need to waste to clear it out?

The hot water was run by the shower so I'm sure the hot water tank is now full of over salted water, so should I run the hot water to empty that out too?

Do I need to empty the brine tank completely and start over?

And is there a way to empty the tank of water other than by hand ?

Any help and suggestions are appreciated

On 2017-05-24 by (mod) - not enough soft water - slimy

Jay

Assuming we are not dealing with bacteria or algae, the slimy feel in water is likely to be that it is "too soft" - the softener salt dose may be excessive for the actual hardness of the water - you'll want to measure the hardness and then set the salt dose accordingly.

The volume of water that's used determines how often the softener needs to regenerate.

On 2017-05-24 by Jay

Have new softener, water starts out soft when taking a shower but soon gets hard. Slimy at first then not so much

On 2017-03-13 16:21:52.452040 by (mod) -

Super, keep us posted.

Daniel

On 2017-03-13 by Pat

Thanks for the info and the Water Boss manual now that I have that will attempt to reset softener.

On 2017-03-13 by (mod) -

Here's a direct link to a Water Boss Pro 380 manual
https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water-Boss-Pro-ProPlus-Manual.pdf

You might want to have your water supply tested for hardness as that plus water volume usage estimates will let you be sure the correct softener settings have been made.

On 2017-03-13 by (mod) - how much salt use is normal?

Yes that sounds like a lot of salt, but the answer depends on

- how hard is the incoming water

- how much water is being used

See WATER SOFTENER SALT DOSE SETTING at https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water_Softener_Salt_Dose.php
and also

see WATER SOFTENER ADJUSTMENT & CONTROLS at https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water_Softener_Settings.php
and

at WATER CONDITIONER / SOFTENER MANUALS

(give me half an hour) I'll make sure there's a Water Boss manual set or manual source provided.

On 2017-03-13 by Pat

I rent my home last fall landlord replaced water boss (smaller size) for water boss pro 380.new softener uses 80#salt about once a month setting is 9 regenerates every 4 days, this is just for hot water line only.

Isn't that a lot of salt seems old one used 40# every 3 months or so?Landlord seems not to concerned ,doesn't live nearby. Also I am only person in home. I don't have a manuel and since it's not mine I don't want to mess with it. Thanks any thoughts.

On 2017-02-01 by (mod) - water pressure or flow is weak when softener is regenerating

Tracey

If by "operating" you mean when the water softener is in regen cycle then it would normally be in "bypass" mode - water is not going through the softener. In that case something's wrong with the bypass valve, perhaps it's partly blocked or has a damaged O-ring.

Or your water supply pressure is very very low, such that during the time the softener is taking in water to the brine tank to make brine for the backwash/regen cycle it's competing with the rest of the building for water pressure.

If you mean that when the water softener is in-use, that is, not in bypass mode, pressure is poor, then there is blockage in the softener: it may need cleaning, or its resin tank or a resin tank component in the water flow path needs cleaning or replacement.

Confirm what's going on by checking water flow rate ("pressure") when the softener is put into bypass mode.

On 2017-02-01 by Tracey reid

Does water flow through faucets slow down when is operating

On 2017-01-13 by (mod) - stuck or defective water softener control.

James

Sounds like a stuck or defective water softener control. Put the unit into bypass and call for repair.

On 2017-01-13 by James s

My system keeps expelling water even when it's not regenerating. How do I fix this?

On 2017-01-08 by (mod) - Fleck 5600 not softening

Moday

Check the water hardness - the test is very inexpensive - or you can even purchase or make a DIY WATER HARDNESS TEST.

Start by watching the level of water in the float tube (that's that tube you described) that you will find inside the salt tank. If water rises in the tube and then drops during a softener regen cycle the system is making brine.

If not the brine tank float may be stuck. Gently lifting the float rod up and down might be enough to free it.

Else search InspectApedia for WATER SOFTENER CLEANING to see details.

On 2017-01-08 by Moday

I have Fleck 5600, built top with seals/spacers and cleaned all the parts. Think I'm still getting hard water. I ran regen twice. I have not checked brine tank yet. How do I do that? Remove salt would be step 1 but then what?

There is a white tube about 4 inches in brine tank, does that hold float and such? I have not worked on that yet. I'm wondering if that should come apart. I can't see water level to look for volume change as lots of salt present right now. I think it is to change during cycle. Thanks in advance. Moday

On 2016-11-16 by Anonymous

Hot water is milk white and salty. Cold water is blue green

On 2016-10-09 by (mod) -

Elke, check the backwash frequency and salt dose settings on your water softener against its recommended settings for the level of hardness of your water,

and check that the unit is not stuck in regeneration mode.

On 2016-10-08 13:25:19.196672 by Don Kinetico Water Softener - being re-installed

Never mind I just realized it doesn't matter. Duh!!?

...

I have a kinetico softener. We were going to move so I removed the system. Now we're moving back in. I'm going to put it back in. I have 2 plastic hoses that connect the brine tank to the water in head I didn't notice which hose went to which connection on the softener head.

On the brine tank 1 is a few inches higher than the other and on the unit with the regen dial one connection is more towards the center on the side while the other is more towards the top.
Does it matter which hose goes where and if it does which one goes where and what happens if they're crossed?

On 2016-10-07 by Elke

salt is running too fast to the softener.what should I do

On 2016-09-03 by (mod) -

Check your softener manual: the brine tank may need salt.

On 2016-09-03 by M. Salame

Why the water softener keep peeping?

On 2016-08-25 by William

Ok I have Kenmore Ultrasoft 180 and it runs continuously after going into service mode. I tried pressing and holding the Regen now button and the motor cycles thru all the steps and when it gets back to service water still runs into the system and out the drain hose.

To make it stop I have to unplug the system for a minute or two and hold the Regn button to have it cycle thru all the steps back to service to get it to stop. I have looked all over for a possible fix and come up with nothing. Any help you could provide would be great.

On 2016-07-29 by (mod) - if you are seeing resin coming out in the water supply

George if you are seeing resin coming out in the water supply that's another issue - let me know and we'll comment further.

Often the water supply pipes feed outdoor water spigots ahead of the water softener, assuming that outdoor-use water does not need to be treated.

If the flow rate from the outdoor faucets is great enough to drop pressure and flow into the water softener that might be what's happening;

That's more likely if you have a more sophisticated water softener controller that works by monitoring flow rate.

If you put the softener on bypass, then run outdoor water, then turn on an indoor faucet and see weak flow that confirms my speculative hypothesis.

On 2016-07-29 by George I

Not sure.

The water usage from inside the home is fairly large. 5 adults, 3 baths, 5 to 8 showers a day, multiple loads of cloths washed daily, washing dishes daily. All the normal stuff and the softener keeps up with all of that.

The issue arises when I use my hose spigots. I've put check values before the softener, a hole house filer before the softener, but nothing works.

I even shut put a shutoff before the softener and turned it off when using hose spigots. Still nothing. I was thinking...the resin in the softener has a negative or positive charge (can't remember which) once the regen happens.

Because the issues happens immediately after using my hose, could using my hose spigots somehow change the charge of the resin?

On 2016-07-28 by (mod) - softener won't regenerate

Sounds as if the flow rate from watering garden so drops water flow rate in the building that water isn't passing through the softener at a rate to make it do anything. Could that be the case?

On 2016-07-28 by George I

I have the strangest water softener problem. Ready...whenever I use my garden hose to water flowers, wash car etc. my water softener stops working. It literally stops softening water (almost instantly).

Regen does not work, I have to allow it to regen by itself based on the number of day setting and this has to happen a number of times before it is back to normal.

I have two hose spigots, one before the softener and one after. I does not matter which one is used for the problem to occur. I have replaced the softener unit 3 times now because when this problem happens a number of times eventually the softener never recovers.

I have hired plumbers (more then one) with extensive experience in the softener business and they are stumped. Everything is installed correctly. I'm at the end of my patients, any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

...

Continue reading  at DIAGNOSE WATER SOFTENER PROBLEMS - topic home, where you'll find a helpful water conditioner troubleshooting table, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see WATER SOFTENER DIAGNOSTIC FAQs-8 - more-recent Q&A about fixing a water softener

Or see these

Water Softener Diagnosis & Repair Articles

• DIAGNOSE WATER SOFTENER PROBLEMS
• WATER SOFTENERS & CONDITIONERS - home
  • BRINE TANK BRIDGING or CRUSTING
  • DIAGNOSE WATER SOFTENER PROBLEMS
  • BRINE TANK WATER TOO HIGH
  • BRINE TANK WATER TOO LOW
  • WATER SOFTENER BACKUP, FLOODING, LEAKS
  • WATER SOFTENER OPERATING CYCLES
  • WATER SOFTENER RUNS TOO LONG
  • WHITE MINERAL SCALE DEPOSITS on FIXTURES

Suggested citation for this web page

WATER SOFTENER DIAGNOSTIC FAQs-7 at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS

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