Q&A on water softener plumbing water supply & drainage piping arrangements, specification, & softener plumbing troubleshooting.

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.

Water Softener Plumbing FAQs

These questions & answers about troubleshooting or proper-installation of water softener or water conditioner pipes and connections were posted originally at x - be sure to review that information.

illustration: adapted & expanded upon from a Morton® System Saver® water conditioner installation and operation manual, shows the proper sequence of plumbing connections for typical residential water treatment equipment.

[Click to enlarge any image]

On 2018-10-16 00:00:46.842750 by (mod) -

I wouldn't assume that the water softener is capable of pumping or lifting destroys water very high. You might want to try instead using an ejector pump.

On 2018-10-15 19:50:31.335613 by Sherry Davis

about previous question:

I forgot to say this: I want to run both discharge lines to the 3" discharge line of my washing machine upstairs. I'll use air gap fittings to make sure the water enters the pipe with at least a 1.5" air gap, to prevent any cross-contamination from the sewer line! Sorry to leave that off first email.

On 2018-10-15 19:47:38.854772 by Sherry Davis

We have a Culligan Medalist Series water softener (about 14 years old) and an Reverse Osmosis "water drinking machine" (basically two particulate filters, then the R.O. then to an 'in-line" polishing filter.

The set up is in the basement, and we do NOT have a place to discharge these in the basement.

The RO unit and the discharge regeneration from the softener are both about 4' off the ground. Do you think it would be okay to run both of these to the water discharge pipe to my water upstairs?

This would involve going up about 3 feet (vertical) the over horizontally about 6-7 feet, and then up vertically to the top of the drain pipe and over it by 2" for another vertical of about 4 feet. So, we'd have a total vertical increase of no more than 8 feet and a horizontal run of 7 feet.

My question: do you think there is enough discharge pressure from the R.O unit and the Softener Regeneration tank to make that vertical climb without causing any sort of damage to the system? We are on a well pump system--not a public water supply. If this is not a good solution, can you suggest something that will work?

(I don't think a condensate pump would work, unless it was pretty big because the water from the regen tank really comes out of there...not sure about gpm, though.
Thanks so much for your help!, Sherry Davis, sbd@ksu.edu

On 2018-03-31 23:09:30.180109 by Anonymous

I can not figure out how to set it up .it has worked until now I can not figure out how to get it programed

On 2018-03-31 23:05:14.014126 by Mart

I have a structural engineer water softener .this system has a control front that has only a place that says to set clock and then next and then up or down and gener

On 2018-02-08 23:58:48.505468 by (mod) -

Kevin

Since you have normal water pressure with the softener in bypass mode, I'm with you in suspecting that there is a blockage in the appliance. There could be a damaged or clogged pick-up strainer in the bottom of the resin tank or even a clogged screen at the control head or right at the bypass valve.

Apologies but I don't think we can diagnose this one with just your info reported so far. It's time to ask for an onsite repair technician.

On 2018-02-08 16:06:26.950575 by Kevin

I have a Culligan Water softener, we just put it back in service a couple days ago and everything was working great. After about 4-6 hours of normal household use, we don’t have any water pressure. I open the bypass and everything is back up to pressure again then. I have ran several regen cycles over the past couple days and I still get the same result. Thoughts?

On 2017-05-15 19:35:37.229977 by (mod) -

I'm not clear where the leak is occurring, James. When a water softener is in regeneration cycle there should be water discharge from a discharge line that is conducted to a suitable drainage source.

On 2017-05-15 14:47:20.389779 by James

During discharge water is leaking from the discharge outlet. What possible problems or fixes could be helpful. Thank you!

On 2016-11-26 21:31:27.115783 by (mod) -

Steve

If the water softener is in bypass mode then what you're seeing in the sinks is from a different problem source.

Or the bypass valve is not working, has been opened, or has been damaged.

On 2016-11-26 02:45:28.215615 by Steve

Water Softener was shut off and salt was left in the tank for a couple months.

All of a sudden the salt started to come through the bathroom sink and washing machine. The water pressure is also completely gone from the bathroom sink and the kitchen sink.

Don't understand why the salt is coming through the the plumbing and why no water is coming through both the bathroom and kitchen sink?? Did the salt clog up the plumbing and what is the fix?

On 2015-10-06 16:10:51.572843 by (mod) -

Dan see your question and our detailed reply in the article above

On 2015-10-05 10:48:51.291804 by dan

Water not draining from brine tank??

On 2014-07-21 16:20:43.183710 by (mod) -

Use the "Click to Show or Hide FAQs" link just above to see recently posted comments, questions & replies.

Question:

(Feb 11, 2013) Sarg s. said:

The city recently came in and changed our water reader and once they did our water consumption went from 10,500 gallons to 55,500 gallons of water in a 28 day cycle.

The only thing running when we were notified was the water softener BUT I do not know for sure if it was in its cycle for the day or if it was the problem.

The thing is the city just replaced their head in our basement a day before we started wasting water. WHat gives, if anything? Is this normal or was it just our luck? Any ideas would be great. Thanks

Question:

(Feb 15, 2013) Shannon - in New Castle said:

I'm new to having a water softener.. I don't know how to use this thing, don't know how to adjust it, and can't get it to cycle. How often should it cycle for 2 people living in the house?

There are NO stickers or labels on it anywhere to tell me what make/model/mnfctr it is either. I'm pretty sure the dern thing hasn't run in over a week now, the water is starting to smell really strong... HALP!

Reply:

x

Question:

(Feb 8, 2014) kawika said:

Similar to the question "discolored water after water softener regen cycle". I cleaned the brine tank but I still get discolored water afar regeneration. We have only noticed the discoloration in the 2nd bath toilet and tub, nowhere else. it clears up after 3 flushes.

Reply:

Kawika, I'm just guessing, but it seems to me that if water looks different colors at different fixtures in the building I'd think the root source is not the softner (that all water passes through) but perhaps the piping or some other contaminant, or iron, or debris source.

If you see it mostly at a toilet it could be worth cleaning debris out of the toilet tank too.

Reader says:

he discoloration is only present immediately after a regeneration cycle. Why only in the toilet/tub is unknown. If it were the piping or other source it should be present at all times.

Reply:

K
I agree with your reasoning, more or less; sometimes a fixture that runs water faster (like a tub) will stir up and show debris that slower running fixtures don't. A toilet would offer the opposite explanation: debris often accumulates in the toilet tank - in part because the relatively slow fill rate doesn't stir it up enough to flush out when the toilet is flushed.

Start (because it's easy) by taking a look in the toilet tank; look for deposits on the tank walls or crud on the tank bottom; that may point to a water supply debris problem; if there are yellow stains but no deposits more often that points to iron in the water;

With that simple look out of the way and assuming we want to pursue the water softener, I'd check the softner brine tank - in these articles we describe cleaning and disinfecting the brine tank. It's tempting to also run a disinfectant cycle through the water softner itself but I would not do that without knowing the brand and model and then checking the manufacturer's cleaning instructions.

Summarizing: try:

1. checking and cleaning the brine tank
2. running the softener through an extra regen cycle

Reader says:

Toilet tank is clean. Cleaned brine tank, manually ran two regenerations…next scheduled regeneration had no water discoloration…latest regeneration (Today) had the discoloration back in toilet (cleared after 4 flushes).

Reply:

K
are we certain that the incoming water from the source is not the origin of the discoloration you're seeing? Have you tested that water - ahead of any treatment equipment?

Question: white residue in dishwasher

(Feb 16, 2014) stanley costello said:

i get a light powder like residue on my dishes after a dishwashing cycle

Reply:

Stanley,

I've seen this deposit in more than one circumstance: using too much dishwasher detergent, very hard water supply, and on occasion, debris that needs to be cleaned from the dishwasher bottom.

Question:

(June 7, 2014) Ann said:

Just set up new digital water softener. finished settings and run regeneration cycle. It carried out regeneration adn then started cycle all over again ? what is wrong pleaase - what should I do?

Question: replace algae-contaminated water softener?

(June 9, 2014) David Williams said:

have well water system. had a bad algae bloom. water co. said softener had to be replaced. could it have been cleaned, repaired instead?

Reply:

David

I'm unclear why a dirty water softener would need replacement; someone is giving expensive advice that's safe for them and costly for you. Instead I would follow the water softener cleaning and disinfection procedure in your water softener's instruction manual or see our water softener cleaning procedure article at

inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water_Softener_Cleaning.php

Question: cleaned water softener, lost prime

(June 29, 2014) Dave said:

I cleaned my water softner tank and now I can't get the prime back. Please help!

Reply:

Dave,

If you mean your well pump has lost prime just search inspectApedia for "LOST WELL PRIME" or "HOW TO PRIME THE PUMP" to see procedural details.

If you mean the water softener is not filling the brine tank you will want to check for disconnected tubing, a clogged check valve, or a clogged or improperly set (e.g. on bypass) control valve.

Question:

(Sept 5, 2014) Tom Barber said:
I have a GE model GXSF27E water softener. There is water leaking in the rim pan and flowing down the back of the unit. What is the cause and how do I correct the problem?

Reply:

Tom I'm not sure what part you refer to by "rim pan" - that's not a term that GE uses in the Water Softener manual for the Model GXSF27E. You can use our email found at our CONTACT link to send me a photo of where you see the leakage and I can comment further.

Or you can check WATER CONDITIONER / SOFTENER MANUALS where I include a link to a copy of the Owners Installation and Maintenance Manual for the GE Model GXSF27E Water Softener.

There you'll see a parts explosion that may tip you off to which gasket or O-ring needs replacement to stop the leak you cite.

Question:

(Sept 20, 2015) LarryR said:
I have a Kenmore 350 that quit cycling. I can manually recycle and it works fine and I get soft water. I have gone to the diagnostic screen and it shows water flow. Any suggestions?

Reply:

As you are able to make the system work manually it sounds as if the control head or timer need repair or replacement.

...

Continue reading  at WATER SOFTENER PLUMBING PROBLEMS - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Water Softener Plumbing Articles

• WATER SOFTENER BRINE TANK DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR - home
• BRINE TANK WATER TOO HIGH
• BRINE TANK WATER TOO LOW
• BYPASS VALVE on WATER SOFTENERS
• CROSS CONNECTIONS, PLUMBING
• DE-WINTERIZE WATER SOFTENER
• DIAGNOSE WATER SOFTENER PROBLEMS
• INSTALLATION of WATER SOFTENERS
• WATER CONDITIONER / SOFTENER MANUALS
• WATER SOFTENER BACKUP, FLOODING, LEAKS
• WATER SOFTENER CLEANING & SANITIZING
• WATER SOFTENERS & CONDITIONERS - home
• WATER SOFTENER ADJUSTMENT & CONTROLS
• WATER SOFTENER PLUMBING PROBLEMS
• WINTERIZE WATER SOFTENER

Suggested citation for this web page

WATER SOFTENER PLUMBING FAQs 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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