A water softener prevents limescale build-up in your plumbing, water heater and appliances. When you use a water softener, you avoid iron stains in your sinks and toilet, and your skin and hair feel soft and supple after a shower. A water softener requires a little maintenance to do its job correctly. Here are five tips to keep your water soft.
How a water softener works
Hard water contains elements such as calcium and magnesium. A water softener removes these elements using resin pellets. The beads attract and hold onto hard water minerals and release soft water into your home.
Over time, the accumulated minerals need to be rinsed from the pellets. A salty brine solution creates a chemical reaction to exchange the minerals for sodium. This chemical reaction is why you add salt to your water softener.
Water softener maintenance tips
Maintaining your water softener isn’t complicated. Here’s an overview of what you need to do.
Check the salt. You should refill your softener’s brine tank every two months. Between refills, check the tank and ensure the salt is wet and covered in water. You may need to refill your tank more frequently if your unit’s softener over 10 years old.
Use quality salt. When refilling the brine tank, only use water softener salt, preferably with iron remover. Evaporated salt pellets are the purest and best product to use.
Clean your brine tank. Once a year — when the brine tank is low — remove the remaining salt and clean the tank with a mild detergent. Remove any sludge and caked-on salt from the bottom. Rinse, refill with fresh salt and allow it to regenerate overnight.
Clean your resin tank. You should do this task about every seven years when the resin beads no longer attract and hold minerals. The process involves running an iron remover through the unit to dissolve any build-up.
Call a professional. Some warning signs your water softener isn’t working properly include soap not lathering, a strange taste in your water and mineral build-up in kettles and toilets. Moreover, if your unit water softener regenerates more than usual, call a professional to check it out.
Water softener service and installations in Kitchener, Guelph, Cambridge and Waterloo
At Aire One Heating & Cooling, we can help improve your home’s water quality with our water softener installation service. The water in the Kitchener-Waterloo area can be up to 3 times harder than the average of the rest of Canada. We serve customers in Guelph, Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo and surrounding areas. Contact Aire One KW today to learn how we can help you save your home from Ontario’s hard water problems.