Common Questions Concerning Water Softening Systems And Their Care

Posted on: 1 October 2017

Hard water is a common problem for homes of any age and in any community. While hard water can be a major problem, it can be effectively corrected through the use of a water softening system. In order for your water softener to provide the greatest benefits, you should have a basic working understanding about the issues these systems can experience and the steps you can take to minimize the risk of encountering these problems.

Will The Pump For The Water Softener Require Any Maintenance?

The pump of the water softener is essential as it will be the device that forces the water through the salt so that excess minerals can be filtered out of it. This can put a tremendous amount of strain on the pump as it will have to work for many hours each day to remove the excess minerals from the water. To keep the pump of the water softener in good working condition, you should have it serviced by a technician each year, and you should regularly inspect it to verify that it has sufficient lubrication and show no signs of mechanical problems.

When Should You Check The Salt Levels?

To remove the excess minerals from the water, your softening system will utilize salt as this can be an excellent material for neutralizing and filtering these minerals. However, the salt will need to be periodically supplemented as it will gradually dissolve and lose effectiveness. To ensure that your water softener always has sufficient amounts of salt, you should check these levels at least once a month. Avoiding attempting to predict the rate of depletion of your salt as this can vary based on the amount of water used and its hardness.

What Is A Salt Bridge?

While the salt that your softener uses can be extremely effective, it may also be prone to encountering some unique problems. For example, it can be possible for a salt bridge to form in the storage tank. This bridge will essentially be a hard crust that will form where the salt meets the water. As a result of this crust, the water may not receive appropriate amounts of salt, and this can degrade the softener's performance. To correct this problem, you will need to remove the crust from the system. If you find that your system is regularly developing this problem, you may want to have it inspected by a professional as it could indicate there are problems with the system that will need to be addressed to prevent it from returning, such as high humidity near the salt storage.

Contact a service, like American Water Treatment, for more help.

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