Water Softener Maintenance
Generally, the most important part to maintaining your water softener is to not let it run out of salt. You don’t want to overfill it—a good rule of thumb is to put in the softener the amount of salt you will use within 3-4 weeks.
If you start experiencing hard water or notice the salt in the brine tank is not going down check the following:
- Verify that the water softener is plugged in to a working outlet.
- Make sure the softener is not bypassed.
Show me how to check the bypass.
The bypass on our softeners is located either right behind the control on the right side, or directly to the right of the softener. If the bypass is located directly at the right rear of the softener control it probably looks like this:
Make sure the point is pointed toward “service” like the picture above. If it is not, point it toward service by moving the handle.
If the bypass is in line to the right of the softener, it will probably look like this:
The softener is in service when the arrows are parallel with the pipes like the picture above.
- Make sure the softener has salt in it, and has not run out within the past few months.
What do I do if I ran out of salt?
To regenerate a Fleck 9000/9100 Twin Softener, first remove the black cover on the control by loosening the bolts on the sides of the cover, and pull it off toward yourself.
You will then see the control. Turn the lower, right knob two clicks clockwise (about a ¼”) . (Do not adjust the higher left dial with all the numbers.)
Sometimes the water softener will start regenerating immediately, other times it will wait 10-15 minutes and then begin. Listen until you hear it start, then set a timer or something to remind you, and do the exact same thing in 3 hours. It is important that you start the regeneration close to 3 hours after the first.
Usually the cold water will be soft immediately, but it may take days for the hot water to be soft. To speed up the process, the hot water heater may be drained at the drain location on the heater or by simply opening a hot water spigot and letting it run. Usually the hot will need to be run out approximately twice the tank capacity to be soft again.
For the Clack WS1 Twin simply hold the regen button in until the softener comes on.
You should hear it start run within ten minutes. Once you hear it start, set a timer or something to remind you, and do the exact same thing in 3 hours. It is important that you start the regeneration close to 3 hours after the first.
If the softener was simply off, this should get it started. Usually the cold water will be soft immediately, but it may take days for the hot water to be soft. To speed up the process, the hot water heater may be drained at the drain location on the heater or by simply opening a hot water spigot and letting it run. Usually the hot will need to be run out approximately twice the tank capacity to be soft again.