Learn me water softeners

We are on city water, I grew up on city water, I've always been on city water. When we bought this house there was a water softener in the basement. I don't think there was any salt in it, and I figured it was used in the past, before they got city water.
I realized a while ago, I think they just let it run out of salt cuz they were moving. Anyway, I'm thinking I'd like to get it running again but I have no idea how a WS even works, or how to tell if it's doing it's thing. I did put a bag of salt in there, like 6 years ago. A little while later, the salt was gone. Either there is a salt thief in Michigan, or the water heater is doing something.
Anyway, besides adding salt and seeing if it goes away, is there a way to check out the softener to see if it's working? Is there maintenance on these things?

I googled this just now, then remembered that GRM is the new google for those 'in the know'.

They run in cycles. I use a 40lb bag every 3 weeks.

This was on last Saturday. It is toward the end of the show.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/ask-toh/video/0,,20658259,00.html

Ask this old house - episode 12 2012

I use a bag up in almost exactly one month. I can count the time to refill by how many bags I put in. 3 bags = 3 months. It is seldom off by more than a day or 2.

I use the Red Out version even tho I don't have enough iron in the water to technically need it, but you know what? My commodes stay cleaner longer and don't develop that water line.

Also your coffee or teapot will last longer, your dishwasher, etc., etc. You also won't get that annoying mineral line down the front of the refrig from the ice & water dispenser.

And you need a softener if you've got a tankless hot water heater.

You may want to consult with a plumbing contractor that services them. They can do a water test for you and explain how it works as well as make sure it's functioning properly. When I first bought the house I live in, there was a unit in the basement. I knew nothing about it other than to keep it filled with salt. It used a lot of salt...I knew no better, so just kept filling it. Apparently there was something amiss. I wound up replacing several pipes over the years, the tank, a pump, water heater, etc. When a part of it finally sprung a leak I had to replace it. The new installation uses maybe a third of the salt.

Are there lights on it? Does it have buttons and a control panel? Does it make scary noises sometimes when you mash buttons?

A water softener is a filter. It's filled with media that looks like little plastic beads. The media attracts the minerals, and some iron from the water as it passes through. This is how it softens the water, by removing, and holding the stuff that makes it hard. On the metered ones, you input the water hardness (in grains per gallon) and it automatically runs a regeneration cycle after a certain number of gallons has passed through, and the media is full of minerals, etc. During a cycle, the media is flushed, then soaked with salt water. The salt water makes the media swell, the pores open and the minerals come out on a final flush. The media is then empty and ready for another cycle.

A few things you need to know are your water hardness (grains per gallon), and the capacity of your softener (grains). You can by a kit to test that, or do what I did and bring a few companies in to quote on a system. They will look at your water, tell you how hard it is, and make a recommendation on hardware. When they gave me prices, I realized that I'd have to learn about it and do it myself.

Water is considered hard at around 10 gpg, and very hard over that. Divide your water hardness into the size of the softener, and that will give you the amount of use per regeneration. Most softeners will also tell you the amount of salt used per regen. My water is 144 gpg I almost need 2 water softeners, but just barely get by with the largest I could find, a 45,000 grain unit. I can go through a few bags a week in heavy usage. Because my water also has a fair bit of iron in it (the softener gets most of it) I have to pull the control valve apart every few years and clean the iron out.

Thanks all. And to logdog, it's not even plugged it, but there is a control panel on it. I don't remember if it's got buttons or what. I'll take a look-see tonight.

Another thing, if you don't think your system is working very well, and you're using the cheap rock salt, try using something like system saver, or crystal. It's ground up, and formed pellets or chunks. It breaks down faster and works much better. If I use rock salt in my system it won't clean the media well enough and I end up with hard water.

I agree with all of Zomby's comments.

Also, you should be able to contact your water department; they will tell you exactly the levels of everything in the water that they distribute. The water might pick up some iron along the way from pipes but, their records should be pretty close for what comes out of your faucet. I know I get a quarterly report with way more information than I need, and I do plumbing design work!

I have a reverse osmosis system. It was expensive but its said to make the water as pure as possible.

We have a local business (3M) that use to dump its toxic waste many years ago into the ground nearby and it contaminated the municipal water supply for a large section of our county to this day. Unfortunately no water filtering system can remove that as far as I know.

carguy123 wrote: I use the Red Out version even tho I don't have enough iron in the water to technically need it, but you know what? My commodes stay cleaner longer and don't develop that water line. Also your coffee or teapot will last longer, your dishwasher, etc., etc. You also won't get that annoying mineral line down the front of the refrig from the ice & water dispenser. And you need a softener if you've got a tankless hot water heater.

Ugh... I've always suspected I could use a water softener... my water turns everything red. Now it sounds like I could really use one. Especially if I'm planning to redo my plumbing anyway... something else to add to the renovation list...

If everything is turning red, you have iron in your water. You need to have your water tested and treat the water to take care of your specific issues. I just gave an estimate this morning to install a whole house filter, water softener and a reverse osmosis system for a new house on well water. Homeowner had the water tested and this is what was sold to him. Makes my job simpler because I'm not on the hook for figuring out what he needs. I just need to show up, pull the permit, and install everything he bought. One little hitch in this is his water is already salty from road salt, so we are using potassium chloride instead of regular salt.

Yeah, I know it's iron... after 20+ years of living here, I doubt I'm suffering from an iron deficiency... The water dept replaced the street main last year, but I'm sure the rest of the pipes are corroded to hell. Part of my to-do list is to replace everything after the meter and install a filter of some sort. I can't wait... Still, it'll be a ton easier than all of the water lines I ran in my g/f's house. Small house; one floor; everything in the basement.