Pardon me gentlemen, but could I please inquire of your opinions on water softeners

The area I live in is blessed with incredibly hard water. Lately Ive noticed a large build up of deposits on my shower head etc. My home has a (as far as I can tell) 8 year old water softener. Ive owned the home for about a year now and I have not seen the salt level in the tank drop AT ALL. Seeing as how my neighbor mentioned that he goes through many bags a year, I know this is a problem. I have next to no functional knowledge as to how this magical wizzbang works, so I did what I nearly never do, and took a look at the instruction manual.

It lists steps for cleaning the venturi. I did this and removed a considerable amount of goop from the innards of this thing. While I realize that this must have some effect on the system, the venturi is so small that I cant see how cleaning this small apparatus can have any major effect on the fact that my softener isnt functioning properly.

Can anyone gimme any pointers on a DIY fix or a common problem these things have? Its a Kenmore unit, and their helpdesk was essentially a forwarding agent to a retailer for a new machine. How does a softener work, and what kinda symptoms do I need to look for/ info do I need to provide? Please help

http://tinyurl.com/ojvy5g

I put my own unit in and had problems after five years. The manufacturer was helpful as they told me what parts to clean.

After two-three months of this I finally cleaned the salt tank out and that was the problem.

I hate/love my water softener........I did not have one for 5 years and it has ruined some of our faucets due to corrosion and white crap....

+1 clean out the salt tank. You may have a salt bridge http://www.systemsaver.com/windsor-website/maintenance/troubleshooting/salt-bridge.html

I just replaced mine as the head unit started leaking in a non-repairable way. drill the techs about such things when they come to work on them and I learned a few things:

1) The brine tank (I think that's what it's called) has a lifespan. Unlike the similar tank for my acidity problem, these apparently aren't easily refilled. Whatever magical compound is in them deteriorates over time (8-10 years, as with most things like this it seems) depending on the water you have and the maintenance the device receives.

2) The rate of salt usage is adjustable. If you're going through bags of salt pretty quickly, it may be set up wrong.

3) When you purchase one, be careful of the brand. Not so much for reliability, but for parts access. Several brands are 'protected' with parts, meaning you can only buy parts from that supplier and they can charge whatever the heck they want for them. My tech was pleased that I had a Waterfall brand as he could buy every component seperately. I think it was the Culligan brand he said you're screwed; just replace the whole thing when it breaks.

4) Water softeners are an expensive PITA, but not having one sucks in more ways than you can imagine.

Wally wrote: +1 clean out the salt tank. You may have a salt bridge http://www.systemsaver.com/windsor-website/maintenance/troubleshooting/salt-bridge.html

ok thats not good...I think I have a bridge as I can only move a few of the salt pellets on the top...and my tank is a good 80% fullAnd a few weeks ago, I thought to myself...maybe the pellets are all stuck together, so I need to break em up...I used a 3/8 inch steel bar and was only able to stab an inch or so down. Perhaps my BFH will need to persuade the bar down deeper. Thanks for everyones help thus far.

Is it hooked up?

In the house I grew up in we had a water softener too. We didn't seem to go through as much salt as your neighbor is, but we definitely had to do maintenance work on a regular basis. We back flushed it every once in a while and added the softener. After 10 years, I think we replaced it. They don't last forever. You may need a new one.

Can you empty the softener out of it?

Voted up for not using "learn me" in a topic title! You rock!

My girlfriend's parents have a water softener, and it has always made the water too soft. Soap won't rinse off. Feel dirtier after a shower than before. Ick.

That's all I have to contribute.

ClemSparks wrote: Voted up for not using "learn me" in a topic title! You rock!

was wondering when someone would notice

Anyway, the softener is almost 10 years old, and I may need a new one yes, but I want to be sure theres nothing I can do to wring out a few more years on the cheap...I guess Im gonna have to just try to get out all that salt thats clumped into a huge rock in the tank, and try to replace it and see where that gets me. Im seriously considering a large paddle bit in a 20 volt drill or an air chisel or something like that. At one point last night, I was thinking about using an M80 firecracker I have left over from a few years ago down in a hole I could drill using a 20" arbor bit...FIRE IN THE HOLE but I think the plastic tank would disapprove.

alex wrote: My girlfriend's parents have a water softener, and it has always made the water too soft. Soap won't rinse off. Feel dirtier after a shower than before. Ick. That's all I have to contribute.

Actually I asked the same question about our water softener when the water heater guy came to fix our element. He adjusted our sofener 8 points lower. But he said that it's not the soap not rinsing off it's the soap getting rid of the dirt on your skin and you feeling the natural oils on your skin (feels slippery). He said the squeaky-ness is bad, you feel that due to the hardness of the water (minerals on your skin).