Short answer: Most softeners that stop working have a salt bridge, no salt, power or a bypass valve left open, or a regeneration setting that got reset. If all of those check out and the water is still hard, the resin may be worn or fouled by iron, and that is a plumber's call.
- Who this is for: homes with a salt-based softener, city water or well water.
- Can wait: a softener that is off while you check salt, power and the bypass. Hard water is a nuisance, not a danger.
- Act sooner: water on the floor around the tank or brine tank, or a drain line that is overflowing.
- Call or text Ryan if: you have done the basic checks and the water is still hard.
First: Is It Really Not Working?
People often decide the softener has failed because the water feels different or the salt level looks odd. Check the signs first.
- Soap and shampoo do not lather the way they did, and a film shows up on shower doors.
- White crust is building on faucets and the showerhead faster than before.
- Skin and hair feel dry after a shower, or laundry feels stiff.
- The water heater is louder than normal. Hard water scale builds up inside tank heaters and tankless units.
If you see these, the softener is probably not doing its job. For more on what hard water does inside a house, see hard water effects on plumbing in Georgia.
Check the Salt and the Brine Tank
Lift the lid on the brine tank, the short tank that holds the salt. Look at the salt, and look at the water.
No salt, or very little. The softener needs salt to recharge the resin. Add the type of salt your manufacturer calls for, and let it run a regeneration.
A salt bridge. The salt can harden into a crust near the top while a hollow gap forms underneath. It looks full, but the salt is not touching the water, so no brine forms. Press gently on the top with a broom handle. If it feels hard and hollow, break the crust up carefully without jabbing the tank walls, and remove any loose chunks. Do not hammer on the tank.
Salt mush at the bottom. If the salt has turned to a sludge, the brine tank needs to be emptied and cleaned before refilling.
Salt bridges and mush tend to form when the salt sits a long time without much being used, so a vacation home or a house with low water use sees them more often.
Check Power, Bypass and Settings
- Power. Is the controller lit? A tripped outlet, an unplugged transformer or a power flicker can leave the display blank or the clock wrong. If the clock is wrong, the softener may regenerate at the wrong time, or not at all.
- The bypass valve. Most softeners have a bypass on the back, a small valve or lever. If it is in the bypass position, water goes around the softener and stays hard. Someone often moves it during a filter change or plumbing work and forgets to move it back.
- Regeneration settings. Check that the hardness setting and the schedule match what the manual says. A power loss or a reset can bring back factory defaults that do not fit your water.
- The water supply. Make sure the valves feeding the softener are open and nothing is shut off from a recent repair.
After you fix one of these, run a manual regeneration if your unit has that button. Give it the time it needs, then test a hot and a cold tap.
Checked the salt and still hard?
Text Ryan a photo of the softener and its controller. He is a licensed Master Plumber and answers his own phone, day or night.
When the Resin Is the Problem
Inside the main tank is a bed of small resin beads that grab the hardness minerals. They are the working part. Over time the resin wears out. On a well, iron can also coat the beads and keep them from working, even when salt and power are fine.
Iron is common in well water around here. The EPA notes that iron can leave sediment and orange or reddish stains, which is the same stain you see on a coated softener. If your water is both hard and rusty, a softener alone may not be the right answer, and water filtration vs. water softener explains why. Orange stains in a sink are covered in orange stains in the sink.
Signs of a worn or fouled resin bed:
- The water is hard even though the salt, power, bypass and settings are all correct.
- The softener regenerates and the water is still hard right away.
- Rust-colored staining on the resin tank or in the brine tank.
That is where the do-it-yourself checks end. Ryan does water treatment, including water softeners, so he can look at what you have and tell you whether it needs a repair or a replacement, and give you a free estimate before any work.
Leaks and Drain Problems
A softener has a drain line that carries the salty water out during regeneration. If that line is kinked, clogged or draining too slowly, the brine tank can overflow. Water around the brine tank, or a constant trickle from the drain line, is worth a call. Shut off the water to the softener with the bypass, and mop up the floor so a wet basement does not get worse.
If the softener sits in a finished area or a crawlspace, check for dampness regularly. A leak in a place you do not walk through often can run for days.
Repair, Rebuild or Replace
Many softeners have a long life if they get salt and basic care. When a softener is old and the resin is worn, replacement can make more sense than repeated repairs. Ryan will tell you which one makes sense for yours. The estimate is free, with no trip fee and no diagnostic fee, and work is backed by a warranty with terms given in writing at the estimate.