WHY YOU CAN STILL GET SPOTTING WITH A WATER SOFTENER
Here’s a confusing question we get from people every now and then …
A customer has a water softener to help remove the minerals that cause soap scum, scale buildup, and other hard water problems, but they’re still seeing spotting on things like their dishes, faucets, and after washing the car.
So what’s going on? Shouldn’t a water softener keep that from happening?
There are few reasons why you may still get spots on surfaces even with a water softener installed.
Your Water Softener Needs Maintenance
The first question you should ask is whether your in-home water treatment system is functioning properly. If it’s not, your water won’t be the quality you expect and spotting could easily occur.
Do you need to add water softener salt? If your brine tank is less than half full, that could be the problem.
Select water softeners from Water-Right can take advantage of our patented salt monitors, which alert you when salt is needed.
You could also have a salt bridge or salt dome. This happens when a hard layer forms on top of the salt pile in the brine take. This layer is supported by the edges of the tank, creating a gap that prevents the salt from dissolving in the water.
You may be able to break up the crusted layer yourself using something like a broom handle.
“Salt mushing” is what happens when dissolved salt recrystallizes and forms a mushy sediment at the bottom of the brine tank. Salt mushing may keep your water softener from properly regenerating. The best way to fix this problem is to completely drain the system of water and replace the salt.
Yet another maintenance issue you may run into is the need to clean your resin beads. Even though a water softener’s regeneration cycle recharges the media, it’s still necessary to flush the resin bed every so often.
Are you sure your system settings are correct for your usage? That can also affect the performance of the system and the quality of your water. Contact us today to schedule an appointment for us to do a system check on your water Softener.