• How does a Water Softener Work?
• What doesn't a Water Softener Remove?
• What Size Water Softener Do I need?
• Maintaining A Water Softener
  - Regeneration of the Resin Bed
  - How do I Flush the Brine Line
  - Cleaning the Injector
  - When Do I add Salt and How Much
  - What is "mushing" and why do I need to avoid it?
• Is a Softener Harmful to my Septic System?
• Here is a list of most contaminants and treatments.

HOW DOES A WATER SOFTENER WORK?

Hard water is caused by having lots of calcium or magnesium dissolved in your tap water and causes two problems:

• Scale build up that can form inside of pipes, water heaters, tea kettles etc.
• The dissolved minerals reacts with soap to form sticky scum and reduces soap's ability to lather.
• Click here for diagram

Calcium and Magnesium ions are replaced with sodium or potassium ions. To do the ion exchange, the water in the house needs to run through a resin bed or a chemical matrix "zeolite". The resin beads or zeolite are bonded with sodium ions. As the water flows through the resin, the sodium ions swap places with the calcium and magnesium ions (ion exchange). Eventually, the beads in the tank will only contain the calcium and magnesium and no sodium. When this happens it is time to regenerate the resin or zeolite.

WHAT SIZE WATER SOFTENER DO I NEED?

Ask yourself this question..What amount of hardness is contained in your tap water? You can measure your hardness content by using a Hardness Test Kit. There are some simple calculations you can do as well:

• Calculate how much water your household goes through: Multiply the number of people in your family by 75. ( the #75 is an estimate number of gallons of water used per person per day.)
• Find the GPG (Gallons Per Grain) hardness of your water. (20 GPG is common in most areas). Use a hardness test kit
• Multiply the water usage by the GPG. Example: for a 4 person household, in an area with GPG of 20:4 x 75 = 300, then 300 x 20 = 6,000 GPG Total Hardness Per Day.

It is recommended that the softener has enough capacity to last approx 3 days between regeneration of the resin. A typical household capacity for the Softener is about 20,000-40,000 grains. Example: A 4 person household, over a 3 day period, 18,000 grains would pass through the softener. Therefore a resin capacity of 20,000 would meet your household needs.

MAINTAINING A WATER SOFTENER

- Regeneration of the Resin Bed: Regeneration involves soaking the resin beads in a stream of sodium ions. The Salt used for this is Sodium Chloride. The Water Softener mixes up a brine solution and flushes it through the resin bed or zeolite. (This is why you fill the Water Softener with salt) The Brine displaces all the calcium and magnesium that was built up on the resins and replaces it with the Sodium Chloride. The calcium, magnesium, and the rest of the brine is then flushed away through a drain pipe.

- How do I Flush the Brine Line:

• Turn the Water Softener control to the bypass mode. (On some units you may have to disconnect the unit from the electrical source).
• Loosen the fitting for the brine line at the Injector housing and salt tank using a wrench, then remove the brine line.
• If you have a clog, use a turkey baster or syringe to inject warm water into the line.

- Cleaning the Injector

• Turn the Water Softener to bypass mode so the main water line does not run through the softener.
• Unscrew Softener Injector cap and remove the screen and injector nozzle. (Use the owners manual)
• Remove and clean screen with warm soapy water, then rinse off. If the screen is damaged in any way, replace it.

- When do I add Salt, and how much: Add salt whenever the water level in the Brine Tank is higher than the salt level. A brine tank is designed to be filled to the top.

- What is "mushing" and why do I need to avoid it: When salt pellets or cube-style salt is used in a resin, it may form tiny crystals or evaporated salt. The crystals might bond, creating thick masses in the brine tank. This is called "mushing" and may interrupt the brine production. If this happens, a water softener may not be able to produce soft water.

IS SOFTENED WATER HARMUL TO A SEPTIC SYSTEM?

NO. Back washing or Regeneration water does not cause any harm to the septic system.

Water Softeners Do Not Remove: Silica, Phosphates, Nitrates, Organics