Water softeners are exceedingly reliable machines. Some can go as long as 15 years without incurring a single problem. However, this isn’t to say that water softener problems are rare. In fact, odds are, if you own a water softener, it will take on a problem at some point.
Curious as to the different types of water softener problems? If so, you’ve come to the right place. Take it from a Romeoville water softening company: these are four of the most common water softener problems in existence.
1. Motor Damage
It’s fairly rare for water softener motors to become damaged. Generally, if they do, it’s because they’ve reached the end of their lifespan and are not able to function any longer. That being said, premature motor damage does occur sometimes, and when it does, the water softener stands no chance of producing soft water.
If your softener stops going through the regeneration process, you should reach out to your local water purification specialist as soon as possible. He or she will be able to assess the motor to determine whether or not it’s the source of the problem. If it is, you will either need to replace it, repair it, or buy an entirely new water softener altogether.
2. Lack of Salt
In order to operate properly, the vast majority of water softeners need to be filled with softener salt on a regular basis. If you fail to fill your softener in a timely manner, it will cease to produce soft water.
Fortunately, this is an easy fix. If you’ve forgotten to add softener salt over the past few weeks, you can simply add it now. It likely won’t produce immediately, but it should have your softener working as intended again in just a few hours.
3. Deteriorated Resin Beads
The key to a water softener’s functionality is the ion-exchange process. To facilitate this process, water softeners utilize entities known as resin beads. These beads contain sodium ions, and they exchange them for calcium and magnesium ions as they pass through. Without these beads, water softeners are essentially useless.
While it’s not terribly common, resin beads can deteriorate before their time is due. If this occurs, you will have to replace them with fresh beads in order to get your system running properly again.
Wondering how to spot deteriorated resin beads? They’ll likely be floating at the top of your softener tank, broken up into little pieces.
4. Excessive Iron
One of the reasons that resin beads go bad is that they’re subjected to excess amounts of iron. Unlike calcium and magnesium, iron places stress on resin beads, negatively affecting their efficacy, and causing them to break apart before their time.
The question is: what do you do about excess iron in your water? There are a few options. The cheapest option is to use a softener salt with iron removal capabilities. However, you could also remove iron permanently by installing an iron filter. An iron filter will remove iron before it can get to your water softener, eliminating the problem entirely.
Need the Help of a Romeoville Water Softening and Water Purification Company?
Does your water softener need to be repaired? Need the help of a Romeoville water softening company? Look no further than DuPage Water Conditioning.
Our team of water purification specialists is well-versed in the repair of all types of water softening problems. Regardless of the problem you’re facing, our team can handle it.
Contact us now to schedule an appointment!