Anybody have much knowledge about water softeners? I know how they work in principle - I'm curious whether the resin beads where the ion exchange takes place wear out or lose their effectiveness over time.
About a year ago, I noticed that I was getting hard water throughout the house, and ultimately determined I had a salt bridge in the salt tank. I emptied the salt well, broke up the bridge, and haven't had that problem since, however since that time, The water softener stops producing soft water before regenerating. At first, I'd get hard water for about a day before it regenerated, then 2, etc... I've increased the "hardness setting" on the softener so it regenerates more frequently, which has helped, but not all the way. The water company tells me I have 20 grains of hardness in the tap water, and I've set the softener up to 30... This morning, I showered with hard water. I pressed the "regenerate" button so it regenerates tonite, and we'll have soft water tomorrow, but I'm looking for a definitive fix. Is the resin bad and should I replace the whole thing, or is there something else I should try? What is the service life of a water softener?
About a year ago, I noticed that I was getting hard water throughout the house, and ultimately determined I had a salt bridge in the salt tank. I emptied the salt well, broke up the bridge, and haven't had that problem since, however since that time, The water softener stops producing soft water before regenerating. At first, I'd get hard water for about a day before it regenerated, then 2, etc... I've increased the "hardness setting" on the softener so it regenerates more frequently, which has helped, but not all the way. The water company tells me I have 20 grains of hardness in the tap water, and I've set the softener up to 30... This morning, I showered with hard water. I pressed the "regenerate" button so it regenerates tonite, and we'll have soft water tomorrow, but I'm looking for a definitive fix. Is the resin bad and should I replace the whole thing, or is there something else I should try? What is the service life of a water softener?