Salt Bridges
When it comes to solving their water supply issues, people choose water softeners to prevent mineral scaling on their pipes and fixtures. It is ironic, though, that these could also cause the scaling of salt, also a mineral, inside the tank and system’s lines.
As this accumulates, it can form salt bridges at the tank’s base that can keep the system from softening the water.
A salt bridge is a hardened crust of salt that keeps water from flowing in and out of the brine tank as well as the whole system from running its regeneration cycles. When a salt bridge is not identified, it can break the system in the long run.
However, once a salt bridge is identified, it can be easily fixed by breaking up and removing the salt crust. It is also best to clean any salt that has accumulated on all edges of the tank.
It Makes the Water Brown
Everyone has seen brown water flow out of their tap and it looks disgusting. It is understandable that this water is not potable but if ever a water softener is installed in it, they may think that this could have caused it.
Just to let them know, it is most unlikely for a softener to cause the water to turn brown. Usually, brown water is brought about by damaged pipes or large amounts of sediments and rusts in the water main.
However, the build up of bacteria in the softener may also cause the water to turn brown and not be fit to drink.
To remove this possibility, it is critical to sterilize the system using hydrogen peroxide and chlorine. This can be done by putting 2 cups of sterilizer into the brine tank, running 2 to 3 regeneration cycles then flushing the pumping. In case this continues, it is best to hire a plumber to check the system and see if there are any leaks or else contact the water supplier to find out if there are similar cases reported.
It Does Not Use Salt
When the level of salt in the brine tank remains the same over a period of time, salt was not used. This just means that ions exchange did not take place and so, there was no hard water softening. This system is considered useless if such a problem is not identified and fixed.
When a softener does not use salt, it is because of the forming of salt bridges that prevent the salt crystals from dissolving.
To enjoy the benefits given by soft water, it is important to solve the salt bridge problem as stated above. If the system does not use salt even when there is no salt bridge, it would help to contact the manufacturer of the system to ask advice on troubleshooting.