Water softener help?

[Swamp_Yankee]

Recently it seems like my softener isn't softening as much.  Our primary issue is iron but usually the softener combined with the PoU filters on the fridge and kitchen tap make for pretty good tasting water.  Last night my wife made corned beef for a belated St. Patrick's Day feast and it seemed to have an irony taste (it simmered for about 3.5 hours) and this morning the coffee tastes a little off.  There are some mineral deposits starting to form on the fridge dispenser which we normally don't see either.

I have plenty of salt in reserve but I just looked at my tank and it's pretty full-it seems as though the system is not consuming salt at its regular rate.  Is something clogged?  I could call George's in Clinton who installed it but I'd rather troubleshoot myself first plus I don't want anyone coming in the house right now.

[RPK0620]

if your salt reserve tank is not going down you may have an issue of some sort starting. See if you can google your make and model softener or in general and maybe you just have a clogged line or something. I had to replace mine about 6 years ago just because it was old and had been rebuilt once.  How old is yours?

I have very heavy iron where I live and when the new softener was installed I was told not to use the salt with the iron out in it because it wasn't very effective but to buy the regular salt and use this product which is what I do and there was a huge difference. You add it to the salt when you are putting it in the reservoir.

 

Edited March 22, 2020 by RPK0620

[Bubblehead]

It could be that you need to increase the salt usage. You’re water composition can change over time. If it’s not using salt it’s possible that you have a clog or blockage somewhere. Also you could try manually back washing a couple times. May break free any issues and get you back on track

[Tarhunt]

I had the same problem a few weeks ago. The dip tube was clogged so, I took it apart and cleaned it and now it's working fine. 

[electric10162]

Taxidermist John Noon is in the water business. Give him a call.

[not on the rug]

2 hours ago, Tarhunt said:

I had the same problem a few weeks ago. The dip tube was clogged so, I took it apart and cleaned it and now it's working fine. 

I was going to suggest that.  The brine line can get clogged with little pebbles sometimes.  

[RPK0620]

Another thought, the brine line both fills the brine tank and then drains the brine out. To prevent overfilling the line has a float mechanism to shut off the filling when it reaches a certain level to prevent overflowing. Check that the float (whatever type it is) is loose and functioning..... as it maybe stuck and not be refilling the brine tank !