HOW YOUR WATER SOFTENER WORKS
SECTION 2
11
2B. SOFT WATER SERVICE AND REGENERATION
SERVICE
When the softener is giving you soft water, it is
called Service". During service, hard water comes
from the house main water pipe into the softener.
Inside the softener resin tank is a bed made up of
thousands of tiny, plastic resin beads (FIG. 4). As
hard water passes through the bed, each bead
attracts and holds the hardness minerals. This is
called ionĆexchanging. It is much like a magnet
attracting and holding metals. Water without the
hardness minerals (soft water) flows out of the
softener and into the house soft water pipes.
After a period of time, the resin beads become
coated with hardness minerals and they have to be
cleaned. This cleaning is called regeneration or
recharge. Regeneration is started at 2:00 a.m. by
the electronic timer (see page 13). It takes place in
5 stages or cycles. These are:
FILL
BRINING
BRINE RINSE
BACKWASH
FAST RINSE
1
2
3
4
5
FIG. 4 WATER FLOW THROUGH THE
SOFTENER IN SERVICE
REGENERATION
FILL: Salt, dissolved in water, is called brine.
Brine is needed to clean the hardness minerals
from the resin beads. To make the brine, water
flows into the salt storage area during the fill stage
as shown in FIG. 5. Fill cycle length depends on
how much soft water making capacity you have
used since the last regeneration. As you use more
water, fill time increases so more brine is made.
The greater amount of brine cleans more hardness
minerals from the resin bed.
FIG. 5 WATER FLOW THROUGH THE
SOFTENER IN FILL
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