How often does a water softener need to regenerate? What is this procedure even for? We’ll go through the regeneration process in great depth and provide you with all the information you want in this article.
Regeneration: What Is It?
A water softener’s primary function is regeneration.
In fact, keeping an eye out for an odd regeneration cycle is one of the best methods to determine whether anything is wrong with your water softener.
Minerals are removed from the resin beads in your water softener during the regeneration process.
These beads would get too thickly suffused with minerals without this procedure to operate correctly.
To restore the resin beads with the sodium they require to function properly, the regeneration process depends on the salt you add to the softener (read more about how to do that here).
Still unsure about what’s happening? Okay, so this is how it works.
Water from your local government (in our instance, Phoenix) travels through the resin particles in the softener.
By conducting an ion exchange, the sodium in those beads removes the minerals from your water and replaces them with sodium.
The beads eventually fill up with minerals and are unable to perform this exchange effectively.
Regeneration then begins, removing the minerals and releasing the beads once again for sodium filling.
Exactly How Often Should A Water Softener Regenerate?
A timer may be used to renew certain water softeners.
Approximately once a week, the system will start this procedure in the early morning hours.
Most contemporary softeners with this feature also let you change the interval using a control module.
For further information on how to accomplish this, see the user handbook for your water softener.
On the basis of user desire, other systems renew.
The mechanism will renew more often to prevent disruptions the more water your home consumes.
The most effective softeners may renew every day.
If it regenerates depending on demand, your owner’s handbook ought to provide you some information on its timetable.
In Phoenix and Buckeye, the majority of demand-based water softeners renew every two to three days.
Even while going a week without a cycle is uncommon, it does happen.
Are You Unsure Of How Often To Regenerate Your Water Softener?
When clients contact and inquire, “How often should my water softener regenerate?” Typically, it’s because they’ve seen some strange behavior in the way their system behaves.
You can manually start a regeneration cycle on the majority of systems.
There is no specific science behind how often to manually renew your water softener.
You shouldn’t need to on a frequent basis with a system that is working correctly.
But if you take a trip, you may want to turn off the automated process and just start a regeneration when you get back instead of letting the automatic timetable to restart.
How Much Time Does A Water Softener Need To Regenerate?
Regeneration of a water softener might take up to 90 minutes.
Throughout this procedure, a lot occurs.
As was previously indicated, salt from the brine tank is used to cleanse and reenergize the resin beads in the softer.
This method may consume up to 25 gallons of water, depending on how hard the water in your location is (see information for the City of Phoenix here).
Some clients express worry that this procedure would be wasteful.
However, employing a water softener often has more advantages than drawbacks.
Although the systems require a lot of water during regeneration, they also help you conserve water when doing activities like washing dishes and doing laundry.
Help! I Can’t Get My Water Softener To Regenerate!
You should get familiar with the water softener’s regeneration cycle very soon after installation.
Don’t be alarmed if you notice that it regenerates more or less often than you’re used to; there may be a straightforward reason.
One is that your water use could have altered if your softener regenerates depending on demand.
If it regenerates according to a timetable, you could have unintentionally changed the settings in the past.
For instructions on how to reset the schedule in the latter scenario, see the handbook.
An empty brine tank is another typical reason.
It’s possible that you’ve neglected to add salt pellets to the tank at some time.
It’s possible that the salt within the tank constructed a bridge, concealing how empty it really is.
You should restock the brine tank in any of these scenarios so it can restart the normal regeneration timetable.
Keep in mind that this timing depends on the amount of salt in your brine tank.
The procedure is hampered if the salt is lacking.
Regeneration Stuck In Water Softener
Rarely, the softener may refuse to cease regenerating, which is the opposite of the aforementioned issue.
A blocked connection might be the reason your water softener is stuck in regeneration.
Typical offenders include:
- Sewage pipe
- Ventilator valve (which looks like this)
- Salve valve
Low water pressure in your home or obstructions in other parts of the system are some additional potential causes.
To thoroughly diagnose the problem and have them look at the system, you’ll probably want to bring in an expert.
Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about your water softener in Gilbert.
How Frequently Should I Regenerate My Water Softener? Conclusion
Understanding how your softener regenerates is essential to finding a solution to this query.
While some renew depending on demand, others do it based on time.
To find out what process your softener employs, consult the handbook (or give the manufacturer or installer a call).
Effective softeners could renew every day, however some do so twice or three times every week.
Others may renew as low as once per week (especially older units).
This procedure is essential to ensure that your softener works correctly and delivers enough water to your house.
Contact a specialist if you think your softener is acting strangely but are unsure of the cause.
We hope you will get in touch with American Home Water and Air if you’re in the Phoenix, Arizona, region.
Over the course of our existence in the region, we’ve served more than 50,000 homeowners with residential HVAC and water services.
In addition to offering excellent customer service, we also want to inform our clients on the rationale behind our recommendations.
Learn more about the employment possibilities we have available if you want to join our team and work with us.
Come see for yourself why we are the city’s top-rated HVAC and water service provider!
