Has a customer noticed their unit isn't going through as much salt as expected? Let's go through some checks to see what's going on.
Confirm Water Usage
The unit uses water usage to know when to recharge on its own. We need to check if it's recharging automatically.
1. Start by holding the Program/Select button until ‘000’ appears on the screen, then let go. This is the water metering screen – any time a softened faucet is used in the home, you'll see it counting here.
2. Go ahead and turn on the hot water side of a nearby faucet and leave it running. Go back to the softener. Are the numbers counting up?
- YES - That's good! Your unit is metering water flow, meaning it is also recharging automatically. Continue to check for a salt block at next step.
- NO - The unit hasn't been keeping track of water usage, meaning it hasn't been recharging automatically or using salt properly.
Check for a Salt Block
Since the unit is recharging, it's also trying to use salt. Salt can sometimes solidify and stick together at the bottom of the tank and if this happens it's not possible for the water to dissolve it properly.
Go to our Salt Bridge article to check for a salt bridge or block. Did you have a salt block or bridge?
- YES - Fixing the salt bridge should solve the issue.
- NO - If they do not have a salt bridge or block come back here to complete the next step.
Check the Fill Cycle
If there is no salt bridge or block, the softener must not be filling the tank properly with water during the recharge cycles. Head over to our Is My Softener Filling article to check this.
Please let us know if this article was helpful by voting below.