Water Softener Keeping Water Salty After Regeneration? (Do This!)

Stacy Randall
by Stacy Randall

Having a water softener installed in your home can improve water quality for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. But occasionally, you may find extremely salty water flowing out of your faucets. What could be causing this excess, and how can it be corrected?

Salty water leaks in during the softener’s regeneration cycle, particularly if you use water lines during this process. However, excess salt may build up inside the regeneration tank and the mechanical assembly that processes the water. Delaying water use during regeneration and cleaning the tank interior will help resolve the problem.

Salty water flow is more of an annoyance than it is a problem. The water is still potable; however, the oversaturation leaves an unpleasant taste and could negatively affect people with sodium-restricted diets. It could also impact sudsing agents and their ability to fully clean clothes, dishes, and body parts.

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How Does Regeneration Affect Water Quality?

Over time, the resin filter becomes saturated and has to recharge to continue working effectively. So, periodically, the softener system rinses the trapped ions from the filter so it can continue treating the water. This rinse and recharge process is called regeneration.

During the regeneration process, the water inside the holding tank contains high levels of sodium. Meanwhile, the calcium and magnesium particles removed from the hard water saturate the resin filter. Once the filter is full of the mineral ions, it loses its effectiveness to soften the water.

The softener has to rinse those ions from the resin to be able to keep converting to new water. The reverse exchange usually takes about two hours to complete and runs at least twice a week. Typically, you would set this process to run overnight when there is little to no water usage.

How Does A Water Softener Work?

A water softener is a device that removes excess amounts of calcium and magnesium from your tap water.

While these minerals are beneficial, they can leave hard deposits on plumbing and trace amounts on skin and hair. They can also leave residue on dishes and clothes that make them harder to fully clean.

Ion Exchange

Untreated water flows into the water softener’s intake tank through a filter, where a filter removes the hard metals.

This process, called ion exchange, replaces the calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions and “softens” the water. The treated water then flows throughout the plumbing system to all devices and appliances needing a water supply.

Sodium Content

The treated water has a higher sodium content than the untreated water but doesn’t taste significantly salty.

Treated water flows to sinks, tubs, dishwashers, and washing machines for consumption and general use. Meanwhile, the tank holds the exchange water, and valves prevent its transfer into the water lines.

What Causes A Water Softener To Fail?

There may, however, be a rare moment where the taps are opened while regeneration is taking place. If someone uses the taps during regeneration, some of the tank’s water could leak into the cold water lines.

From there, the highly salinated water leaches into the drinking supply lines and can produce a strong salty taste.

Build Up Of Neutralized Ions

Additionally, the neutralized ions can build up over time and settle on the internal operating parts. This residue can be difficult to rinse away through normal operation and regeneration. As a result, the consumer ends up using impartially treated water.

Of course, it’s always a good idea to check for mechanical issues first when looking into softening failure. For example, low water pressure into the device or a restricted flow control can diminish the softener’s efficacy. Check all lines and tubing for restrictions to ensure the drain and brine well lines are allowing proper flow.

How Do You Fix The Salty Water From Water Softener?

The simplest way to eliminate salty water coming through the tap is not using the plumbing during the regeneration cycle.

When the water’s not running, there’s little chance of the valves leaking from the water softener to the water lines. If some discharge water does wind up flowing through, running the water for a minute or two should clear it.

However, if these simple fixes don’t work, check your control settings on the softener to make sure it’s set correctly.

For example, the timer clock may need resetting so the regeneration cycle begins at the designated time. You may also need to adjust the water hardness setting depending on changes in the water source.

Maintaining Your Water Softener On Your Own

Why hire a professional if you can do this on your own? We explain the process below! Of course, always hire a professional if you are not comfortable doing this on your own.

Preparation

Cleaning out the water softener’s components will require some disassembly and hand cleaning. Fortunately, you can choose to perform this maintenance yourself rather than calling a repair person for the job. You won’t need much more than a 4-in-1 screwdriver, a bucket, a broom handle, and a lot of patience.

Check The Brine Tank

Check inside the brine tank for any salt problems that can hinder proper ion exchange and regeneration flushing.

Break up bridges within the salt with a broom handle to promote dissolving and prevent resin bed buildup. Also, check for any salt mush at the bottom since it dilutes the brine solution and halts the regeneration process.

Be sure to set the water supply to bypass before starting any maintenance work on your softener. You don’t want any unnecessary residue or impurities to leach into the system.

Clear The Salt Mush And Resin Bed

Clear the salt mush by scooping it from the bottom of the tank into the bucket. Pour in some hot water so whatever remains dissolves and rinses from the system and regeneration can work properly. Once that’s clear, add fresh salt to keep brine levels high enough for effective operation.

Next, clean the resin bed with a diluted solution of resin bed cleaner poured into the brine well tube. Make sure you rinse the air check valve or brine valve assembly in warm water, as well. You should cleanse the resin bed twice a year so it can continue to soften your water.

Clean The Venturi Valve Assembly

To clean the venturi valve assembly, remove the cap and carefully unseat the valve and filter screen from the appliance. Next, gently clean the mineral deposits from these parts with warm water, and if necessary, a soft brush.

Once you reinstall the newly cleaned parts, hard water can properly flow through the softener for ion exchange and regeneration.

Why Is My Water Yellow After The Regeneration Process?

The water softener’s ion-exchange process can remove iron from hard water in addition to calcium and magnesium.

Occasionally, the regeneration cycle will not fully remove iron deposits from the resin bed, causing rust deposits to form. An excess of these deposits can turn the water cloudy or yellow. To remove these stubborn rust deposits, you’ll need to flush the resin bed with a mild iron cleaner.

Pour the diluted cleaning solution into the brine well tube and immediately run a manual regeneration cycle on the softener. This should dislodge any iron deposits from the resin bed and clear up the water.

Extreme Cases Of Iron Buildup

In more extreme cases of iron buildup, some suggest using a stronger, more caustic cleaner formulated for iron removal.

These “iron-out” cleaners can be effective; however, some manufacturers caution against them due to toxic fumes and potential equipment damage. Be careful and use good judgment in using these products.

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Related Questions

Should I unplug my water softener?

There might be occasions where you are away from your house for an extended period, like a vacation. While you’re gone, your water system–and, by extension, your water softener–may sit idle. Depending on how long it goes unused, the water softener’s resin bed could breed mineral and rust deposits.You may be able to just flip the bypass switch for short trips with little to no concern. Engaging the bypass switch ensures that no new water flows into the water softener tanks. For absences longer than two to three weeks, it would be good practice to unplug the device entirely.


What kind of salt should I add to my water softener?

Either of the two common types of salt–sodium chloride and potassium chloride–is suitable to use in water softeners. However, it is important to use salt that is specifically formulated for water softener use. For example, common table salt, dicing salt, or rock salt could clog the water softener mechanisms with dirt and impurities.The three most effective forms of softener salt are pellets, crystals, and block salt. Pellets are most widely used as they are easy to pour in and easy to break up the hardened sections. Block salt is ideal in a softener designed to keep the salt block submerged in the brine water.

Stacy Randall
Stacy Randall

Stacy Randall is a wife, mother, and freelance writer from NOLA that has always had a love for DIY projects, home organization, and making spaces beautiful. Together with her husband, she has been spending the last several years lovingly renovating her grandparent's former home, making it their own and learning a lot about life along the way.

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