Your water softener can be a great asset to your home, but maintaining it and cleaning it is the only way to keep it working properly. In this article, you will learn what you need to do in order to maintain and clean your water softener as well as why maintaining and cleaning a water softener is so important.
Clean The Filter
The filter is the most important part of this appliance. It’s essential that during every water softener cleaning you pay special attention to this part. Cleaning the filter is necessary to maintain the system, especially during each water softener cleaning.
To do this, use a garden hose to remove the filter. Take care not to damage it, keep it away from water pressure and direct sunlight. If you find grime or dirt inside of this appliance, clean it with an old toothbrush & vinegar solution (one-part vinegar for five parts water).
Use Vinegar And Baking Soda For The Inside
Your best weapons for cleaning the inside of your water softener are vinegar and baking soda. Some people use detergents, but they contain harsh chemicals that can strip the minerals from inside of your system. If you do not have a salt-free model, then this is especially important to avoid.
Make sure that you empty out any excess debris before using either baking soda or vinegar on the inside walls of the tank. Using more than one cup for both should be enough to make it fizz away anything nasty without corroding metal parts over time if used properly.
Once everything has settled down again after about half an hour or so, turn on some fresh tap water which will flush all remnants through into the pipes leading outside where it belongs along with natural magnesium levels present in normal drinking water.
Clean Out Any Buildup Annually
You need to clear all buildup that got into the water softener from the year. You can use a combination of vinegar and baking soda to scrub your water softener tank clean, but be sure you have let it sit overnight if there is a lot of buildups so that both the vinegar and baking soda dissolve fully.
Do not try to clean out with cleaning products as this will corrode parts inside your machine causing damage or malfunctions in future years. Only stick with using just vinegar and baking soda for maintaining and cleaning your water softener.
Here’s how to clean the buildup:
- First, attach the cleanout tool to one of your faucets that are closest to where your water softener tank lives.
- Then, turn off all electricity and gas supply at the source before proceeding with cleaning out buildup in order for it not to be potentially dangerous.
- Use baking soda and vinegar with a small brush to scrub away any remaining buildup.
- Flush out the solution by turning on your water softener tank’s faucets for about ten minutes or until everything has been cleared out of it.
- Lastly, turn back on all electricity/gas sources before exiting the house since you are done maintaining and cleaning your water softener tank.
Change The Salt Every Six Months
You need to change the salt every six months to properly maintain and clean a water softener. In order for the system to work at its best, maintaining it regularly is essential. The salt that you put into your unit helps soften any type of hard water that comes from the mainline.
As time goes on, though, this salt will build up inside of your tank, and when enough accumulates in there, platelets form around the grains of salt causing them not to dissolve as easily, or completely! You don’t want this happening because if these clumps are allowed to grow too big they can actually stop some parts within your machine from working correctly which could cause problems with how efficiently it runs later down the road.
Regularly Check For Leaks
You’ll also need to check regularly for leaks. If you don’t do this, it could lead to some damaging issues that can crop up in the future. Not maintaining and cleaning a water softener properly will only work against you in the long run because then they won’t function at their best levels of efficiency.
To do this, you’ll need to use a leak detection solution. This will help you to detect any leaks so that they can be patched up and fixed as soon as possible before the damage spreads too far and wide.
Schedule Regular Maintenance Appointments
Regular maintenance is key to keeping any appliance in working order. Scheduling regular maintenance appointments allow the technicians to determine if any repairs need to be made and also gives them a chance to clean off any sediment build-up in your water softener that may have been missed during an emergency cleaning session.
Cleaning and maintaining a water softener will extend its lifetime. That’s why you need to make sure to clean the filter and use the right products and methods to clean the insides and the buildup. Make sure to change the salt in the appliance every six months and check for any leaks around it. Also, you should schedule regular maintenance in order to avoid costly repairs in the future!