Your water softener is constantly regenerating, and you are not sure why. You have a great idea of what may be going wrong but don’t know how to fix it. This article will walk you through the process of repairing your water softener so that it doesn’t keep regenerating anymore!
There is a simple fix that can help to prevent this problem from happening again in the future, follow along with these steps to repair it now.
Why does my water softener keep regenerating?
Circuit Breaker Switch
If your system’s circuit switch is damaged or broken, your softener may not function correctly. Circuit switches control the behavior of a water softener, and if they fail, the system will continually renew. The only option to address this problem is to replace or repair the defective component.
Failure of the Control Head
Your water softener’s control head or control valve may also fail at some point. Control heads normally last as long as your system, but if you have an older unit, it may have reached the end of its useful life. Replacing the damaged component will, once again, resolve the problem. It’s doubtful that you’ll be able to repair the gadget after it’s decided to call it quits.
Control Head Programming Error
The metered demand head may not have given up on you entirely. Your system may have just reset the settings, or it may have encountered a hiccup that resulted in continual regeneration.
Typically, regeneration takes around 2 hours from start to finish and occurs around 2 or 3 a.m. During this operation, you may hear hissing or flowing water. If a fault has caused the device to become trapped in regeneration mode, you will hear these noises when you would not normally hear them.
If anything doesn’t appear correct, check the settings and reprogram the timer. If you’re unsure, see your user manual.
A clog in the water lines
Another typical problem that might cause your water softener to malfunction is a blockage in one of the water lines: the drain line, the injector/venturi line, or the brine line. Because there isn’t enough water circulating between the tanks when any of these lines become clogged or obstructed, the system may become trapped in a continual regeneration cycle.
A blockage is more likely if you have exceptionally hard water or high amounts of another pollutant, such as iron. If you use a lower-quality salt, such as rock salt, you may have more frequent problems with water line clogs.
Clogged Brine Tank Valve Assembly
Dirt, salt, and silt can block the brine tank valve assembly as well. To reach the valve in the tank and clean anything that requires cleaning, follow the instructions in your user handbook. If you find any cracks or damage, you may need to repair or replace the valve and other components. To minimize dirt buildup in the valve, consider using a higher-purity salt.
The water pressure is insufficient.
If your home’s incoming water pressure is too low, your water softener may not be able to regenerate. As it tries to suck enough water into the resin tank, the device may become trapped in continual regeneration. Water softeners work best when the water pressure is between 40 and 50 PSI.
If you don’t know what your water pressure is, get a pressure meter. If necessary, you might also purchase a booster pump to increase your water pressure. It should be noted that in order for this to operate, it must be connected to an electrical source.
Under normal circumstances, the regeneration process is only activated when water hardness increases. When this occurs, it will activate the regenerator to balance out the distribution of minerals in your water. However, if your system gets stuck in a loop and starts regenerating continuously.
A problem with your water softener is that it can keep regenerating. This could be caused by low pressure or a blockage in the pipes leading to the unit, which would lead to continuous regeneration of salt and filter media.
If this happens, you may want to take steps away from your home for about an hour so that the system will stop regenerating after running out of media. You’ll likely need to contact a professional for help.
Causes of Long Water Softener Run or Regeneration Cycles
If your water softener has a regeneration cycle, you might be wondering why it’s happening. There are many causes of long runs and cycles beyond what is typical for the system. If the water softener is stuck in regeneration mode, it needs to be repaired.
The most common cause of this problem is that there isn’t enough salt in your tank to regenerate properly because someone set the timer incorrectly!
There are a few causes that can lead to long water softener regeneration cycles:
- Too little salt dose or too much brine tank. – The process of the regenerator is also affected by its age, design, and condition.
- The calcium carbonate that’s inside the unit has been depleted.
- The system needs to have more salt added because of low pressure.
- There are too many minerals in the water from other sources such as groundwater and/or well water – these can cause poor performance with mineral buildup.
- Incorrect control head or timer programming
- Control head failure
- Control head clogged or leaking
- A switch that has been damaged or short-circuited
- Water pressure is low.
- Brine tank float valve assembly clogged
What is the water softener regeneration cycle?
Water softeners work by trapping hard water minerals, including calcium and magnesium. These resins are then regenerated in the water supply at a high concentration so that they can be reused over time. Over time the resin will become contaminated with salt deposits which stop them from working properly. As a result, it is necessary to regenerate your softener before you need it again.
The water softener regeneration cycle is the process of regenerating minerals in a water softener. The average length of time for this process is around 1 to 2 hours, and it’s automatic; meaning no manual input or action needs to be taken by the owner.
Hard water can fill up within your home if you’re not careful with maintenance like regularly checking on mineral levels and filling hard-water storage tanks when they’ve reached capacity.
The water softener will regenerate when the resin is exhausted and needs to be replaced. This regeneration cycle happens every six months, making it a good idea for homeowners to replace their filters during this time period.
How to stop your water softener from regenerating
If a water softener regenerates when it is not needed, then you might have reasons to keep your whole home from regenerating.
This is a common problem with water softeners, but it can be prevented by making adjustments to the settings. If your water softener operates based on usage, that does NOT necessarily mean that it will not attempt regeneration just because there has been no use of water in hours or days.
To stop your water softener from regenerating, shut down the pipes that feed it. You can also reset the regeneration process by shutting it off and then turning it back on to regenerate.
If you’re in a situation where your water softener is programmed to regenerate by time rather than usage, try re-setting this option so it doesn’t go through its regeneration cycle when there isn’t any water going through it.
If you want to prevent your water softener from regenerating, bypass it. This prevents the machine from using any salt and wasting any water, but if this doesn’t work then there is no guarantee that the softened water will not regenerate on its own.
It’s best if you set regenerate after a pre-set amount of time whether there was any usage or not; this way your machine won’t regenerate when nobody is home and clog up the whole system.
Mike Spencer
Hi Guys, Mike is a Mechanical Engineer who specializes in Heating, Ventilation, and Air-conditioning. His love for humanity and his profession propels him to share useful and factual Information on this blog.