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How Your Water Softener Works
FIG. 37
SOFT WATER SERVICE AND REGENERATION
SERVICE
When the softener is giving you soft water, it is called
“Service”. See Fig. 36. During service, hard water
comes from the house main water pipe into the soften-
er. Inside the softener resin tank is a bed made up of
thousands of tiny, plastic resin beads. As hard water
passes through the bed, each bead attracts and holds
the hardness minerals. This is called ion exchanging.
Water without the hardness minerals (soft water) flows
out of the softener and into the house soft water pipes.
After a period of time, the resin beads hold all of the
hardness minerals they can, and cleaning with salt
brine is needed. This cleaning is called regeneration or
recharge. Regeneration is started at 2:00 a.m. by the
electronic timer. It takes place in 5 stages or cycles.
These are: 1. Fill
2. Brining
3. Brine Rinse
4. Backwash
5. Fast Rinse
REGENERATION
The five steps listed above are described in detail over
the next several pages.
FILL: Salt, dissolved in water, is called brine. Brine is
needed to clean the hardness minerals from the resin
beads. To make the brine, water flows into the salt stor-
age area during the fill stage. See Fig. 37. Fill cycle
length depends on how much soft water making capaci-
ty you have used since the last regeneration. As you
use more water, fill time increases so more brine is
made. The greater amount of brine cleans more hard-
ness minerals from the resin bed.
WATER FLOW THROUGH
THE SOFTENER IN SERVICE
Soft Water
OUT
Hard Water
IN
Salt Storage Tank
(Salt not shown)
Brine Valve
Resin Tank
Resin Bed
Salt Storage Tank
Brine Valve
Fill Water
WATER FLOW THROUGH
THE SOFTENER IN FILL
Soft Water
OUT
Hard Water
IN
FIG. 36
Questions? Call The Kenmore Water Line 1-800-426-9345