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HOW YOUR WATER SOFTENER WORKS
SECTION 2
12
2B. SOFT WATER SERVICE AND REGENERATION
SERVICE
When the softener is giving you soft water, it is
called “Service”. During service, hard water
comes from the house main water pipe into the
softener. Inside the softener resin tank is a bed
made up of thousands of tiny, plastic resin beads
(FIG. 4). As hard water passes through the bed,
each bead attracts and holds the hardness
minerals. This is called ion-exchanging. It is
much like a magnet attracting and holding
metals. 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 become
coated with hardness minerals and they have to
be cleaned. This cleaning is called regeneration
or recharge. Regeneration is started at 2:00 a.m.
by the electronic timer (see page 14). It takes
place in 5 stages or cycles. These are:
FILL
BRINING
BRINE RINSE
BACKWASH
FAST RINSE
1
2
3
4
5
FIG. 4 WATER FLOW THROUGH THE
SOFTENER IN SERVICE
REGENERATION
¡ FILL: Salt, dissolved in water, is called
brine. Brine is needed to clean the hardness
minerals from the resin beads. To make thebrine,
water flows into the salt storage area during the
fill stage as shown in FIG. 5. Fill cycle length
depends on how much soft water making
capacity you have used since the last regenera-
tion. Asyou use more water, fill time increases so
more brine is made. The greater amount of brine
cleans more hardness minerals from the resin
bed.
FIG. 5 WATER FLOW THROUGH THE
SOFTENER IN FILL