Water Softeners: Fixes, Installation & Costs
A water softener takes the calcium and magnesium out of hard water before it reaches your taps, by trading them for sodium on a bed of resin beads. Most softener problems come down to salt, settings or a stuck valve, and you can fix many of them yourself. Start below with the symptom you have, or with the buying guides if you don't own one yet.
The problems people call about most
- The water feels hard again. Usually the brine tank is out of salt, a salt bridge has formed, or the softener isn't regenerating. Start with water softener not working.
- Salt level never drops. A crust of salt (a bridge) is sitting over empty space, or the brine line is plugged. See water softener not using salt and how to break a salt bridge.
- Standing water in the brine tank. Some water is normal on many models; a tank filling to the top isn't. See brine tank full of water.
- Salty-tasting water right after a regeneration, often from a bad brine draw or a clogged injector. See salty water from a water softener.
Before you take anything apart, check that the bypass valve is in the service position and the control clock is right after any power outage. Those two catch a surprising number of "broken" softeners.
Fix it
Salt
Settings and maintenance
Penn State's maintenance list is short: keep salt in the brine tank, filter out iron that would clog the resin, and clean or replace the resin when it stops working.
Buying and installing
Get a hardness number before anything else. Penn State says water under 7.0 grains per gallon probably won't cause major scaling, so a softener there is a comfort choice. HomeGuide puts a salt-based softener at $1,200 to $3,800 installed, plus $50 to $150 a year in salt or potassium.
- Do I need a water softener?
- How a water softener works
- What size water softener do I need?
- Water softeners for well water
- Salt-free vs salt softeners
- Water softener cost and installation cost
- Renting vs buying a softener
- How to install a water softener
Brands: Culligan, Kinetico and the Fleck control valve settings guide for the valve found on many store-bought units.
Not sure your water is hard? Start with hard water signs and testing.
FAQ
What does a water softener do?
It removes calcium and magnesium, the minerals that cause scale and soap film, by swapping them for sodium ions on resin beads. When the resin is full, the softener flushes it with salt brine to recharge. Penn State notes softeners don't reliably remove serious drinking water contaminants.
Does softened water have salt in it?
A little sodium, not salt you can taste in normal operation. Penn State says softening adds about 7.5 mg of sodium per quart for each grain per gallon of hardness removed. People on low-sodium diets can keep one tap on unsoftened water.
What is the best water softener?
The one sized to your hardness and water use, with a valve your local dealer or plumber can service. A softener that's too small regenerates constantly; one that's too big wastes money up front. Use our sizing guide before you compare brands.
All guides in this section
Fix it
How-to
Cost
Buy
Learn
Sources
- Penn State ExtensionWater Softening (opens in a new tab)
- HomeGuideWater Softener Cost (opens in a new tab)