Water Softener Not Working: Troubleshooting Guide

Signs your water softener isn't working

The water tells you first. Soap stops lathering, spots and white crust come back on faucets and glassware, and the shower feels different. If you want a number, test the water coming out of a cold tap after the softener. Our hard water testing guide covers kits and lab tests.

For reference, NDSU Extension classes water under 1.0 grain per gallon (gpg) as soft, and above 10.5 gpg as very hard. Softened water should test near zero.

Step-by-step troubleshooting

1. 1

   Cause 1: Check the bypass valve

   This one catches a lot of people. After a plumber visit, a filter change or a leak repair, the softener often gets left in bypass. GE's manual says to make sure the bypass valve stem is positioned properly, following the decal on its end. Whirlpool's fix for bypass valves in the wrong position is simply to move them to service.

2. 2

   Cause 2: Check power and the clock

   Is the display lit? Is the time right? GE lists an unplugged transformer, a disconnected power cable, a blown fuse and an outlet on a wall switch as causes of no soft water. After a power outage, a clock that reset can leave the softener regenerating at the wrong time or not at all. Fleck's fix after a power failure is to reset the time of day.

3. 3

   Cause 3: Check the salt

   No salt, no brine, no softening. Whirlpool's fix for an empty tank is to refill with salt and then run a recharge. If the tank looks full, push a broom handle down through the salt. A hard layer partway down is a salt bridge, and GE lists "no salt, or salt bridged" as a cause of no soft water. Breaking it up is covered in salt bridge in a water softener.

   If the salt never seems to go down, see water softener not using salt.

4. 4

   Cause 4: Force a regeneration

   Start a manual regeneration and listen. On a GE unit you press the TOUCH or HOLD button for 3 seconds. On a Fleck 7000SXT you hold Extra Cycle for 5 seconds. You should hear the motor and then water running to the drain. If nothing happens, go to water softener not regenerating.

5. 5

   Cause 5: Check the settings

   A hardness setting that's lower than your real hardness makes the softener run out of capacity before it regenerates. GE's fix is to set the hardness to your water's grains per gallon, and to retest well water because its hardness can change. Whirlpool says to add 5 grains to the hardness setting for each 1 ppm of clear-water (ferrous) iron.

   Hard water only some of the time? GE points to hot water use during regeneration, which fills the water heater with hard water. Avoid running hot water while the softener regenerates.

6. 6

   Cause 6: Clean the injector and check the drain line

   The injector (nozzle and venturi) pulls brine out of the salt tank. If it's clogged, the softener regenerates with plain water. GE lists a dirty or damaged nozzle and venturi, and a restricted drain hose, as causes of no soft water. Fleck lists a plugged injector or screen and low line pressure among the reasons a softener won't draw brine. If the salt tank is filling with water, that's the same problem; see brine tank full of water.

7. 7

   Cause 7: Look at the resin

   Resin is the last suspect, not the first. Iron and manganese in well water coat the beads over time. Fleck's manual lists a fouled mineral bed as the cause of iron in conditioned water, and Whirlpool recommends cleaning the resin bed with a resin cleaner when iron shows up.

   Resin wears out eventually. HomeGuide says resin typically lasts more than 10 years on city water and 5 to 10 years on well water high in iron or manganese. Resin beads in your faucet aerators are a different problem: GE traces them to a cracked distributor and says to call for service. Our resin guide covers cleaning and replacement.

Water softener not working after cleaning the salt tank

This is usually a reassembly problem. Check that the brine line is reconnected and tight at both ends, that the float assembly went back into the brine well right side up, and that the overflow hose is back on. Then run a manual regeneration and watch the water level in the tank. Whirlpool's test for brine draw problems is whether the level drops after a recharge.

Water softener salt tank problems at a glance

When to call a pro

Call for service when the softener has salt, is out of bypass, regenerates on demand, has a clean injector and still delivers hard water. That leaves the valve's internal seals, the distributor or the resin. HomeGuide puts typical water softener repairs at $150 to $600, with a national average of $430, and resin replacement at $200 to $400. HomeAdvisor's range is $162 to $985. On a unit that's more than ten years old, price a replacement too; HomeGuide gives softeners a 10 to 15 year lifespan.