Is my water softener working?

[Blake1]

Hi all! I am been scratching my head trying to figure out if my water softener is producing soft water.

I purchase a GE GXSH40V from Home Depot back in 2015, and recently the A/C adapter went out on it. I picked up a replacement genuine adapter, everything seems to be in order. The bad news is I forgot my softening level setting as it reset. I picked a number that I could remember (20), but after some weeks, the water didn't seem softer. So I picked up some free test strips for hard water, they all showed that my water was still hard. So then I ordered a Hach 145300 Total Hardness Test Kit, and it also shows the water is still hard (15 drops needed, so 15GPG). Of course I set the level on the softener at that (15), waited a number of weeks, still no change in the test result.

I also tested the non-softener water (outside hoses) vs. softened water (inside sink), same results.

I took apart the softener and cleaned the little tiny screen, as well as emptied the brine tank completely and cleaned it all thoroughly. Suggestions from the GE manual and GE customer support.

The softener SEEMS to be working fine, and IS using salt, but the water test says different. The softener is of course out of warranty, so my question is, should I just buy another ($500) unit from HD, or go with a monthly service system? I really hate subscriptions and would rather pay upfront, but this is proving to show that the latter has it's advantage (as nobody including HD and GE seem to want to work on this disposable? unit).

Thanks in advance for everybody's help. I'm no expert when it comes to plumbing, and since we just had our first baby, I want to make sure the water quality is good.

BTW, I reached out to Home Depot to do a water test, but instead of sending a test sample in, they send somebody to your house to sell you a water treatment system for $8,000 now.

 

[Reach4]

15 grains out of the softener. Softener is probably not working. How hard is your raw water?

Did the softener ever work?

Don't be offended, but is there any chance that the softener is in bypass? Probably not, since I don't think it would use salt in bypass. But I don't know your softener behavior.

If you have the space, a softener with a separate brine tank is usually easier to do cleaning and repairs on.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[WorthFlorida]

There should be a away to allow the softener to manually turn on a regeneration cycle. When you do you should hear water running on a backwash cycle, then see the water level drop in the brine tank and eventually refill. It could take 2-3 hours for a regen cycle. During the regen there will be hard water.

Are you sure you do not have the bypass valve in bypass if you have one? You need to do a iron out flush unless you use salt with "system saver" or "iron out" in the salt. I lived in Algonquin, right down the road from you and after a few years I had hard water with my softener. I used 50 LBS salt blocks that were sold everywhere including gas stations. After two Iron Out treatments (added to the brine tank for manually regen) the water softener worked like new. After a regen run the bathtub cold water to flush the softener, you'd be amazed at the amount of rust that will come out.

 

[Blake1]

Wow thanks guys! Yes sorry it is certainly in the service position, not in bypass.
I did also run some cleaner through it, but not iron-out. I actually have some iron-out I use occasionally for my laundry, so I will run some of that through it!

I also always use the Rust-Defence salt by Morton. I did use the standard stuff before, but in the last year or two switched to only the Rust-Out pellets.

The softener used to work, and although I never tested it, I could feel the softer water (or lack of minerals).
This started after the A/C adapter burnt out and I installed a new one (OEM from GE, upgraded model I guess). All electronics seem fine.

The softener will drain down during a force cycle as well, I can see the water level go up and down, and the salt level lowers over time.

So perhaps it IS working, but the something is causing the water from softening? Does that make any sense? That's why I think I'm going crazy, and I'm scared if I buy another new softener it will do the same thing, as perhaps it is in fact working, but the tests I am using for the water are inaccurate due to other contaminants?

 

[WorthFlorida]

It won't hurt to run a full box or bottle of Iron Out. The water in that part of the world has a lot of clear water iron. The additive in the salt pellets may just not be enough.

 

[Reach4]

Good thought on the iron contaminating the resin.

What is the hardness of your raw water?

During the Iron Out treatment, you can enhance the effect by stopping the brine draw cycle ~ 15 minutes, once the brine has just been all drawn, to let the solution sit on the resin. You could do that by putting the unit into bypass for a period... maybe an hour?

https://www.menards.com/main/housew...mover-9-5-lb/io10n/p-1444444183163-c-7097.htm

 

[Blake1]

So you guys think the water is getting softened, but there is still iron causing the test to show a hardness level?
The raw water tested right at 15gpg as well, and ironically the treated water from the softener seems to be just a touch higher, 16 or 17.

I'll run the iron out in the tank to see what happens.

Does running the softener manually (or having the setting too high) cause too much salt in the water which shows up as hard water? That is what I heard from a service company over the phone.

 

[Reach4]

So you guys think the water is getting softened, but there is still iron causing the test to show a hardness level?

No. The theory is that the iron contaminated the resin and stopped it from softening.

Normally the hardness setting on the softener only controls how often the softener regenerates, and not how much salt is used for each regen.

Manual and regular regens rinse the salt out of the resin before putting the softener back in service. If you stop the brine draw and let the iron out sit in the resin, you would trigger a manual regen later to clear the IO.

Consider watching the drain water for rust color once flow through the softener is resumed after the iron out treatment. If that resumption is with a manual regen, then the drain line would show the washed out iron at the start of the backwash.

One thing I don't know offhand is if your brine tank gets filled at the beginning of a regen, or is done at the end of a regen to get ready for next time.

 

[ditttohead]

So you guys think the water is getting softened, but there is still iron causing the test to show a hardness level?
The raw water tested right at 15gpg as well, and ironically the treated water from the softener seems to be just a touch higher, 16 or 17.

I'll run the iron out in the tank to see what happens.

Does running the softener manually (or having the setting too high) cause too much salt in the water which shows up as hard water? That is what I heard from a service company over the phone.

That service company has no clue what they are talking about. That is truly one of the worst answers I have heard in a while.