I’m hoping someone can help me with this problem as I’m not having any luck. We had a water softener in a house we built, used it for 6 years, moved to a house with no plumbing spot for a softener so we stored it for 10 years. We got it out and had it installed in a home and the water is now tinged slightly yellow. I’ve put cleaner in it 2 times and regenerated it, the water still has the light yellow tinge. The install was 4 days ago. Will this pass eventually, should I put more cleaner through the system, or does the resin bed need replaced? The water is soft (which by many threads I’ve read means the resin is fine), but I don’t know what else it can be. We have city water. Please help!! Thanks
Yellow water after softener installation
- Thread starter ckimmyjo
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I would clean it more. How do you clean? Cleaner in resin tank, and then regenerate? You would want to increase the contact time by stopping flow as the brine tank just empties. I think closing the bypass at that point would increase the contact time. I am not a pro, and somebody may have a better way.
Iron Out is stronger than resin cleaner, but it has an odor.
Iron Out is stronger than resin cleaner, but it has an odor.
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The cleaner I used is whirlpool water softener cleaner. It states that it removes all of the minerals. I pour it in the brine tank then regenerate. You hit on an issue I was curious about, which was how could I increase contact time. At which point in the regeneration cycle would you think I should close the bypass? I really appreciate your help.
Also you said stop it as the brine tank empties to stall it there, so do you know on the electronic panel what it would say at that point so I would know when to stop it?
Mialynette2003
In the Trades
The resin is causing the color throw. IMO the cleaner is a waste on city water. Not sure the brand of softener you have but I would put it on backwash and unplug for an hour.
Is that a cabinet water softener? Many of those are brine first. When you regenerate, does the cycle start by the controller putting water into the brine tank and then waiting? So anyway, whatever the brine stage, where the brine is being withdrawn from the brine tank, is would be the time. I don't know what your panel displays.
I interpreted it as the softener was on well water for a long time. Then storage, and only now city water.
Ok. So the cleaner you don’t feel was needed after the softener being in storage for 10 years? We didn’t know to clean the tank so the resin is the original resin and we had hoped the cleaner would clean whatever had settled in there from sitting so long. Next question is when you say put it on backwash and unplug it, at what point in the backwash cycle, do you mean literally push the button and as soon as it begins the cycle then unplug it? What will this do for it? Thank you very much for your help. I’m willing to try any and all suggestions prior to having to dump the resin bed, because that’s the only thing i can think of left to do on my own and that’s costly to replace and I already spent $300 on parts to hook it up. Had I known, I would have just purchased another softener. Thanks for your help.
Bannerman
Well-Known Member
Depending on the type and brand of softener, it may be more cost effective to replace the entire softener. Upload some photos of the unit.
Ten years is a long time for the resin to be sitting without use. Was there any special precautions taken prior to storage or was the resin left sitting in chlorinated or unchlorinated water which will have stagnated?
A general recommendation to sanitize the resin is to add 1/2 cup unscented bleach to 2 gallons water into the brine tank and initiate a regeneration cycle.
Backwash is typically the first stage of the regeneration cycle. By removing power, the valve will remain in that stage and will not advance to the next stage.
I had been presuming the yellow was iron. With city water, I don't know what could have caused the yellow. Maybe somebody dumped something into the "funny waste can".
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Sorry everyone. I think I’m inserting my replies incorrectly by trying to put them under the initial quotes. I hope you all can make out my responses. I’m new on here and some of these aren’t coming up as an option to reply individually so I don’t know where to start my responses.
ditttohead
Water systems designer, R&D
Please sanitize your system. Add a 1/4 cup of bleach in the brine tank and regenerate.
As stated earlier, put the system into backwash for an hour.
As stated earlier, put the system into backwash for an hour.
Do I add water with the bleach or just the bleach? Thank you very much for your help!
Ok everyone. I have tried the bleach method of cleaning while unplugging the unit to leave it in backwash mode and soak for 2 hours for extra measure and have no change in the slight yellow water tinge. 
Please tell me that if I just keep doing that everyday eventually it will go away??? Any thoughts?
Please tell me that if I just keep doing that everyday eventually it will go away??? Any thoughts?
Mialynette2003
In the Trades
When you added the bleach, did you allow the unit to draw in the bleach then put it into a backwash cycle? You could try again with the 1/4 cup bleach to see if that will correct the problem. If not, replace the resin.
Well I’m not sure how to do that, but why i did was add the bleach to the brine tank about 1/2 cup with 1 gallon of water, then I hit the regenerate button and when it said backwash time 5 minutes (which was instantly upon starting the cycle) I waited 30 seconds, then I unplugged the unit, let it sit for 2 hours, then plugged it back in and it continued the regeneration cycle. Once it was complete I ran the bathtub, which is the nearest water source, for 10 minutes. if I did the process correctly, I plan to try it again today before replacing resin. Does this sound correct?
ditttohead
Water systems designer, R&D
can you test the water right out of the unit instead inside the house? Are you sure the unit giving the yellow water and not the old plumbing?
We presume that during that 2 hours, water was flowing through the softener to the drain. If your softener used some kind of spring loaded valve that shut off when the power went away, that would be different.
Since your regeneration started with backwash, that means that your softener refills the brine tank last. It also means that there is water/brine in your brine tank most of the time. The bleach would not get drawn in until after the brine draw cycle, which would follow the backwash.
Bannerman
Well-Known Member
Depending on the controller (photos?), regeneration often consists of 4 stages:
The chlorine will have been drawn-in during the Brine Draw stage and should have been all rinsed away to drain.
- Backwash - normally 5- 10 minutes - to expand the space between resin beads and wash out debris
- Brine Draw - usually 60 minutes - to draw in and slowly rinse Brine through the resin bed
- Fast Rinse - 5-10 minutes - to recompact the resin bed
- Brine Fill - variable duration - to restore water into the brine tank to prepare brine for the next regen cycle
By unplugging during Backwash, you should have heard water continuously running to drain. Pls confirm.- Brine Draw - usually 60 minutes - to draw in and slowly rinse Brine through the resin bed
- Fast Rinse - 5-10 minutes - to recompact the resin bed
- Brine Fill - variable duration - to restore water into the brine tank to prepare brine for the next regen cycle
The chlorine will have been drawn-in during the Brine Draw stage and should have been all rinsed away to drain.
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