Sears Water Softener Maintenance

Water Softeners

• Water softeners do just what the name implies; they remove hard minerals from water and render it more drinkable and less damaging to plumbing, laundry and dishes. The softener changes the water's hardness by removing calcium, magnesium and other minerals before the water enters the building's plumbing system. Water softeners drain to the washing machine line, floor drain or standpipe. Any drain field must be able to tolerate low quantities of the softener's brine tank discharge.

Basic Maintenance

• If your water softener is used in an unwinterized building, such as a summer cabin, it must be drained each year before cold weather sets in and water in the unit freezes. Otherwise, basic maintenance consists of ensuring that the unit is programmed for the correct service times. You should not use your water system, including flushing the toilet, while the water softener is in service, so most people program the system to come on in the early hours of the morning. Remember to reprogram the timers twice a year when you move to daylight savings time and back to standard time. Reprogram the timer as well after any power outages.

Salt

• For best results, use a 100 percent water-soluble salt in your Sears/Kenmore water softener. Your dealer can recommend the best types available in your area. Use of completely water-soluble salt prevents bridging, a common cause of water softener system failure. Bridging occurs when salt clumps together and does not flow through the water softener, clogging the tank. Kenmore water softeners use salt very efficiently, requiring less salt than other brands for regeneration. Between 2 and 5 inches of water should always be in the salt tank.

Removing a Salt Bridge

• Kenmore advises removing any salt bridge by putting a broom handle or similar object alongside the softener, marking with a pencil on the broom handle the 1 or 2 inch limit below the rim's top. Gently push the handle right into the salt. If you feel something hard resisting the handle, it is probably a salt bridge. Push the handle gently into a few sections of the hard object to loosen and break it. Do not attempt to break the bridge by hitting the tank, as this will only cause damage. If you can't break the bridge with only the broom handle, add a little warm water to soften the salt mass.