
Water Softener Troubleshooting
Many customers can save money by checking a few common problems and symptoms first. No matter where you purchased your water softener, Northland Water always provides free troubleshooting — both online and over the phone. After checking the following items, please call Northland Water to schedule a service call.
Always check the following items before calling Northland Water to schedule a service call:
- Is there salt in the brine tank?
- Is there a salt bridge in the salt tank?
- Is the water softener plugged in and receiving electricity?
- Is the time of day on the timer correct?
- Is the bypass valve in the ‘service’ position?
- Are there kinks in the drain line?
Problem You Are Experiencing | Cause of the Problem | Solution to the Problem |
---|---|---|
My Water softener will not regenerate. | Electricity is not getting to the system. | Check the outlet, circuit breakers, and that the water softener is plugged in. |
My water softener will not regenerate. | Timer motor is defective. | Call Northland Water to replace the timer motor. |
My water softener will not regenerate. | Power failure. | Reset the time of day after power is restored. |
My water softener is not softening the water. | There is no salt in the brine (salt) tank. | Fill the brine tank with salt and manually regenerate the softener. |
My water softener is not softening the water. | There is an internal leak. | Call Northland Water to replace seals, pistons, or distributor tube. |
My water softener is not softening the water. | Hot water is hard. | Drain the hot water heater and fill with soft water. |
My water softener is not softening the water. | Water softener is not regenerating often enough. | Increase hardness setting. |
My water softener is not softening the water. | Salt bridge at bottom of brine (salt) tank. | Break up salt bridge in brine (salt) tank to allow salt to mix with water at the bottom of the tank. |
My water softener is using too much salt. | Water softener is regenerating too often. | Decrease the hardness setting. |
My water softener is using too much salt. | Too much water in the brine (salt) tank because brine draw is not functioning. | Clean injectors. |
I am experiencing a loss of water pressure. | Iron build up in water softener. | Clean control and add resin cleaner. Increase regeneration frequency. |
I am experiencing a loss of water pressure. | Inlet of control is plugged. | Remove piston and clean control of foreign objects. |
There is iron in conditioned water. | Fouled resin bed. | Add resin cleaner or replace resin and increase regeneration. |
There is too much water in brine (salt) tank. | Plugged drain line flow control. | Clean flow control. Put system into brine, rinse and draw until 4″ of water is left at the bottom of the brine (salt) tank. |
My water softener is is failing to drain brine. | Internal control leak. | Call Northland Water to replace seals, spacers or pistons. |
My water softener is failing to drain brine. | Injectors are plugged. | Clean the injectors. |
The valve cycles continuously. | Faulty timer mechanism. | Call Northland Water to replace the timer motor. |
My drain flows continuously. | There is an internal leak. | Call Northland Water to replace seals, pistons, or spacers. |
The drain flows continuously. | Timer motor stopped or jammed. | Call Northland Water to replace the timer motor. |
The drain flows continuously. | Control valve jammed in brine or backwash position. | Call Northland Water to replace seals, pistons, or spacers. |