EcoPure MW_MW40_450216 - Manual (Page 15)

..................................................AUTOMATIC WATER SOFTENER
GENERAL WATER SOFTENER MAINTENANCE
CHECKING THE SALT STORAGE LEVEL, AND REFILLING (also see page 9) .........................
Brine (salt dissolved in water) is needed for each and
every regeneration. The water for making brine is
metered into the salt storage area by the softener
valve and timer. However, you must keep the tank
full of salt. In humid areas, it is best to fill with less
salt, more often.
WHEN TO REFILL WITH SALT: Check the salt level a
few weeks after you install the softener and every
week after that. Add when the brine tank is from 1/3 to
½ full. Never allow the softener to use all the salt
before you refill it. Without salt, you will soon have
hard water.
Use clean water softener salt only, at least 99.5%
pure. NUGGET, PELLET or coarse SOLAR salts are
recommended. Do not use rock, block, granulated,
and ice cream making salts. They contain dirt and
sediments, or mush and cake, and will create
maintenance problems.
NOTE: WATER SOFTENING SALT WITH IRON
REMOVING ADDITIVES: Some salts have an additive
to help the softener handle iron in the water supply.
Although this additive may help to keep the softener
resin clean, it may also release corrosive fumes that
weaken and shorten the life of some softener parts.
BREAKING A SALT BRIDGE .........................................................................................................
Sometimes, a hard crust or salt bridge forms in the salt
storage area. It is usually caused by high humidity or
the wrong kind of salt. When the salt bridges, an
empty space forms between the water and salt. Then
salt will not dissolve in the water to make brine.
If the brine tank is full of salt, it is hard to tell if you
have a salt bridge. Salt is loose on top, but the bridge
is under it. The following is the best way to check for a
salt bridge.
Salt should be loose all the way to the bottom of the
tank. Take a broom handle, or like tool, and carefully
push it down into the salt, working it up and down. If
the tool strikes a hard object (be sure it’s not the
bottom or sides of the tank), it’s most likely a salt
bridge. Carefully break the bridge with the tool. DO
NOT pound on the walls of the tank.
If the wrong kind of salt made the bridge, take it out.
Then fill the tank with nugget or pellet salt only.
CLEANING IRON OUT OF THE WATER SOFTENER ...................................................................
Your water softener takes hardness minerals (calcium
and magnesium) out of the water. Also, it can control
some (see specifications, page 4) “clear water” iron.
With clear water iron, water from a faucet is clear
when first put into a glass. After 15 to 30 minutes, the
water begins to cloud or turn rust colored. A water
softener WILL NOT remove any iron that makes the
water cloudy or rusty as it comes from the faucet
(called red water iron). To take red water iron out of
water, or over the maximum of clear water iron, an iron filter or other equipment is needed. Your local
contractor has trained people to help you with iron
water problems.
If your water supply has clear water iron, periodic resin
bed cleaning is needed. Clean the bed at least every
6 months, or more often if iron appears in the soft
water between treatments. Follow directions on the
resin bed cleaner container.
15