Kenmore 625.3485500 User Manual

Page 12

Advertising
background image

HOW YOUR WATER SOFTENER WORKS

SECTION 2

12

2B.

SOFT WATER SERVICE AND REGENERATION

SERVICE

When the softener is giving you soft water, it is

called “Service”. During service, hard water

comes from the house main water pipe into the

softener. Inside the softener resin tank is a bed

made up of thousands of tiny, plastic resin beads

(FIG. 4). As hard water passes through the bed,

each bead attracts and holds the hardness

minerals. This is called ion-exchanging. It is

much like a magnet attracting and holding

metals. Water without the hardness minerals

(soft water) flows out of the softener and into the

house soft water pipes.

After a period of time, the resin beads become

coated with hardness minerals and they have to

be cleaned. This cleaning is called regeneration

or recharge. Regeneration is started at 2:00 a.m.

by the electronic timer (see page 14). It takes

place in 5 stages or cycles. These are:

FILL
BRINING
BRINE RINSE

BACKWASH
FAST RINSE

1
2
3

4
5

FIG. 4

WATER FLOW THROUGH THE

SOFTENER IN SERVICE

REGENERATION

¡

FILL: Salt, dissolved in water, is called

brine. Brine is needed to clean the hardness

minerals from the resin beads. To make the brine,

water flows into the salt storage area during the

fill stage as shown in FIG. 5. Fill cycle length

depends on how much soft water making

capacity you have used since the last regenera-

tion. As you use more water, fill time increases so

more brine is made. The greater amount of brine

cleans more hardness minerals from the resin

bed.

FIG. 5

WATER FLOW THROUGH THE

SOFTENER IN FILL

Advertising
This manual is related to the following products: