EcoPure MW_MW15_450217 - Manual (Page 16)

GENERAL WATER SOFTENER MAINTENANCE
CHECKING THE SALT STORAGE LEVEL, AND REFILLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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.
NOTE: In humid areas, it is best to fill with less salt,
more often.
WHEN TO ADD 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 1/2
full. Never allow the softener to use all the salt
before you add more. 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 main-
tenance problems.
NOTE: WATER SOFTENING SALT WITH IRON
REMOVING ADDITIVES: Some salts have an addi-
tive to help the softener handle iron in the water sup-
ply. Although this additive may help to keep the sof-
tener resin clean, it may also release corrosive
fumes that weaken and shorten the life of some sof-
tener 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 care-
fully 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, pellet or coarse solar
salt only. In humid areas, it is best to fill with less
salt, more often.
CLEANING IRON OUT OF THE WATER SOFTENER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Your water softener takes hardness minerals (calci-
um 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 max-
imum of clear water iron, an iron filter or other equip-
ment is needed. Your local dealer 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.
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