Kenmore ULTRASOFT 280 - Manual (Page 13)

SECTION 2 HOW YOUR WATER SOFTENER WORKS
B. SOFT WATER SERVICE and REGENERATION
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. 5). As
hard water passes through the bed, each bead at­
tracts and holds the hardness minerals. This is
called ion-exchanging. 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 hold all of the hardness miner­
als they can, and cleaning with salt brine is needed.
This cleaning is called regeneration or recharge. Re­
generation is started at 2:00 a.m. by the electronic
timer (see page 2-6). It takes place in 5 stages or
cycles. These are:
D FILL B BACKWASH
B BRINING
B BRINE RINSE
FAST RINSE
Note:
If the Clean feature is set to ON, additional back­
wash and fast rinse cycles occur before the fill cycle.
Water Flow Through
the Softener in Service
soft water hard water
OUT IN
FIG. 5
resin tank
resin bed
n 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. 6. Fill cycle length depends on how much
soft water making capacity you have used since the
last regeneration. 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. 6
Water Flow Through
the Softener in Fill
soft water hard water
OUT IN
2 - 4
Problems, Questions? Call 1-800-426-9345 Kenmore Water Line