How To Tell If Your Water Softener is Working?

If you suspect your supply of beautiful, soft water is experiencing problems, the first indication is going to be your own intuition. Something is not right with your water system in general. But it is not necessarily related to the softener part. Is there an unpleasant odor coming from your water supply? Okay, that shouldn’t happen, but it is probably not softener-related. We are going to show you how to tell if your water softener is not working.

Let’s consider the basic facts of what a water softener system does. To “soften” it, the water has to be classed as hard to begin with. That means it has a higher-than-normal level of calcium and perhaps other elements such as magnesium. You can’t see these things in the water (and you can’t smell them either). How hard water gives itself away is by leaving crusty deposits in various places. The most obvious of these is in your kettle. That white crust that forms over time: it’s calcium that has escaped from the water itself and settled on the interior of the kettle. You can see it in this setting because a kettle can be opened.

If the calcium is there, it is probably everywhere else that water flows too: inside your pipes, your washing machine, and your dishwasher, for instance.

Clues in the Kitchen

So, the first way to tell if your water softener is working is easy: look in the kettle. The deposits in there may not do any real harm, but in the expensive appliances, they will be clogging things up and can result in malfunctions and even wreck the thing so it has to be replaced. So, it pays to be vigilant about these things, and if your water softener is not working, you need to get that seen by someone who knows what they’re doing.

If you have been unfortunate enough to discover your softener isn’t working because your washing machine bit the dust, again you’re going to need to consult an expert. Get them to have a good look inside it and see if this actually was the cause of its demise. If it looks that way, there are still other factors to look at. Has the machine been here all along or was it brought in when you or a previous occupier moved in? It could have got clogged somewhere else and just finally succumbed in its current location.

Clues in the Bathroom

Another telltale sign of hard water is if your skin feels a little crusty and your hair isn’t as silky and lustrous as you would expect after a shower. It will be the same culprit, but this time the calcium is clinging to your body rather than household appliances.

Bring in the Ultimate Expert

If you had the water softener unit installed, you know who to call now, and a reputable water quality company will be very keen to come out and rectify the situation. If, on the other hand, the system was fitted before your time and you don’t know who it was, contact a top supplier in your area and get them to have a look. If the system is not regenerating for some reason, they will suggest a solution. Or it may be something as simple as the system has run out of salt, which is what chases calcium out of the water. Get some in and you’re back in business. If this is your first experience with such a system and you want to know, for future reference, how to tell if your water softener is not working, you can get them to tell you all about it.