Are there any issues with supplying a water softener from a hot water pipe?  We are installing an espresso machine with a small manual flush softener, and the hot water pipe passes directly overhead, so that would be the preferred source if there are no issues.  Will a softener (plastic bead type) work properly with hot water input?

Answer: You can’t supply hot water to a standard water softener.  While standard cation exchange resin can be compatible with hot water, the softener tank, riser tube,  and valve body must all be specially configured for hot water use.  Using hot water is common in many commercial applications (like supplying water to a dishwasher) however, special valve bodies like the Fleck 4650, or the hot water version of the Fleck 2750 are required.  You may also need to use a vinylester FRP hot water tank.  If you would like us to quote on this application, just send an email to us at info@caitechnologies and describe the application.

I am currently shopping for  water softener. I am looking at the Morton systems, however, I do not know if I need a 20,000 or 27,000 grain system. How do I know? My son and I live in a condo. We do approximately 4 small loads of laundry / week and have a dishwasher that runs once or twice a week.

Answer: It really depends on your water hardness, but assuming that you are using municipal water, the smaller of the two sizes that you mentioned should be fine.  By the way, this brand is an entry level system, and you might want to shop around.  Commercial quality systems with far better warranties can be obtained for only a slightly higher price (industry standard systems that would work for you application are normally 24,000 grain capacity in size).  You can find out more about sizing a system on our “Selecting The Correct Sized Water Softener” on our site.  

I have an approx. 12 yr. old Culligan Mark 59 with a bad motor.  The teeth of one gear is stripped.  It is a M007, 3w 115v 60hz (Ithink it is a Mallory motor).  Where can I go to locate this motor?-Barry

Answer: The Culligan product is proprietary and the only company that we are aware of that can supply parts is Culligan.  You will need to contact a local dealer to obtain you replacement motor.

I have a MacClean water softner model CS 1001 two tank system. There is a small amount of water leaking from the resin tank onto the floor. The o-rings at the valve and adapter have been replaced. The system is around 6 years old. Could the tank have a crack? Can it be repaired? It is a fiberglass tank. Do you have any ideas?

Answer:  First, be sure to confirm that it is the tank seal that is leaking.  In other words, this is  the point at which the valve screws into the tank.  Sometimes a leak on the valve body flows down onto the tank, and it can appear as if that is where the leak is coming from.  If this is a possibility, dry the tank and valve well, and place a dry paper towel over suspected leak positions.  This will help you to identify where the leak is coming from.

If the leak is determined to be coming from the valve, valve parts are easy to replace.  However, if the leak is coming from the tank, and you have already replaced the tank o-ring and this has not helped, it is likely that you will require a replacement tank.  A 6-year old water softener is still fairly new, and we would recommend you rebuild it.  You can take a look at some of the one that we offer on our “Tank & Tank Parts” page.  It’s likely that you will also want to replace the resin and gravel contained within the tank – we offer these also on our “Chemicals, Resin and Filter Media” page.

Based on laboratory analysis of the well water in my newly purchased home, I recently installed an A400 water softener (for high Arsenic), air injector (for hydrogen sulphide smell) and iron filter (for high iron) but have now noticed a blue film on my shower floor.  I have retested the water and found that the equipment is doing its job (minimal arsenic, minimal iron, no smells) but it is now high in lead and copper and showing a pH of 5.2.  Trouble is, I rechecked the ‘pre-treatment’ water (sample taken before pressure tank and water softener/iron filter) and have no copper or lead problem and the pH shows 6.0.  The company who sold/installed my equipment says it will not lower my pH but something is going on in the few ft between the pressure tank and my faucet and the only thing there is this new (now 8 months old) equipment.  What is your opinion on this matter and do you have any suggested remedies? Thank-you.

Answer: Purolite A400 (apparently used in your sostener) is a clear gel Type I strong-base anion exchange resin.  Anion exchange resins are different from common household cation exchange resins that are used for water softening.  Anion exchange resins perform specific tasks, but will lower the pH of your water as it passes through the bed.  This is probably the cause of your blue staining.  It is typical to install a pH neutralizer to correct the water pH to within an acceptable range of 7.0 to 7.8 units after passing through an anion exchanger. Selecting the correct type of pH neutralization system depends on your  specific  water quality, and you can find additional information about this on our site.

My 15+ year old water softener has a solidified mass of salt in the bottom of the tank about 6″ thick.  What caused this; normal?  And what is the best method to remove it?  Can I disconnect it and take tank outside and turn it upside down?  I am cleaning it out due to junk in the tank and was advised to clean it out completely by water softener company.

Answer: A water softener refills water into the brine tank in order to make a brine solution that is used during automatic regeneration.  Over time, as the water level rises and recedes, salt pellets (or granules) in the tank can adhere to each other and cause the problem you are referring to.  This is a very prevalent problem when using a square brine tank, or brine tank without a salt platform (also called a salt grid).  It’s a good idea to have a round brine tank containing a salt platform – having this design helps to prevent this problem from occurring.  However, even with a round tank and grid, you can still occasionally find this problem.  We recommend that you should not fill your brine (salt) tank more than ½ full – this will help prevent the problem from occurring again in the future.

You can disconnect the brine tank, and take it outside for cleaning.  You might try a high pressure garden hose, but you will probably have to add hot water to the salt plug to dissolve it more readily.  Be careful if upending the tank – the walls of a brine tank are not very strong, and you do not want to damage the tank.

I occasionally turn my water off when we leave the house for several days in the winter months.  I have never turned my softener off and realize it tried to cycle with the water off.  Will this hurt the softener?  I wrote earlier about a red residue in the tank and wonder if this could have contributed to resin being deposited in the tank or not.  Thanks much.

Answer: This should not damage the water softener in any way.  When your water is turned off, pressure is maintained in your household piping until some water is used and pressure is relieved.  When the water softener goes into backwash (normally the first stage in a traditional down-flow water softener) the pressure is relieved – and from that point on the motor continues to turn – but nothing is really happening that effects the softener.  However, in the future, we would recommend that you by-pass the water softener and unplug the control.  When you return home, run the water softener through two sequential manual regenerations, and then you should be “good-to-go”.

I have a 16 yr old Rain Soft system that has “sawdust like” material floating in the water at the bottom of the tank which I noticed when I went to add salt.  I scooped it out and added more water and it looks yucky, with brown areas in the water.  Any idea what’s going on?

Answer: There are a few possibilities.  First it may simply be dirt that was present in the incoming water.  In a standard design down-flow water softener, the brine tank refill water is untreated.  If this is the case, and sediment is present in the incoming water, then it can accumulate in the brine tank over time.  You can try cleaning it out, and seeing if the problem reoccurs.  If dirt in your water is the culprit, then a sediment pre-filter – normally a 5-micron cartridge filter – would be the answer.

If your unit is of a design that passes water through the resin bed first, before refilling the brine tank (soft water refill, common in up-flow/counter-current designed softeners), then it may be possible that the sediment you are finding might be ion-exchange resin that is breaking down.  If this is the case, you may also be noticing a loss of water softener performance, and a possible loss of household water pressure.  In this case the resin of entire softener would need to be replaced.