About 2 months ago, I installed a Kenmore whole house water softener and a GE Water Filter.  Everthing was going fine until about a week ago.  I started noticing a very strong sulfur smell and taste in the water – especially first thing in the morning.  It is also more noticeable in the bathroom than in the kitchen.  I’m not sure if this is due to the fact that it is a small room and there is alot of water being released at one time due to showers, etc.  When I called the help line at Kenmore they didn’t have any good answers as to why this might be happening.

I thought that maybe there was a salt bridge in the softener and there was.  I did break the salt bridge several times and this did not seem to help at all.  Is it possible that I need to replace the filter already – or do you think it is something else?  The water also tastes a little saltier than it used to.
Please help if you can.  Thank you.

Answer: There are a few possibilities, and we would really need to know some additional information before we can suggest the most likely cause of this odor. The formation of a salt bridge so quickly after water softener installation is a sign the the regeneration process may not be functioning correctly.  Also, we don’t know what type of filter you have, but we would suggest that you remove it, and see if the problem goes away.

If you are have a non-chlorinated onsite well, it is possible that the odor is due to sulfur or iron bacteria.  This is a nuisance bacteria that has no effect on health but can give off a strong sulfur odor.  It is a sticky material that resides on the outside of an iron or sulfur particle, and over time will build up within the water softener resin bed, eventually leading to fouling of the bed.  While a water softener bed may provide a place for this material to develop at a faster rate, if this problem exists, you have probably noticed it prior to installation of the softener.

If you are using municipal (chlorinated) water, this is less likely to be the problem. If the odor is only detected on the hot water side, and you have an electric hot water heater, then the problem may be due to a degrading  sacrificial anode that is contained within water heater.

If the problem seems only to be evident at certain locations throughout the home, it may simply be that bacteria has formed in the sink drains at specific locations.  If this is the case, just poor some household chlorine bleach into the drain, and see if the problem goes away.

Finally, the problem may simply be due to a malfunctioning water softener (as mentioned above) that is not regenerating correctly.  Easy way to check this is to by-pass the unit, flush all of the lines within the house with untreated water, and see if the problem goes right away.  If it does, you may need to contact Kenmore for more assistance.

Our water softener won’t stop running & it’s unplugged. It keeps making our sump pump kick in & I need it to stop.

Answer:  There should be a by-pass valve installed that will prevent water from entering the softener.  Find this valve, and shut it off – this should resolve your problem.  If there is no by-pass valve installed, and you are unable to physically move the softener into a cycle that does not discharge water to drain, then you may neeed a service call from your local water softener dealer.

We just installed our new water softner, it works fine.  With the purchase came two bags of “salt”.  When I was adding them I noticed they were potassium chloride instead of the sodium chloride which we used previously.  In reading about using it versus sodium chloride it infers that you can use water softened with potassium chloride on your plants and outdoor gardens without the detrimental effects of sodium chloride.  Our house is plumbed for the outside spigots to be hard water but our friends house isn’t and that has prevented them from installing a water softner.  I called the information line on the bag as was told this is true.  Can I get a second opinion?  Thanks.

Answer: At normal levels of hardness, the amount of sodium contained within softened water is extremely low (only about 7 mg/l per grain of hardness).  At this low level, plants are not normally effected by sodium anyway.  However, it is true that using potassium chloride in a water softener can be beneficial – the potassium in the water is a fertilizer and nutrient – good for plants.  The downside is that with increased use of potassium for agricultural purposes (for instance in growing bio-fuels), the price of this material is significantly higher when compared to sodium chloride.  Whatever you decide to use, we always recommend that you use sodium chloride or potassium chloride purified for use in water softeners (available at many supermarkets, plumbing supply and hardware stores).  Non-sodium potassium chloride is commonly available and sold under the brand names Morton KCL, K-Life, Softouch and Nature’s Own.

We have an Autotrol 255/460i system.  We are moving to a new house and would like to take this with us.  How do we drain and prepare it for moving?

Answer: All you really need to do is by-pass the water softener (if there is a by-pass valve).  Make sure that there is no water pressure on the system before you attempt to remove it.  If there is no by-pass valve, you must turn off your well pump and drain the household water to remove the pressure.

1) Un-plug the unit
2) Close both the inlet and outlet by-pass valves (discussed above).
3) There is a button on the front of your control that contains an arrow.
4) You will see a slot for a screwdriver in the center of the button.  Using a flathead screwdriver, depress the button to release the mechanism, and rotate the button counter-clockwise into the backwash position. This will relieve the water pressure in the unit.  You can also relieve the pressure by pushing on valve #7, as shown in your manual.
5) Carefully unscrew the valve mounted on the top of the tank (counter-clockwise to unscrew).  Although the unit will be heavier  to move, don’t try and remove all of the water from the resin bed – make sure the resin stays moist until you re-install the unit at the new location.

To reinstall, you will need a new bypass valve and tube kit – these are available on our company site – just click on this link.

1) At the new location, just attach the new by-pass valve to your control, and connect it to the new copper tubes that you installed onto to your household piping.
2) Re-install the valve onto the tank – hand tighten, and then a little more to seal – do not over-tighten!
3) Slowly open the inlet by-pass valve, and allow the tank to fill.  When the tank is full, open the outlet by-pass valve.
4) With the unit still in backwash position, you will note that rinse water is running to drain.  At first this water may appear slightly “cloudy” – allow the unit to backwash until the water runs clear (normally 1 to 2 minutes).
5) After water is running clear, plug in the electrical, and advance the button (as above) into the Service/Conditioned Water position.  The softener is now ready for normal operation.  Reprogram for new water hardness setting if required (instructions for doing this are also in your manual).

If the unit is reinstalled into an application where there is no chlorine contained in the water (normally on-site well applications – municipal water sources contain chlorine), you might want to disinfect the water softener.  Place 1.2 fluid ounces of household 5.25% chlorine bleach into the brine tank along with a few 3 to 4 gallons of water.  Regenerate the unit two times in succession.