Hard water and soft water both have very different effects on your body, like the fact that hard water makes your hair brittle, and softening your water can be a great way to ensure that your skin and hair are not getting drained of essential nutrients. A water softener can be installed in your home to help keep your hard water from affecting your skin and hair.
Water softeners help make the water in your home softer so you don’t get the negative effects of hard water like water spots of glasses, or the feeling of grime on your skin after washing your hands. These softeners come in all different brands and models, but all of them work to do the same thing.
There is also quite a bit of maintenance that comes with owning a water softener. Keeping up with the proper maintenance can prolong the life of your softener, and keep it from overflowing, which is one issue that many users may experience. So, if you have a water softener overflow, we will show you the five steps you can take to ensure you and your home’s safety.
1. Unclog the Brine Tank Overflow
You want to begin looking at the simplest solutions as to why there may be an overflow before you begin trying to make big part replacements or repairs. So, the first step that you should take is to check the brine tank overflow to see if there is a build-up of salt in the interior. Salt can clog the inside of the tank.
The salt can bond together and cause an obstruction in the pathway where the water should go. This will keep the water from entering the brine tank and absorbing the salt. This will also cause the water to sit and rise until it overflows. If you see that salt deposits are building up, you can clean the area to remove the salt and regain the use of the water softener as it was before.
2. Unclog the Drain Line
The drain line could be the cause of the overflow if there is any type of blockage or obstruction in the line. This is particularly common in homes that have a higher iron concentration, which will cause you to have to clean this line routinely to keep the overflow from continually occurring. If the water softener overflow keeps flooding the basement, and you find that this is not stopping, then extra cleaning will be necessary.
If you see that there is nothing clogging the line itself, take a look at the valves nearby to ensure that the blockage didn’t occur in an area by the line. This can happen when the blockage is moved and gets stuck in a different area. Cleaning out the line and the valves around it could help you see if there is a blockage that should be cleaned away. A water softener salt tank overflow is an easy fix, but seeing it early keeps damage to a minimum.
This piece by AHWA explains this and gives you some more tips for maintenance.
3. Replace the Brine Valve Assembly
If your water softener brine tank overflow is continually occurring, then the issue could be the brine valve assembly. This piece could be the cause of the problem because it is responsible for shutting off the water going into the salt tank when the brine water reaches the proper level. If the brine valve assembly isn’t working correctly, then it will not shut off the water when it’s supposed to.
This will cause the water softener salt tank overflow to continue unless something is done. So, if you see that your tank is overflowing and in need of repair, then check the brine valve assembly to see if it needs to be replaced. If so, then you may be able to fix the problem swiftly before any damage occurs.
4. Replace the Rotor Valve
The water softener rotor valve gives direction to the water in softener to complete the functions like flushing out the resin filter or softening your water. If this piece is not working correctly, then the valve will leak water which would cause the water softener tank overflow.
A rotor valve that has been damaged can cause water to leak into the salt tank and completely overflow. If you have this issue, then you can assess the piece to see if it needs to be replaced. If you see any damage, then replacing it will solve the overflow issue.
5. Secure the Brine Level Control Cap
Another easy fix that you should look out for is the brine level control cap. Because of the vibration that comes from the water softener’s operation, this cap can come off and end up inside the brine tank. This cap keeps the water from rising above a certain level and turns off the flow of water once that level is reached. Without this cap, the water will simply continue to flow without stopping.
If you are dealing with a water softener leaking overflow, then this simple solution could stop it. Securing the control cap and ensuring that the safety valve will work to signal the water to stop flowing will keep your home safe from water damage due to water overflow.
Conclusion
Not every overflowing water softener is caused by the same issue, and if you choose to keep your appliance for a long time, you could end up needing to fix each one of these separate issues at one point in time. Knowing what to look out for when you see an overflow beginning can help you keep it at a manageable level.
Also, knowing what steps to take to figure out what is causing the water to overflow can help you from spending lots of money on replacement parts if the problem was actually something fairly simple. So, check back to this article whenever you need to and remember these five basic steps to take when your water softener overflows that will keep your home safe from water damage.
