This is exactly why we were told to always, always use pellet salt and never, never rock salt in our softener. We have had 2 softeners in 45 years and have never had sludge in the brine tank. Good video
FYI the venturi is the hole in the Flow Plugs (see 1:23). The reason I mention this is very often the Lower Flow Plug Venturi can also get plugged and cause the same thing. You should check this if the mesh net (screen) is cleaned and still not using salt. Using a phone camera step by step wile taking the assembly apart can help you put it back together properly. Good Luck and remember the numbers on the flow plug are installed with NUMBERED SIDE UP which is the easiest mistake people make when reassembling.
I just want to thank you so much for your teaching you show and explain everything so well. I lost my husband a year and a half ago and I have been trying to learn how to do all the things that he took care of, so I am so appreciative of your teaching. Thought I was going to have to buy another softener before I found you.
Great video dude! Very informative!!! Love it. The only thing I’m gonna say otherwise is that the cleaning solution was to be added to your “brine well”. The brine tank is where the salt goes. The “brine well” is the white tube inside your brine tank. Awesome video!!
Thanks for the tutorial. Much appreciated. I had mine over 8 years and haven’t done anything to it. Noticed water quality wasn’t the same. I’m gonna start maintaining with this process. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful. Keep in mind that the resin inside softeners isnt made to last forever. You also want to be careful to never let the salt run completely out. Try to keep the level maintained. If your system runs for too long without salt it can damage the resin permanently.
Thank you for this. We just had a whole Overhaul of our well system costing us almost $17k. Our water softener was not getting pressure unless it was bypassed and I hated the idea of spending even more money to get someone out here. This was straight forward and to the point. I'll be tackling this later this afternoon.
Thank you so much for this video--SOoo helpful, and funny to boot. We appreciated the clear concise instruction complemented by corresponding video AND your explanation of the process, not just the repair itself. Even the little things like the reminder to remove the filter in the shop vac are an example of what helped make this video so helpful. If only all DIY repair videos were like this. I'm hoping you're handy around the house and more videos will follow! Thank you again!
I was going to press dislike button because of all the distracting photos but then your supervisor showed up. So adorable. I decided to stay and give you thumbs up. He reminds me my son when he was that age. I think you should include him in your future videos. You can teach him and us at the same time. Thank you so much for the tutorial. I realized you made the video in 2017. I found it now in 2022. I imagine your supervisor is older now like mine :) Cheers.
I love my potato. He has his own channel because dads channel is lame. I’ve had him and his sister in a few videos, but they’d rather not be in the spotlights where their friends can find them.
@@markbenavidez356 Thank you so much for the video again. I got tired of waiting for my husband to do it. I was afraid to do it my self. I didn't want to mess up anything but I did it and everything went fine thanks to you.
Thanks! I had no idea how any of this worked and your lighthearted approach made me feel much better about maintaining this myself. Will do more research but this is a great crash course
Just bought my first house and freaked out when I saw the nastiness in my brine tank. Now I know its not too much to worry about but it does need to be cleaned haha. Great video! Thank you
Thanks for the informative video. I just inherited a water softener system with a home we just bought and I was wondering how to care for it. Looks like I'll be cleaning the brine tank and checking the condition of the valve. Thumbs up!
I've always been puzzled by these vids, because I've had a water softener for ~2.5 years, and have never had sludge, water or anything else in the salt. I just checked now and it's dry and clean all the way down. I have fairly hard well water, with a high level iron. I use a whole house filter, and the iron reducing salt. I add some water softener cleaner 2-3 times a year. The unit is very economical and uses very little salt.
That sounds epic. My system is mid-range premium, but still requires more maintenance than you describe. What type of system do you have? I am sure viewers could benefit from an upgrade in the near future.
@@ThisGuyProductions -I just have the Whirlpool WHE33, bought at Lowe's on sale. It's one of the least expensive you can buy, but highly rated. I have a standard whole house filter with 5 or 10 micron spun filter. I replace it ~3 x per year. It gets red, so I know it is taking out some iron as well as sediment before it hits the WS. It's set to regen at about the average time period. You can set it to backflush for extra two minutes if you have iron in water. I do that, and use the iron-fighter salt pellets, and have no iron at all now. Also use the cleaner 2-3x per year' I never go above three on the salt level marker, even though it goes up to 8. No need to, the unit is so efficient, and that keeps it from getting salt bridge. There's just two of us using it, so we don't use much water.
Land- I have the same Whirlpool/Kenmore unit - do you clean it by dumping the bottle of softener cleaner into the tube or do you make up a solution and dump it in the tank itself?
Thank you so much, Guy, for this very well-presented and detailed process description. I just bought a house in a hard water area, and I know I will have to take care of this system here before long. I am a SF, and this is something I can totally do myself--I even have the wet/dry vac! You other SFs out there, you can do this!!!
I just bought a house, first time dealing with a water softener, been here 3 weeks, water tastes funny. I knew I had to check on it, just hadn't yet. Holy sh*t it's a miracle I'm not sick!!! Thanks for the video, I needed that.
Honestly, I would only advise you to go through these motions if you are seeing sediment and scum inside the brine well. The solution I show in the video is to be poured into the white plastic pipe in the tank instead of over the salt in the tank. It wont damage it, but it will not be as effective when it cleans the resin.
@@MohammedAslamtit-bitsoflife I am creating full system installation videos for a water softener company called SpringWell Water Filtration. Their link is above in my video description. What type of system are you installing?
Brother, thank you for putting this video out there! You're awesome and especially with your little man already learning what a homeowner needs to do. That in itself is priceless! May our Lord bless you and your family. BTW, I believe you're supposed to pour the rust cleaner in the small tube, called, the brine well.
Thanks Ron. My boy is 9 now and is no longer showing interest in wanting to be on youTube. I respect that, but on the other hand, my 13 year old daughter is wanting to start her own channel. I appreciate your support.
Finally a video that has the info I've been looking for - THANK YOU!! Plus I'm lovin' the Beasties ISFWO intro/outro tunes and the humor. Very helpful - count me as a new fan!
Awesome job cleaning the brine tank ! Ours just stopped working last night ..water remains in the tank. We are waiting for the recycle at 2 AM to see if things change. If not we will have to look at a part inside before we move forward . Your video is informative
I have used both and both will build up and bridge. It helps to let the salt drop as far as possible before filling again. But, no matter what you do, build up will happen. That's why we do maintenance on our brine tanks.
Culligan told me use crystalized not pellet to avoid bridging. Initially I just had them deliver and fill till I had them leave a few extra of their bags.. it was dirty and had pieces of wood in it. Now I just hull them from Lowe's.
@@genesmay6589 i just bought a brand new house myself and no one told me what type of salt to use or anything until me and my wife just started asking people. Id have to say 98% of them used the pellet salt with the green on the label. Its the bag that's almost 8 bucks a bag. And absolutely no one said anything about maintenance.
Thanks for this video. I've been wanting to learn how to do basic water softener maintenance on my system and this video is just what I was looking for.
I disconnect my brine tank, take it outside and use hot water out door spigot (in my case, very handy) and pressure wash as it were, the tank and bottom screen. Put back in place, slide flush tube back in, fresh salt, and add couple 5 gal. pails fresh water. Do manual recharge.
This sounds logical to just simply taken the salt containter outside and spray wash or simply clean that way, since most folks don't have shop vacs. Good video
Very True Fabian, The only concern is that there is a tiny piece inside the line connection at the head of the tank that tends to fall out easily. Should someone lose it, they would have a heck of a time finding a replacement.
The Venturi Principle. A venturi creates a constriction within a pipe (classically an hourglass shape) that varies the flow characteristics of a fluid (either liquid or gas) travelling through the tube. As the fluid velocity in the throat is increased there is a consequential drop in pressure.
The brine well is that white tube you pulled the cover off of in the brine tank. Also the brine valve was that red part under that cap you took off, that is where the debris will be.
Great video!!!! Went to look at a house that had a rotten egg/sulfur smell coming from the water they have a softer setup, could it just need cleaning why it smells?
I take it the house uses well water? The sulfur smell is most likely due to bacteria that has bloomed in the well, and possibly the softener. There is a cleaning solution you can add to a system that has that sulfur smell. You can pick it up at the hardware store or online. Id have them clean it out for you prior to making the purchase though.
@@EricEvolving I am pretty certain there is some kind of algae bloom inside that resin tank. I installed my own system from a company called Spring Well last year. My old system was overdue. If you cant get the aroma out you may consider a replacement. I mention the seller I used because you can buy online and do the job yourself if you feel comfortable with it. It saves a ton of money around installation.
My house has a software system and thanks alot now I know what to do to clean brine container and also mine already needs maintenance drinking water finishes
Yes, but I am more of a Alegra guy. The problem is that it is always hard to tell when my favorite allergens are in the air. Thanks for supporting my video.
I install and service water refiner/softening systems for a living going on 8 years now. The #1 problem is that you are using rock salt. Diamond crystal pellet salt is best for any salt type system because it is 99.5% pure. (Hardly any other minerals other than sodium chloride)
Rock salt is cheaper but contains alot of calcium sulfate which cannot be dissolved by water and will be left behind in your brine tank/salt resevoir as "sediment mush"
Video is educational and fun--so kudos. Venturi is not that hard to understand. It is when you have to flows: the central flow that comes thru the middle and then side flow that is pulled in from the side as the faster central flow comes through. It is important in any flow (air or liquid). Think of the wake of a boat. Or better yet, thing of drafting on a faster vehicle or behind a phalanx of bicycles.
@@DogeXGaming Once you clear our any residue and flush the system with the solution I used or something similar you just maintain your salt levels like normal. Dont use rock salt like I show in the video. It was the root of most of my issues. I now use salt crystals. Morton makes a system saver in a yellow bag that is great due to low residue.
We have a 4 year old Rainsoft Softener and have it serviced every year. The company was here 4 months ago for the annual maintenance but the water in our house has now started to smell bad recently from the faucets and shower head. Any ideas or suggestions?
I sounds like you may be using well water. The odors can be due to algae or bacterial growth in your water. You can try and add a UV system to your water to kill of any of that, but you would also need to add more filtration. There are also options to treat your well.
@@ThisGuyProductions We are on city water. We are tempted to turn the softener off for a few days to let the city water run through the pipes to allow the chlorine to kill any algae or bacteria, but the city water makes us itch terribly. I'm not familiar with a UV system or how to add more filtration. Can you please inform me? Thanks!
@@rduverseau Its possible that the smell is coming from the brine tank itself. I would follow the steps I show in this video to clear the tank out completely. You may need to use a chlorine water solution to kill off the remnants of the bacteria. Once done rinse thoroughly then use a water softener treatment to treat the resin tank. I havent heard of bacteria lingering in resin tanks because they prefer the brine. The solution you use to treat the tank should be specific to eliminating bacteria buildup as well. I've also heard of folks using 1.2 ounces of bleach for every cubic foot of resin in the resin tank. Mixing it into a water solution then just running a regeneration cycle to clear out the system. I would play it safe and disinfect the entire brine tank first though.
We bought a house with a softener on a well about a year ago. I'm letting the salt run low so I can clean the tank. Question-- should I unplug the softener before I start vacuuming the tank out?
It depends on the salt you used. I changed to the Morton's in the yellow bag and there's been a tremendous decline in sediment build up. At this point I'm looking at once every couple years.
My brine tank has a shelf at the bottom that holds the salt above the brine solution about 4 inches to avoid sucking large particles of salt into the valve. I have been buying a product called Rescare off Amazon, that you add a small amount periodically into the 4 inch pipe in the tank, so it goes to the bottom of the tank, that helps to prolong the life of the media in the softener tank. When I clean my brine tank, I wait till the salt level gets low and take the whole tank and dump it out in a bucket, then hose it out. I would not suck salt water into my vacuum. Salt water will destroy anything metallic that it get near. I think the combination of the shelf at the bottom and having the valve pre fill the the brine take 1 hour before the regen. cycle, I never get that solid salt block at the bottom.
It possibly could. The water that is backwashed out of the system is high in salt concentration. In theory, there could be a build up of sediment over time, however I haven't seen it happen too often. You can rent a basic drain snake from a hardware store to search out the blockage yourself.
You didn't say anything about the position of the valves after you were done with the maintenance should I reset the bypass valve back to open so it can regenerate
thank you for the video. but i have a question; did you change the valves back to the normal direction from bypass mode????? or is it supposed to stay bypass mode?
I have a similar model of softener and i have no clue where the filter is to replace it. can you help??? All the videos I've seen have a regular tube container that you need a special wrench to remove and there is the filter, but I don't have one of those in my garage. I have the same like you have in this video.
I used to do it once a year until I changed to using Morton Pellets in the yellow bag. Now I do it only when I see accumulation in the brine well. Its about once every other year now.
You need to relieve the water pressure before accessing that injector cap, that's why you had all that water spilling out. Before unscrewing that cap, put it on bypass and hold the regen button till it starts the cycle. Also since you got that thing open, might as well check on injector. Those things always get clogged, especially if you get sludge buildup.
I got three years ago and the guys who installed it for me told me that there’s no maintenance to it just to add salt… now I’m scared to even look in it. That cleaning powder you add it is healthy to drink or have to drain the water out?
You just have to use salt pellet as there are much cleaner. Also after you turn the bypass off press the regen button and then unplug the electric, this will release the pressure. Once you open that up you can use the cap to take out the piston and make sure that is clean.
For the most part the process is similar. You are just looking to clear buildup from the brine tank and add that regeneration agent to the brine well. The brine well is actually that white tube inside the tank.
I was about to say EXACTLY what 3rdGuy stated, but add it's 2 years later and your video is still helping new homeowners. I really appreciate your making this video.
Would love for you to add an overview of the complete system... Like more about what that tube inside the salt tank is for and should it be cleaned... Also what to do with the salt you removed... And should you ever clean the resin tank? Thanks for your demo... You have updated it since I last viewed it with the added photo oics and stuff... Kool stuff dude!
Thanks! I have a new video coming out this week featuring a salt free system. I get into detail on what each part does. For this video I worried about the huge differences in all the systems out there. Inside the tube is a floater that keeps level with the water level in the tank. Its where it draws water from the brine well. You could eventually replace the contents of the resin tank, but its messy business. I opted to replace my system all together because my original seller wouldn't allow me to do it myself.
The other parts you see in there aren't actually floating around in there. Its an illusion from the water distortion. They are outlets beneath the valve.
Actually it's only really beneficial if you have lots sediment that comes through your water. If not then it's not needed, the system will usually collect the small amounts and back wash it out
What’s the difference between the water softener cleaner that you have used and Iron Out? They both come in powder form, I think both sold at Home Depot. I have people use Iron Out to restore the resin beads, but I wasn’t aware of the product you were using was even available. Also, why do you have to regen right away, after pouring that solution into the well? My custom water softener system has a 5 micron, charcoal filter, before any water enters the water softener unit; this would probably reduce some maintenance and prolong the reliability of your internal parts of the water softener and brine system. Great video!
This is exactly why we were told to always, always use pellet salt and never, never rock salt in our softener. We have had 2 softeners in 45 years and have never had sludge in the brine tank. Good video
Thanks Deb E.
Z
hands down best water softener cleaning video on youtube. Simple. To the point.
Wow, thanks!
Takes about a minute to disconnect the hose and take the tank outside to clean. That way you can turn it on its side and spray it out.
I was about to post the same thing. Yesterday I took the tank outside and rinsed it clean. The version in the video is ridiculous.
Oh good to know. I don’t own a big shop vac
FYI the venturi is the hole in the Flow Plugs (see 1:23). The reason I mention this is very often the Lower Flow Plug Venturi can also get plugged and cause the same thing. You should check this if the mesh net (screen) is cleaned and still not using salt. Using a phone camera step by step wile taking the assembly apart can help you put it back together properly. Good Luck and remember the numbers on the flow plug are installed with NUMBERED SIDE UP which is the easiest mistake people make when reassembling.
Dave Patten Thanks Man!
I just want to thank you so much for your teaching you show and explain everything so well. I lost my husband a year and a half ago and I have been trying to learn how to do all the things that he took care of, so I am so appreciative of your teaching. Thought I was going to have to buy another softener before I found you.
Helps us ladies that need to take care of things on our own. Thank you!
Glad to help out Dee Dee!
Great video dude! Very informative!!! Love it. The only thing I’m gonna say otherwise is that the cleaning solution was to be added to your “brine well”. The brine tank is where the salt goes. The “brine well” is the white tube inside your brine tank. Awesome video!!
Thanks Marlon. Yeah, I goofed that some, but the manufacturer assured me it was not a problem at all.
I'm late to the party but can someone tell me how to open the brine well
I poured some warm water over the "bridged"/coagulated salt area in brine tank.Loosened the salt up right away, and made it a lot easier to remove.
Ronald Wolf thanks for the great tip!
How did you get the stuff behind?
Thanks for the tutorial. Much appreciated. I had mine over 8 years and haven’t done anything to it. Noticed water quality wasn’t the same. I’m gonna start maintaining with this process. Thank you!
howard truong Tell me about it!
Glad it was helpful. Keep in mind that the resin inside softeners isnt made to last forever. You also want to be careful to never let the salt run completely out. Try to keep the level maintained. If your system runs for too long without salt it can damage the resin permanently.
Thank you for this. We just had a whole
Overhaul of our well system costing us almost $17k. Our water softener was not getting pressure unless it was bypassed and I hated the idea of spending even more money to get someone out here. This was straight forward and to the point. I'll be tackling this later this afternoon.
Good Luck. You should have an indicator on your system letting you know if water is flowing through it. Hopefully it wasnt bypassed.
Thank you so much for this video--SOoo helpful, and funny to boot. We appreciated the clear concise instruction complemented by corresponding video AND your explanation of the process, not just the repair itself. Even the little things like the reminder to remove the filter in the shop vac are an example of what helped make this video so helpful. If only all DIY repair videos were like this. I'm hoping you're handy around the house and more videos will follow! Thank you again!
So glad to hear it was helpful.
Living in the south my whole life and recently moving up north, i've never had to do any of this. Thanks for this.
I was going to press dislike button because of all the distracting photos but then your supervisor showed up. So adorable. I decided to stay and give you thumbs up. He reminds me my son when he was that age. I think you should include him in your future videos. You can teach him and us at the same time. Thank you so much for the tutorial. I realized you made the video in 2017. I found it now in 2022. I imagine your supervisor is older now like mine :) Cheers.
I love my potato. He has his own channel because dads channel is lame. I’ve had him and his sister in a few videos, but they’d rather not be in the spotlights where their friends can find them.
@@markbenavidez356 Thank you so much for the video again. I got tired of waiting for my husband to do it. I was afraid to do it my self. I didn't want to mess up anything but I did it and everything went fine thanks to you.
Thanks for this video. It’s very helpful. Also, it’s a bonus that “This Guy” has a sense of humor.
Thank you Tamera!
Best video for a complete yearly maintenance. Looking to save money. Company charges about $175-$200/year to do this for you! Thank you!
That was one of the clearest instructions I've seen on this, well done...and subscribed.
Thanks.
I agree, bc I've been looking for videos on how to maintain a water softener myself. Awesome job.
Thank you! Love the kid walking in during the video & the funny add ins. I did learn a lot as a new home owner. Thank you 😀
Sherry Ss that's my little guy. Thanks.
Thanks! I had no idea how any of this worked and your lighthearted approach made me feel much better about maintaining this myself. Will do more research but this is a great crash course
Glad it was helpful. This doesnt replace the deep dive maintenance that most companies recommend, but its most of the steps.
Just bought my first house and freaked out when I saw the nastiness in my brine tank. Now I know its not too much to worry about but it does need to be cleaned haha.
Great video! Thank you
Marcus Sealy thanks. it's a lot easier than most people think.
This is exactly why I'm here. Our tank has no labels or anything so we have no idea what we're doing 🤣
Thanks for the informative video. I just inherited a water softener system with a home we just bought and I was wondering how to care for it. Looks like I'll be cleaning the brine tank and checking the condition of the valve. Thumbs up!
Thanks Dan
Just love how you explain things ! Clear, funny and with all of the visuals references
Thanks Sophie!
I've always been puzzled by these vids, because I've had a water softener for ~2.5 years, and have never had sludge, water or anything else in the salt. I just checked now and it's dry and clean all the way down. I have fairly hard well water, with a high level iron. I use a whole house filter, and the iron reducing salt. I add some water softener cleaner 2-3 times a year. The unit is very economical and uses very little salt.
That sounds epic. My system is mid-range premium, but still requires more maintenance than you describe. What type of system do you have? I am sure viewers could benefit from an upgrade in the near future.
@@ThisGuyProductions -I just have the Whirlpool WHE33, bought at Lowe's on sale. It's one of the least expensive you can buy, but highly rated. I have a standard whole house filter with 5 or 10 micron spun filter. I replace it ~3 x per year. It gets red, so I know it is taking out some iron as well as sediment before it hits the WS. It's set to regen at about the average time period. You can set it to backflush for extra two minutes if you have iron in water. I do that, and use the iron-fighter salt pellets, and have no iron at all now. Also use the cleaner 2-3x per year' I never go above three on the salt level marker, even though it goes up to 8. No need to, the unit is so efficient, and that keeps it from getting salt bridge.
There's just two of us using it, so we don't use much water.
@@land7776 Thanks. Good info for us to know. I dont have a pre-filter, but it has been recommended by a number of viewers.
Land- I have the same Whirlpool/Kenmore unit - do you clean it by dumping the bottle of softener cleaner into the tube or do you make up a solution and dump it in the tank itself?
Thank you so much, Guy, for this very well-presented and detailed process description. I just bought a house in a hard water area, and I know I will have to take care of this system here before long. I am a SF, and this is something I can totally do myself--I even have the wet/dry vac! You other SFs out there, you can do this!!!
Just be sure to use rock pellets. Don't use rock salt like I did in the video. Everything else is spot on.
7:29 7:42 Bless you.
Thanks
Lol
THANK YOU FOR EDUCATING US ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE OF THE SALT WATER SYSTEM
I just bought a house, first time dealing with a water softener, been here 3 weeks, water tastes funny. I knew I had to check on it, just hadn't yet. Holy sh*t it's a miracle I'm not sick!!! Thanks for the video, I needed that.
So glad it worked out, and congratulations on the new home.
I had no idea I had to do this! I have a house I bought a year ago with a salt water softener, and was wondering how to take care of it. Thank you!
Honestly, I would only advise you to go through these motions if you are seeing sediment and scum inside the brine well. The solution I show in the video is to be poured into the white plastic pipe in the tank instead of over the salt in the tank. It wont damage it, but it will not be as effective when it cleans the resin.
Love that you are entertaining while giving detailed information.
Glad you enjoyed it. Some folks want me to stop talking so much.
The best video I have ever seen on UA-cam with slides which was very helpful to understand. Thank you dear. Pls show us the complete setup.
Are you looking for an installation video?
@@ThisGuyProductions Yes dear ,👍😀
@@MohammedAslamtit-bitsoflife I am creating full system installation videos for a water softener company called SpringWell Water Filtration. Their link is above in my video description. What type of system are you installing?
@@ThisGuyProductions Thank you so much. I am planning to install RO plant 5000 ltrs capacity.
Brother, thank you for putting this video out there! You're awesome and especially with your little man already learning what a homeowner needs to do. That in itself is priceless! May our Lord bless you and your family. BTW, I believe you're supposed to pour the rust cleaner in the small tube, called, the brine well.
What a beautiful little boy helping out his hero. 👍
Thanks Ron. My boy is 9 now and is no longer showing interest in wanting to be on youTube. I respect that, but on the other hand, my 13 year old daughter is wanting to start her own channel. I appreciate your support.
My pleasure and thank you for the video.
Finally a video that has the info I've been looking for - THANK YOU!!
Plus I'm lovin' the Beasties ISFWO intro/outro tunes and the humor. Very helpful - count me as a new fan!
Great video. Thank you! Just serviced my 14 year old system. It was a little overdue...
Better late than never!
Never taught so never done. Great instructions.
Thanks Dave
Awesome job cleaning the brine tank ! Ours just stopped working last night ..water remains in the tank. We are waiting for the recycle at 2 AM to see if things change. If not we will have to look at a part inside before we move forward . Your video is informative
Thanks,
Thanks for the upload, a true gem for us new to the maintenance process. I hope 2021 triples your blessings.
You bet! I appreciate your support.
Best instructions I’ve seen for this. You just relieved my headache, thank you!
Glad it helped!
"ADD to BRINE WELL" White tube that holds the float;)
You are correct Roraris! I have added corrections to the video description.
I’ve used two different water contractors and they were both adamant about using pellet salt and not to use rock salt because of the buildup.
Larry Medeiros thanks. Many folks have shared the same info. I have since switched too.
I have used both and both will build up and bridge. It helps to let the salt drop as far as possible before filling again. But, no matter what you do, build up will happen. That's why we do maintenance on our brine tanks.
Culligan told me use crystalized not pellet to avoid bridging. Initially I just had them deliver and fill till I had them leave a few extra of their bags.. it was dirty and had pieces of wood in it. Now I just hull them from Lowe's.
@@genesmay6589 i just bought a brand new house myself and no one told me what type of salt to use or anything until me and my wife just started asking people. Id have to say 98% of them used the pellet salt with the green on the label. Its the bag that's almost 8 bucks a bag. And absolutely no one said anything about maintenance.
Thanks for this video. I've been wanting to learn how to do basic water softener maintenance on my system and this video is just what I was looking for.
Glad it was helpful.
10:49 So we will have an old towel ready when we open the venturi valve cover… Great video by the way. Love your sense of humour.
You added to the brine tank not the brine well as instructions indicate. The brine well is the tube inside the tank.
Agreed. It turns out either way will work, but it's more effective in the Brine Well.
I disconnect my brine tank, take it outside and use hot water out door spigot (in my case, very handy) and pressure wash as it were, the tank and bottom screen. Put back in place, slide flush tube back in, fresh salt, and add couple 5 gal. pails fresh water. Do manual recharge.
Dave Barron I haven't tried removing my brine well. Next time perhaps.
yeap. this is the best way to clean the tank...hope someone will read this...
And the added benefit? My unit runs about 1/4 often as it used to Major improvement. Same water usage.
Dave Barron I agree, drag that tank outside and create a salt lick for the deer.
This sounds logical to just simply taken the salt containter outside and spray wash or simply clean that way, since most folks don't have shop vacs. Good video
Well worth the time to watch. Most beneficial.
Glad this was useful.
I really do appreciate the heads up on the paper filter!!
Glad to help.
Once you remove the water you can just lift it and take it outside and take a hose to it. Not hard to disconnect one hose
Very True Fabian, The only concern is that there is a tiny piece inside the line connection at the head of the tank that tends to fall out easily. Should someone lose it, they would have a heck of a time finding a replacement.
The Venturi Principle. A venturi creates a constriction within a pipe (classically an hourglass shape) that varies the flow characteristics of a fluid (either liquid or gas) travelling through the tube. As the fluid velocity in the throat is increased there is a consequential drop in pressure.
Thanks!
The brine well is that white tube you pulled the cover off of in the brine tank. Also the brine valve was that red part under that cap you took off, that is where the debris will be.
Thanks D Rob.
Great video!!!! Went to look at a house that had a rotten egg/sulfur smell coming from the water they have a softer setup, could it just need cleaning why it smells?
I take it the house uses well water? The sulfur smell is most likely due to bacteria that has bloomed in the well, and possibly the softener. There is a cleaning solution you can add to a system that has that sulfur smell. You can pick it up at the hardware store or online. Id have them clean it out for you prior to making the purchase though.
@@ThisGuyProductions thanks for the reply. Not a welll, actually city water (Tampa).
@@EricEvolving I am pretty certain there is some kind of algae bloom inside that resin tank. I installed my own system from a company called Spring Well last year. My old system was overdue. If you cant get the aroma out you may consider a replacement. I mention the seller I used because you can buy online and do the job yourself if you feel comfortable with it. It saves a ton of money around installation.
@@ThisGuyProductionsAppreciate that, I will let you know.
What an excellent video! I really learned a lot. Thank you for taking the time to do this.
Glad to help out.
Great video, really liked the way you stayed on point. 😊
Very entertaining and informative. Thank you! You made this chore fun!
Glad you enjoyed it!
When do you turn the bypass valves back on?
Right after you finish up. The bypass in only while you are working in the brine tank.
My house has a software system and thanks alot now I know what to do to clean brine container and also mine already needs maintenance drinking water finishes
Glad I could help
Fantastic service announcement learned a lot. Claritin works for the allergies .
Yes, but I am more of a Alegra guy. The problem is that it is always hard to tell when my favorite allergens are in the air. Thanks for supporting my video.
Hi Guy why would my buttons be unresponsive for programming. Only the regenerate button works
It could be some kind of lockout. Perhaps you need to enable them somehow. Do you have the owners manual? You can also look them up online.
Thanks so much for putting out this video. Helped a ton!
Glad it helped!
I install and service water refiner/softening systems for a living going on 8 years now. The #1 problem is that you are using rock salt. Diamond crystal pellet salt is best for any salt type system because it is 99.5% pure. (Hardly any other minerals other than sodium chloride)
Rock salt is cheaper but contains alot of calcium sulfate which cannot be dissolved by water and will be left behind in your brine tank/salt resevoir as "sediment mush"
Andrew Staley thanks Andrew. I will stick to that from now on.
The white tubing holding the pump has black mold inside the tank. Don't you need to clean that before restarting?
Where do you dispose of the vacuumed material?
Video is educational and fun--so kudos. Venturi is not that hard to understand. It is when you have to flows: the central flow that comes thru the middle and then side flow that is pulled in from the side as the faster central flow comes through. It is important in any flow (air or liquid). Think of the wake of a boat. Or better yet, thing of drafting on a faster vehicle or behind a phalanx of bicycles.
Interesting comparisson.
This Guy! Thanks for the great vid. Now i know what is wrong with my water softener.
sunseasurf1000 glad to help
Thanks for this video. It used to be my latest husband job and now I have to do it myself. Plumber will charge me 2600. No way.
Awesome video, thanks for taking the time to make it and post it.
Great video thanks do i have to turn off the system off
No need. You only need to bypass while you are working on it.
Great video! Love the picture in the intro and the end of the video It cracked me up!😹😹😹
Thanks! My wife snapped that photo of me years ago.
We have to put in bypass during the night, or after claeaning the valve, put in the normal way?
Bypass is only needed while you clear the brine tank. Once you add the salt and water you can put it back to normal.
@@ThisGuyProductions thanks, and in the screen I have to change anything, or keep with the salt level
@@DogeXGaming Once you clear our any residue and flush the system with the solution I used or something similar you just maintain your salt levels like normal. Dont use rock salt like I show in the video. It was the root of most of my issues. I now use salt crystals. Morton makes a system saver in a yellow bag that is great due to low residue.
We have a 4 year old Rainsoft Softener and have it serviced every year. The company was here 4 months ago for the annual maintenance but the water in our house has now started to smell bad recently from the faucets and shower head. Any ideas or suggestions?
I sounds like you may be using well water. The odors can be due to algae or bacterial growth in your water. You can try and add a UV system to your water to kill of any of that, but you would also need to add more filtration. There are also options to treat your well.
@@ThisGuyProductions We are on city water. We are tempted to turn the softener off for a few days to let the city water run through the pipes to allow the chlorine to kill any algae or bacteria, but the city water makes us itch terribly. I'm not familiar with a UV system or how to add more filtration. Can you please inform me? Thanks!
@@rduverseau Its possible that the smell is coming from the brine tank itself. I would follow the steps I show in this video to clear the tank out completely. You may need to use a chlorine water solution to kill off the remnants of the bacteria. Once done rinse thoroughly then use a water softener treatment to treat the resin tank. I havent heard of bacteria lingering in resin tanks because they prefer the brine. The solution you use to treat the tank should be specific to eliminating bacteria buildup as well. I've also heard of folks using 1.2 ounces of bleach for every cubic foot of resin in the resin tank. Mixing it into a water solution then just running a regeneration cycle to clear out the system. I would play it safe and disinfect the entire brine tank first though.
Thanks . You are fun. Would that soft solution not hurt the brine though ?
We bought a house with a softener on a well about a year ago. I'm letting the salt run low so I can clean the tank.
Question-- should I unplug the softener before I start vacuuming the tank out?
Thanks for the video. And after installing a system how frequent you need to clean the sediment on an average??
It depends on the salt you used. I changed to the Morton's in the yellow bag and there's been a tremendous decline in sediment build up. At this point I'm looking at once every couple years.
This Guy thank you
@@ThisGuyProductions cleaner location they make or gather the salt lol
+10! Loved the explanation and graphics 🤪 About to tackle this water softener 😤
Thanks Yareli! Hope it all worked out.
My brine tank has a shelf at the bottom that holds the salt above the brine solution about 4 inches to avoid sucking large particles of salt into the valve. I have been buying a product called Rescare off Amazon, that you add a small amount periodically into the 4 inch pipe in the tank, so it goes to the bottom of the tank, that helps to prolong the life of the media in the softener tank. When I clean my brine tank, I wait till the salt level gets low and take the whole tank and dump it out in a bucket, then hose it out. I would not suck salt water into my vacuum. Salt water will destroy anything metallic that it get near. I think the combination of the shelf at the bottom and having the valve pre fill the the brine take 1 hour before the regen. cycle, I never get that solid salt block at the bottom.
Thanks Kwd57. I'll look for that product on Amazon. I appreciate the info.
Can this clog a drain the system is connected too?
It possibly could. The water that is backwashed out of the system is high in salt concentration. In theory, there could be a build up of sediment over time, however I haven't seen it happen too often. You can rent a basic drain snake from a hardware store to search out the blockage yourself.
Venturi is a method of causing a vacuum or suction it was named after the person that discovered the effect
No, it wasn't any person - Not even Jesse !!!!
@@truettneathery4358 I would suggest you pick up a book and read
The Venturi effect, named after physicist Giovanni Venturi (1746-1822)
Great reading
You didn't say anything about the position of the valves after you were done with the maintenance should I reset the bypass valve back to open so it can regenerate
You actually didn’t even need to bypass the system for the work I did. Once you finish up you can put the bypass back to normal.
thank you for the video. but i have a question; did you change the valves back to the normal direction from bypass mode????? or is it supposed to stay bypass mode?
You should take it off of bypass right after finishing the cleaning featured in this video.
Thank you. Have a new unit and this was very informative.
Thanks so much for this video! I totally rocked cleaning the whole system up and getting it running again!
Ha "Rocked"... Salt Rock Pun
How long does it take to clean it like this? Does this machine have regeneration cycle?
Question you turn knobs to friends but when do you unfriend it??
I have a similar model of softener and i have no clue where the filter is to replace it. can you help??? All the videos I've seen have a regular tube container that you need a special wrench to remove and there is the filter, but I don't have one of those in my garage. I have the same like you have in this video.
How often do you recomend doing this? Thnx
I used to do it once a year until I changed to using Morton Pellets in the yellow bag. Now I do it only when I see accumulation in the brine well. Its about once every other year now.
@@ThisGuyProductions ok thank you
You need to relieve the water pressure before accessing that injector cap, that's why you had all that water spilling out. Before unscrewing that cap, put it on bypass and hold the regen button till it starts the cycle. Also since you got that thing open, might as well check on injector. Those things always get clogged, especially if you get sludge buildup.
Isn't that solution should go into the brinewell? Isn't the brinewell that tube about 4" circumference with a cap inside the brinewell tank?
Yup Pristin, You are correct. It goes into the tube and not into the entire tank like I did. The good news is the way I did it was still effective.
Literally the best explained video on here for people who have no idea what the fuck they’re doing or what a softener tank is 😂 thank you so damn much
So glad to help out.
Great video: very instructive and love your humour! Thank you!
Thank you!
I am using Morton salt (yellow bag) and I've never had sediments.
Carl Brown I've switched too. Lots of comments on this video about cheap salt have converted me.
That's what I use also. No sediment in the bottom!
I too am now a convert!
I've only used the yellow but fighting iron so I use the green bag, A++
A marg or some burbon sounds good thanks brother !
I got three years ago and the guys who installed it for me told me that there’s no maintenance to it just to add salt… now I’m scared to even look in it. That cleaning powder you add it is healthy to drink or have to drain the water out?
You just have to use salt pellet as there are much cleaner. Also after you turn the bypass off press the regen button and then unplug the electric, this will release the pressure. Once you open that up you can use the cap to take out the piston and make sure that is clean.
Thanks, we have since started using salt pellets.
thanks for the trouble.....I wonder........all that used salt and recycling beads ......where it goes?
Which recycling beads? I am not following you?
I have a rain soft. Will it be the same process?
For the most part the process is similar. You are just looking to clear buildup from the brine tank and add that regeneration agent to the brine well. The brine well is actually that white tube inside the tank.
Thanks for this.Just bought a house with my 1st water softner.
I was about to say EXACTLY what 3rdGuy stated, but add it's 2 years later and your video is still helping new homeowners. I really appreciate your making this video.
Glad to help DevilDog803
Awesome. I hope you got to enjoy it.
ive been wondering.. do you think it would be ok to put the salt like in a pillow case then drop it in the salt tub? Kinda like a filter
Would love for you to add an overview of the complete system... Like more about what that tube inside the salt tank is for and should it be cleaned...
Also what to do with the salt you removed...
And should you ever clean the resin tank?
Thanks for your demo... You have updated it since I last viewed it with the added photo oics and stuff...
Kool stuff dude!
Thanks! I have a new video coming out this week featuring a salt free system. I get into detail on what each part does. For this video I worried about the huge differences in all the systems out there. Inside the tube is a floater that keeps level with the water level in the tank. Its where it draws water from the brine well. You could eventually replace the contents of the resin tank, but its messy business. I opted to replace my system all together because my original seller wouldn't allow me to do it myself.
At 11:18 are there not other parts floating in there that should be reconnected/centered before reassembly?
The other parts you see in there aren't actually floating around in there. Its an illusion from the water distortion. They are outlets beneath the valve.
You should install a pre-filter. This will allow the water to be filtered before entering your system.
It would be a great help for anyone with really hard water or for those that draw from a well.
Actually it's only really beneficial if you have lots sediment that comes through your water. If not then it's not needed, the system will usually collect the small amounts and back wash it out
How often should we do that? My salt level never changes and I never can see the bottom of the well…
Hey Richrico I cleaned it out when I noticed the sediment (discolored buildup) when my salt level was low. At least once a year on older systems.
What’s the difference between the water softener cleaner that you have used and Iron Out? They both come in powder form, I think both sold at Home Depot. I have people use Iron Out to restore the resin beads, but I wasn’t aware of the product you were using was even available. Also, why do you have to regen right away, after pouring that solution into the well?
My custom water softener system has a 5 micron, charcoal filter, before any water enters the water softener unit; this would probably reduce some maintenance and prolong the reliability of your internal parts of the water softener and brine system. Great video!