Caring and Maintaining Your Kinetico Water Softener
People often opt to invest in a Kinetico water system as they want an efficient system that requires little or no electricity and minimal maintenance. While the system doesn’t require as much regular maintenance, owners need to carry out certain tasks to keep the system up and running at maximum efficiency.
Regular examinations of the sediment pre-filter, purchasing quality salt and inspecting brine tank float assembly are some key elements that should be added to your home maintenance list. How should an owner go about maintaining this system?
Kinetico Maintenance for Homeowners
The Correct Amount of Salt
Manufacturers rinse the salt crystal before packing them for sale to remove this dirt, but some debris will remain in the crystals and make its way into the brine tank of the water softener. This small amount rarely causes problems with the system on a daily basis. Nevertheless, if the system runs low on salt, issues arise.
The dirt present in the salt crystals typically makes its way to the bottom of the tank where it remains. If the tank runs low on salt, however, the addition of more salt stirs up this dirt. It could then make its way into the brine float assembly and become lodged in the shut-off float.
If the brine tank overflows, please contact us for service.
One tiny piece of dirt could interfere with the proper operation of the shut-off float. If the float doesn’t activate, water continues to enter the brine tank until it overflows. This can then lead to damage to the home.
Call out: Kinetico uses 50-75% less salt than conventional water softeners.
The Right Type of Salt
Kinetico water softeners require very pure salt for proper operation. Manufacturers create solar salt by taking saltwater, allowing it to evaporate, and letting it re-crystallize. This reduces the amount of dirt present in the bag of salt crystals, although some particles will remain.
Pellet salt serves as an alternative to solar salt. Like solar salt, pellet salt comes free of debris and offers a higher level of purity. However, pellet salt contains a binder that allows the salt to hold its shape. This binder settles in the bottom of the brine tank as the salt in the pellet dissolves.
Over time, the binder builds up in the tank and becomes a slab. The slab interferes with the water softener’s ability to get the correct dose of brine, as the binder has occupied the space where the salt normally resides. Choose your water softener salt carefully to avoid these issues.
The optimal salt for your Kinetico system can be purchased from your local Aquarius dealer.
Clean the Brine Tank
Clean the wall of the brine tank when adding salt. Never overlook this step, as you must remove the dirt and debris, or they will lead to system issues. Pay close attention to the waterline, as this is where the dirt and debris often accumulate.
If the floating dirt remains in the tank, it makes its way to the bottom of the tank. The system may then draw it into the water softener control valve, or the brine float shut off. This could lead to failure of the brine float shut-off or it might completely stop operation of the water softener. This happens when dirt becomes lodged in the gears of the control valve.
Manufacturers balance these gears before putting the system up for sale. If the gears and impellers cannot spin freely, the system cannot operate. This could cause damage to the water fixtures of the home because of hard water build up. In addition, the hot water heater could sustain damage because of a permanent build up in the heater. This brings about expensive repair bills.
Change the Pre-Filter Routinely
Sediment pre-filters help to prevent debris from making its way into the control valve. When debris makes its way into the valves or gears, they malfunction, and the system stops working. The pre-filter helps to prevent this, saving the owner money on costly repairs or a replacement system.
Examine the Bypass
Water softeners make use of bypasses to divert water in the system. They all function to achieve the same goal but use different methods when doing so.
Every system has a bypass. The Kinetico system has a specialty bypass that helps keep things nice and tidy in the utility room. Other water softeners systems can have multiple pipes and fittings.
The Two-Handed Bypass
The black two-handed Mach bypass offers a very reliable bypass for water softener owners. They can turn the handle to different positions with ease, and the system will display a green color in the window when the system is operating normally. When the system is set to bypass, it displays a yellow color, and the red position shuts the water off completely.
Owners need to rotate the handle a few times every year to ensure smooth operation when it needs to be activated. Using both hands, rotate the handle completely to the right and then completely to the left. Finally, return it to the green in-service position.
Use Resin Cleaner
A Kinetico tank comes in a smaller size than standard water softener tanks. As a result, the company fills the resin tank almost to the top. A basket-type screen holds the resin in the tank, and this prevents the resin from fluffing up like it does in a standard water softener. Standard water filters fluff the resin to ensure the system uses it evenly.
In contrast, a Kinetico water softener disperses the water that flows through the tanks to ensure it uses the resin completely. However, the resin moves very little during this process. To ensure hardness doesn’t build up in the tank, owners need to add a dose of water softening resin cleaner yearly. Follow the directions on the selected cleaner.
Call out: covered in our service partner plans
When the Kinetico water softener sits in the finished area of the home, the owner should add an overflow line to the salt tank. A small white overflow fitting sits on the side of the tank. The fitting allows users to attach an overflow drain hose running to a drainage area.
Owners should consider attaching this drain hose to the system. This ensures water doesn’t flood the home if dirt or sediment makes its way into the shut-off seal, preventing it from carrying out its function.
Invest in a Water Leak Detector
Tank overflows and water leaks remain extremely rare with Kinetico water softeners, but they could happen. Water does a great deal of damage in very little time, and the home needs protection from a disaster of this type.
A water flood-detector allows the homeowner to know there is an issue when something goes wrong within the any plumbing issues. It also becomes of help with other water appliances near the softener. For this reason, every home needs a detector of this type, just as they need smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
These detectors can be used for water heaters, under sinks, washing machines and other places where leaks can occur.
Regular maintenance of your Kinetico water softener extends its lifespan and ensures it operates properly at all times. If you run into a situation where you cannot fix the system or need assistance with regular maintenance tasks, call Aquarius Home Services for help.
Our team is ready to assist in any way necessary to keep the system up and running at all times. All you need to do is ask. The technicians undergo training to make certain they can address any issue that arises with the water softener system and educates users on how to keep their system running.
Call today to have your system examined or for assistance with other tasks.
