How Your Water Softener Works
SOFT WATER SERVICE AND REGENERATION
BRINING: During brining, the brine is moved from the salt storage area, into the resin tank. See Fig. 38.
WATER FLOW THROUGH
THE SOFTENER IN
BRINING AND BRINE RINSE
Inside the resin tank, brine cleans hardness minerals from the resin beads and they are discharged out the drain. How much brine is needed to clean the resin depends on:
•The amount of water used between regenerations.
•The amount of resin in the softener,
•How fast the brine goes through the bed.
The nozzle and venturi makes suction to take brine from the salt tank and put it into the resin tank. They keep the brine flow down to a very slow rate to get the best resin cleaning with the least salt.
BRINE RINSE: After all of the brine is moved into the resin tank, the brine valve closes. Water keeps flowing the same way it did during brining except the brine flow has stopped. Hardness minerals and brine flush from the resin tank to the drain. Brining and brine rinse together vary in the length of time they take, relative to the fill cycle length. See Fig. 38.
Hard Water
Bypass OUT
Nozzle & Venturi 
Brine Valve
Brine
Hard Water
IN
Drain
FIG. 38
BACKWASH: During backwash, water flows UP through the resin tank at a fast rate to flush iron miner- als, dirt and sediments from the bed and to the drain. The bed lifts and expands for good cleaning. See Fig. 39.
WATER FLOW THROUGH THE
SOFTENER IN BACKWASH
Hard Water | Hard Water |
Bypass OUT | IN |
Drain
Resin Bed Lifted
and Expanded
FIG. 39
Questions? Call The Kenmore Water Line
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