Kenmore 625.38376 Water Flow Through The Softener In Service, Soft Water Service And Regeneration

SOFT WATER SERVICE AND REGENERATION

SERVICE

When the softener is giving you soft water, it is called "Service". During service, hard water comes from the house main water pipe into the softener. Inside the sof- tener resin tank is a bed made up of thousands of tiny, plastic resin beads. As hard water passes through the bed, each bead attracts and holds the hardness miner- als. This is called ion exchanging. Water without the hardness minerals (soft water) flows out of the softener and into the house soft water pipes. After a period of time, the resin beads hold all of the hardness minerals they can, and cleaning with salt brine is needed. This cleaning is called regeneration or recharge. Regeneration is started at 2:00 a.m. by the electronic timer. It takes place in 5 stages or cycles.

These are: 1. Fill

2.Brining

3.Brine Rinse

4.Backwash

5.Fast Rinse

NOTE: If the Clean Feature is set to "On'; additional

backwash and fast rinse cycles occur before the fill

cycle.

REGENERATION

The five steps listed above are described in detail over the next several pages.

FILL: Salt, dissolved in water, is called brine. Brine is needed to clean the hardness minerals from the resin beads. To make the brine, water flows into the salt stor- age area during the fill stage. Fill cycle length depends on how much soft water making capacity you have used since the last regeneration. As you use more water, fill time increases so more brine is made. The

greater amount of brine cleans more hardness minerals from the resin bed.

WATER FLOW THROUGH

THE SOFTENER IN SERVICE

Soft Water Hard Water

OU{T IIN

Salt Storage Tank\ (Salt not shown)

Brine Valve, Tank

FIG. 49

WATER FLOW THROUGH

THE SOFTENER IN FILL

Soft Water Hard Water

Salt Storage Tank

Brine Valve_

\

Fill Water

FIG. 50

Questions? Call The Kenmore Water Line 1-800-426-9345

26