Kenmore 625.38811 owner manual Service, Regeneration, Water Flow Through Softener in Fill

SECTION2 HOW YOUR WATER SOFTENER WORKS

B. 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 softener resin tank is a bed made up of

thousands of tiny, plastic resin beads (FIG. 5). As

hard water passes through the bed, each bead at-

tracts and holds the hardness minerals. 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 miner- als they can, and cleaning with salt brine is needed.

This cleaning is called regeneration or recharge. Re-

generation is started at 2:00 a.m. by the electronic timer (see page 2-5). It takes place in 5 stages or cycles. These are:

REGENERATION

[] FILL: Salt, dissolved in water, is called brine.

Brine is needed to clean the hardness minerals from the resin beads. _lb make the brine, water flows into the salt storage area during the fill stage as shown

in FIG. 6. 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 Fill

I	ILL	i BACKWASH
	BRINING	FAST RINSE
[]	BRINE RINSE

soft water hard water

OUT IN

Water Flow	Through
the Softener	in	Service
soft water		hard water	salt storage
			tank
OUT		IN

brine valve

\NXN\

salt storage tank(salt

brine valve

resin tank

resin bed

fill water

2-2

Problems, Questions? Call 1-800-426-9345 Kenmore Water Line