Softwater Problem

Sister has called Culligan out twice to check her Water Softener . The techs find no problem. She has not replaced salt in years. Any help would be great?

I add salt about once a month. They can form a salt bridge that has to be broken up. Culligan should be able to pin point the problem.

Our softener is part of the filtration system on our well and it stopped working a while back. The guy came out and found one tiny little $6 part of the injection mechanism had broken. The salt is held in solution (dissolved in the water) in the tank and if she has salt in the tank then IMO she might have a problem similar to ours.

ours uses potassium instead of salt, but we have to add a couple bags every month to 6 weeks. If she hasn't added salt in years, it isn't working and doesn't sound like it has been in years minus a couple of months.

We have a RainSoft and it was not using salt very fast to the point I had not added in a year. We would have soft water for about 10 days a month then it would start going back to normal.
The tech that came out said the cycle timer was way off, he reset it to run more often and the problem was solved. He also changed out all of the O-Rings in the valve works, said they need to be changed every 1 to 2 years.

It has been years since my water treatment days, but here are my thoughts.

The softner is a stand alone device. The softner could be making softened water but not delivering soft water. I carried a test kit. I would test water at the softner. Then test the water a various locations int he home. If the water at the softner was soft but the home faucets were not soft, this would indicate a delivery problem.

If the supply water is only moderately hard, and the softner has large capacity and her usage is low, salt usage will be low.
Example.... supply water has 3 grains hardness per gallon and softner has a 30,000 grain capacity, the softner would regenerate when 10,000 gallons of water had cycled through softner.

Questions.
Did the techs test water and measure hardness? Did they test each outlet? Is soft water being delivered throughout the home?
Is she on a conditioned munciple water supply? Is the whole house supplied with soft water or just laundry room?

I and a couple bags every 6 months. Depends a lot on the hardness of water and also your usage. I made the mistake of watering lawn from house spigots. Big mistake, that is all softened water. Was going through salt like crazy. Changed to pull off of the well before it got to the house, now I use very little salt.

Mine needs three bags every two months.

Are you under a Culligan contract? if not, call someone else. If you are, call and complain that their gear is not working.


Order a test kit for about $10 from amazon. Test your water in the house and test the water on an outdoor tap or somewhere else on the softner. The difference should be clear.

test kit

I didn’t read all of the comments. The head is not working. Take it apart and replace the o-rings, run it through a cycle and if it doesn’t work replace the head.

Can be any one of these...

1. Check power. Is unit plugged in? Breaker tripped?
2. Check to see if unit is in bypass. Some softener installers put in bypass valves. Check softener for effluent for hard or soft water.
3. Check regen/backwash steps. Depending on unit and size...B/W = 5-10 min, Brine Draw = 45-60 min, Slow Rinse = 30 min & Fast Rinse = 20 min. Specifically check brine draw...place unit in regen (fast forward to brine draw, disconnect tubing from brine tank. If suction is present then problem is most likely not with head).
4. Drain, clean, check, brine tank and foot valve.

Post up pic of controller and pin configuration.