Before you change any settings... test the water hardness BEFORE and AFTER the softener.

Reported hardness before was 18 and after it's 0. Additional infos: Iron 0.1, pH 7.84, Manganese 0, Tannins 0

I'm not interested in REPORTED hardness. Check the hardness before and after the softener today. We need to ascertain if the softener is operating properly NOW.

Check the drain line from the softener to its end for a clog or obstruction. The drain line should end at an air gap to a drain. You should be using the milky white sort of stiff PE (polyethylene) tubing or PVC for the drain line NOT the soft clear vinyl tubing.

Reported hardness before was 18 and after it's 0. Additional infos: Iron 0.1, pH 7.84, Manganese 0, Tannins 0

What is the hardness before the softener TODAY?

What is the hardness after the softener TODAY?

Well water or water system?

# of people in the house?

Maybe it's because English is not my native language but the hardness is what was reported in the water test we had a few weeks ago so without going thru the water softener, it's 18 and after it's 0. The results we had are pretty similar to what they were when we installed the system.

I can blow in the tube from the brine tank after disconnecting it and same thing with the 3/8 tube if I unplug it from the softener and the brine tank.

Well water

2 people most of the time

Thanx for your help

What I am trying to find out is... is the water hardness after the softener 0 hardness right now. Did you test the water after the softener TODAY and get 0 hardness? This will tell us if the softener is operating properly and we can look for the problem elsewhere.

The drain tube is the 1/2" ID tube that is connected to the Fleck 7000 and goes to the drain. This line must be clear and unrestricted all the way to the drain. The drain line should end at an air gap to a drain. You should be using the milky white sort of stiff PE (polyethylene) tubing or PVC for the drain line NOT the soft clear vinyl tubing.

The 3/8" tube from the salt (brine) tank to the Fleck 7000 is the brine tube and must not have any water or air leaks from float assembly to the Fleck 7000.

Also, look for a small sticker near where the brine line connects to the 7000 that says "BLFC" and has a number like .125 The sticker may also say GPM

If your water softener is leaving too much salt in the water, then reduce the salt dose on your softener's controls. Check if there is salt in the salt tank. And if still the problem persist, you need a new water softener. Your best bet is plumbers who installs and services water softener. Because when I had the same problem, the plumbers in south jersey had resolve the problem, then the softener company employees.

Here is a link that might be useful: plumbers in south jersey

Took a while but had to have my water retested... So... The results:

RIGHT NOW, here's somes infos:

Hardness Before the softener 23
After the softener: 0

Iron before: 1.9
Iron after: .2

pH before: 7.07
pH after: 7.36

TDS before: 800 (acceptable is 500)
TDS after: 850

I sent them a message because I was interested in sodium/calcium but I don't have those values. Still leaving a lot of salt spots so trying to figure out which setting to change to lower the salt amount

I've already asked you once... three posts up. If you don't tell us what we need to know in order to help you then we can't.

"The drain tube is the 1/2" ID tube that is connected to the Fleck 7000 and goes to the drain. This line must be clear and unrestricted all the way to the drain. The drain line should end at an air gap to a drain. You should be using the milky white sort of stiff PE (polyethylene) tubing or PVC for the drain line NOT the soft clear vinyl tubing.

The 3/8" tube from the salt (brine) tank to the Fleck 7000 is the brine tube and must not have any water or air leaks from float assembly to the Fleck 7000.

Also, look for a small sticker near where the brine line connects to the 7000 that says "BLFC" and has a number like .125 The sticker may also say GPM"

Also need to know how many people in the home?

You don't need a plumber or a new softener.

Have you spoken to the vendor that sold you the softener? What was their response? Did you install this yourself,

Certainly check your drain line and report back with the BLFC number to ensure your softener is functioning properly and is programmed correctly.

Hardness after the softener is zero, so the softener is working. It may not be set up as efficiently as possible, however. Unless water is continually running into and out of your brine tank, salt water is not being run into your water.

Many sodium or chloride salts will taste very similar to sodium chloride (table salt). The fact that the deposits you are seeing taste salty to you is not indicative of actual sodium chloride salt in the your water. If the water stays "salty" tasting during the entire cycle between regens, there is not a problem with failure to rinse thoroughly - that's just how your water tastes once it is softened.

Most likely, you simply don't like the taste of softened water - many people don't. As to the spots on your car, any softened water that starts with a TDS around 800 will still leave spots if the car isn't dried. Softening only removed the calcium, magnesium, iron/manganese. It does not remove all dissolved solids from your water. They still remain and will leave a spot when the water evaporates.

OK, the 1/2" tube is clear and unrestricted. I assume this because if I blow in it, it goes "free". Not sure though if it's PE or PVC :: It's very similar to the stuff that all the pumbling is done with (except the plumbing is 3/4).

The .125 brine line, this goes in the salt tank and when I do a manual regen, I can see the tank going empty than refill via this line.

justalurker: Just saw on the tube it's written "PE 60psi" so it's PE not PVC.

I decided to make another answer to aliceinwonderland:

The softener was installed by ourselves three years ago, it's really the car spots that concerns me for the longevity of the car paint... I never drank the softened water, the only time I tasted it is when I saw the white spot on the car a few years ago and then I noticed it was very salty.

By your answer concerning the white spots, that doesn't mean that it's because there's too much sodium/calcium?

Also, our silver plumbing is getting rust spots, which was also making me think it was because of the salt.

The installer response was (quote): "The âÂÂBDâ should be at 60 minutes. âÂÂRRâ set it to 12 minutes to give the unit an extra rinse. You can lower the âÂÂBFâ cycle to @ 10 minutes. Watch out though, we may not give it enough to regenerate properly."

Thank's again all for your answers

Since the drain line is clear and the softener is producing 0 hardness water then the softener is operating properly. While you may be able to fine tune the softener to operate more efficiently that would not resolve the water spotting. Since the softener has been doing its job for three years I'd leave the programming alone.

The higher the hardness in the untreated hard water the more sodium ions are exchanged to soften the water.

The harder the water the more sodium (one of the dissolved solids) you'll have in the treated water. That is what the water spots are.

If you get really fast with a good chamois you can get the car dried off before the spots precipitate.

Sodium is not salt. Salt is sodium chloride. During softener regeneration sodium ions are exchanged with calcium ions but the chloride part of the sodium chloride that makes it a SALT goes to drain. There is no salt in softened water.

By rust do you mean a white crusty deposit or brown RUST like when a tool is left in the rain?

Posting a picture of the rust would help us see what you're seeing.

If you scrape off some of the rust(?) and put it in a dish and add a little white vinegar or LimeAway does it fizz?

The rust you are seeing:

Is it on the surface, and can be wiped off without leaving a mark?

OR

If you removed the rust do you see an etch, or gouge, or pit where the rust was? Where the rust is forming, do you see the surface appearing to "bubble" up a bit?

If you can get some good pictures of the rusty locations, that would be very helpful.

You guys are awesome :) Here are some pictures. At the beginning, we were able to wash with vinegear but it went out of control (after 2-3 days it was re-appearing) and now, it's a mess... It cannot be removed anymore in any way :(

This post was edited by CoOlSlY on Sun, Nov 2, 14 at 18:41

Here's another one...

And a third one... The rust is now past the first layer...

Hope those pics will help you understand what I mean by "rusting" ::

You might call the fixture manufacturer and complain.

Well, the shower head is Waterpick, the other stuff is Aqua Blue and we have lots of Delta faucets also, all doing the same, I doubt all of the companies have rusting problem ::

Likely there is something else in your water that is causing it to be corrosive. High alkalinity, silica or copper are possibilities. Softening the water may or may not have made the problem worse. It is impossible to tell without a comprehensive water test. Unfortunately, some waters are just corrosive.