"WRONG, water should NEVER come out of the overflow on the brine tank... never ever. Something is wrong! " justalurker, I agree with you that there is a problem with the softener! I was referring to the immediate problem being resolved - namely, the almost ankle depth water in the utility room that we had to deal with when we first discovered this issue. As I mentioned, we have switched the softener to bypass mode now so atleast we dont have to deal with overflowing water in the utility room, but like you said we still need to fix the root cause with the softener. The documents and links you provided gave pretty good overview of how the softener works and how it can be serviced. I also talked to the softener dealer I had purchased the softener from and they advised me to try some things: 1) Confirm that the PE brine tube connecting the control valve and brine tank is connected securely to the control valve. (verified this is true) 2) Remove the air check valve from the brine tank (BTW, is the "air check valve" the same as the "safety float" you keep referring to in your posts?). Clean out the air check valve to remove anything that might prevent it from sucking the brine from the brine tank back into the control valve. I tried to pull out the PE tube from the white plastic elbow (see photo of this in the link below) so that I can lift out the air check valve from the white cylinder in the brine tank and clean it, but it seemed quite tight (maybe its supposed to be this tight) and I didnt want to yank on it too hard and cause further damage (just playing safe due to my inexperience dealing with softeners). Will it be easier to remove the PE tubing from the white plastic elbow if I turn the control valve to "Backwash" position manually and remove some water from the PE tubing first? If so, when control valve is in "backwash" position, would the water from the PE tubing flow out the "bypass outlet" (and hence require me to turn off the bypass) OR would it flow out the "drain line"? Basically, I am trying to figure out the right way to remove and clean the "air check valve". 3) If cleaning the "air check valve" does not help, the dealer advised to remove the control valve and bring it in because it would probably still be covered under warranty. Per the dealer, since the softener was purchased and installed in late summer of 2006, most of the repair costs should still be covered under manufacturer's warranty. As I understand they would send the control valve to the manufacturer (Water Right) and get it back within 7-10 days and I would be responsible for 25% of the cost. So if it comes to this, I will need to figure out the right way to remove the control valve - I understand it should not be too hard and the control valve can be "twisted off" from the top of the resin tank (how do i disconnect control valve from the bypass or the water meter before twisting it off the resin tank)? As you quoted Clint Eastwood, I can and prefer doing the "basic" troubleshooting (i.e. cleaning air check valve and, if needed, remove the control valve) but since its under warranty, it might be best to have it fixed by the pros (in the case the manufacturer themselves). Would appreciate help with these "basic" tasks. Thanks again, -Topper Here is a link that might be useful: PE tubing connected to white plastic elbow

Options 1&2 are total scams. TAC does nothing and the carbon is designed to remove chlorine and organics. While it is true it will improve the quality of the water for whole house use it must be replaced after it loads up, several years most likely. Option 3 will soften the water and I would suggest a carbon tank before the softener to remove the chlorine and extend the life of softener resin. The carbon tank will need to be rebed depending on chlorine levels and usage. RJH2O

Jelly, I went and looked at the video, and the photos at post #2. The white plastic pan that is shown in the video is where it needs to drain to, and yes, you need to get water to flow into it. I have a Whirlpool with a bottom freezer, and at the very back. after you take off all the shrouds and baskets, it looks just like the photos in # 2. When you look at the right most photo, you see a small ledge, which is labeled drip pan ( though it in not the plastic pan that is at the very bottom of the fridge in the video) and I will call it a drip channel and a spot labelled drain hole. That whole ledge area is probably covered in ice, and ice is also on the area labelled evaporator . What happened originally was that the rubber tube got clogged, water fell into the drip channel, but could not exit the drip hole, and froze. It then continued to freeze onto the evaporator. Right now, the ice on the evaporator is melting, the water is dripping onto the drip channel, and there is still ice in the drip channel, so it is still overflowing into the freezer. You can just leave if for a day and be pretty confident it will be done, though you wouldn't want to do that with wood or laminate floors, because it could be a lot of water, or you can try using the hot pan in the freezer, and use a hair dryer from the rear of the fridge pointing all along where you attached the rubber tube. You won't see the ice in the drip channel, because it is below the top of the channel. You may not see the ice on the evaporator, because it may well be hidden by the vents.

We are on well water. When we were looking for a home, I always tasted the water and glanced at the sink or toilet for dramatic signs of severe staining. I would not have chosen a home with bad water. Our water tastes great. Our next door neighbor's well is probably 500' away. They don't like the taste or softness of their water and have their water treated. They were surprised that our water tastes fine. I recently had the water tested and the Hardness was at mid range levels. I have been places where one can't get lathered up in a shower. Our water is fine in that respect. My point is that water can be different in close quarters. Why do you even think that you need water treatment?