You have had your GE/Whirlpool water softener for many years and it has worked great without a single problem. But you know that it will need to be replaced eventually, but how soon? Just how long does a GE/Whirlpool water softener last?
On average, a GE/Whirlpool water softener will last 10 to 15 years with minimal maintenance required. The amount of hardness in the water to be softened and the amount of iron in the water affect how often a GE/Whirlpool water softener will operate which can affect how long it will last.
GE/Whirlpool water softeners are simple and economical water softeners that can last for many years with very little regular maintenance. I have seen many GE/Whirlpool water softeners working just fine at 15 years old and some even older, and here’s why.
What Can Affect How Long A GE/Whirlpool Water Softener Will Last?
- Water hardness : The more hard minerals in your water, the more often it will have to regenerate.
A GE/Whirlpool will soften your hard water for many years but a water softener that has to soften very hard water will generally not last as long as a water softener that only has to soften slightly hard water.
- Water usage : The more water you use, the more water that will have to be softened.
A household with only one person will need to soften less water than a household with four people.
Simply put, a GE/Whirlpool water softener that only needs to soften a small amount of water will generally last longer than one that has to soften a large amount of water.
- Iron in your water : Iron can be removed by a water softener, but it will have to regenerate more often to do it.
A GE/Whirlpool water softener can remove dissolved iron from your water but it needs to regenerate more often to do it.
The more iron in your water, the harder your GE/Whirlpool water softener will have to work and shorten the life of your GE/Whirlpool water softener.
- Chlorine in your water: Chlorine will damage water softener resin over time therefore the resin in a GE/Whirlpool water softener will not last as long if it is exposed to chlorine for an extended period of time.
Because chlorine will damage water softener resin from prolonged exposure, water that has been chlorinated to make it safe to use may affect how long your water softener resin will last.
Like any mechanical and electronic appliance, how long a water softener will last will vary depending on how often it has to operate.
In most households that have a water softener, the water softener is the hardest working appliance in the home.
Does The Hardness Of Water Affect How Long A GE/Whirlpool Water Softener Will Last?
The more hardness that is in the water to be softened, the more often that the water softener will need to regenerate which decreases the life of the water softener.
A water softener in a household that uses only 100 gallons of water per day will most likely last longer than the same model of water softener in a household that uses 200 gallons of water per day.
While a water softener will remove iron from water without any additional chemicals or additives, it will have to regenerate more often to soften water that also contains iron.
If your raw water contains 12 grains per gallon of hardness with 0 iron, you would only have to set your water softener hardness to 12 to soften your water.
But if your raw water contains 12 grains per gallon of hardness along with 1 part per million of iron, you will need to set the hardness to 15 to tell the water softener to regenerate more often so it can remove the iron in your water.
By setting the water softener to regenerate more often to accommodate the iron in your water, it will naturally not last as long because it will need to operate more than if there was no iron present in your water.
It is not that the water softener resin will wear out quicker if there is more hardness in your water, you use more water or you need to remove iron from your water, it is just that the mechanical and electrical components in your water softener will need to work more often.
Can A GE/Whirlpool Water Softener Last As Long As A More Expensive Water Softener?
Absolutely!
I have seen GE/Whirlpool water softeners that cost less than $800 last just as long as a water softener that costs $3000.
A Whirlpool water softener is a very basic water softener that can operate as well as an expensive water softener for years with minimal maintenance.
How Long Does The Resin Last In A GE/Whirlpool Water Softener?
The water softener resin in a GE/Whirlpool water softener is common polystyrene and divinylbenzene resin that is used in many water softeners.
This standard type water softener resin will last just as long as other standard resin that is used in any other brand water softener regardless of size, price, or application.
In most cases, water softener resin will last longer than the water softener itself.
Because the water softener resin is continuously regenerated, it is kept in good condition for many years unless it gets damaged by iron or chlorine that is present in the water.
Although there are different types of water softener resin, the resin in a GE/Whirlpool water softener will last as long as the resin used in other brand water softeners.
What Can You Do To Make Your GE/Whirlpool Water Softener Last Longer?
A Water softener is a pretty self-sufficient appliance but there are a few things that you can do to help it last longer.
- The only regular thing that you really have to do to a water softener is to add salt or Potassium Chloride (a low sodium alternative to regular water softener salt) to the brine tank when it runs low.
- The water softener will regenerate its water softener resin as needed and you may have to reset the clock if your water softener loses power for an extended period of time.
- Your local water treatment company may say to you that it is important to have your water softener serviced annually in order for it to operate properly but this is not always the case.
I have found that most GE/Whirlpool water softeners that are only removing hard minerals from the water require very little service to ensure that they will last as long as they should.
Clean your brine tank regularly
It is a good practice to clear any salt build-up on the sides of your GE/Whirlpool water softener brine compartment to help prevent salt bridging, but that has very little to do with how long the water softener will last.
Cleaning your brine tank yearly will help prevent bridging and can help to make your water softener work more efficiently.
Check out this quick video about how easy it is to give your brine tank an annual cleaning.
Use very pure water softener salt
The purity of the salt that you use in your GE/Whirlpool water softener can affect how long your water softener will last because dirt or debris that is in the water softener salt that you buy can get into the control valve of your water softener and cause wear and tear of its parts.
Grit and sediment in water softener salt can wear at the water softener resin that is inside of your water softener making it less effective at removing hard minerals from your water.
Check the clock on your water softener whenever you add salt
This may not seem like a big deal, but if the time on your water softener is wrong, your water softener will regenerate at the wrong time.
Most of the time a water softener is set to regenerate at a time of day when there is no to minimal water being used in order to provide the water softener with optimal water so it can properly regenerate its water softener resin.
Use a water softener resin cleaner annually
This is a simple way to help keep the resin in your water softener working to its full potential.
Using a water softener resin cleaner at least once per year is highly recommended when your water softener is removing iron from your water in addition to your water hardness.
Water softener resin cleaner essentially gives your water softener resin a “DEEP CLEANING” which helps to remove iron or hardness that has built up on the resin.
By simply pouring a dose of water softener resin cleaner into your water softener brine tank, your water softener will run the cleaner through the resin and through other areas of the water softener where iron and hardness could build up.
What Repairs Can You Do To Make Your GE/Whirlpool Water Softener Last Longer?
In many cases, a Whirlpool water softener may stop working just because an inexpensive rubber gasket has developed a hole or tear in it.
Not only is this rubber gasket inexpensive (less than $20 for a 3 pack online), but it is also easy to replace yourself without special skills and no special tools necessary.
Or if you would like to, you can take it a step further and easily replace the entire assembly for around $40.
You just have to bypass your Whirlpool water softener, run it through the regeneration process by pressing a single button a few times, unscrew a cap with your bare hands, replace the seal, put the cap back on, and then put the water softener back into the service position.
When Does A GE/Whirlpool Water Softener Need To Be Replaced?
With access to the proper parts, a GE/Whirlpool water softener could be repaired over and over again to make it last virtually forever.
But naturally, at some point, repairing any device over and over again is simply not economical.
Other than replacing the rubber venturi gasket or the entire venturi assembly and cleaning the venturi and venturi screen, I don’t recommend investing too much money into repairing an old GE/Whirlpool water softener.
Occasionally, the computer board may go bad
Or the drive motor may need replacing
But these repairs are not that common and if you call a professional water softener service person, the cost of these repairs could be near or as much as the cost of an entirely new water softener.
What Is The Warranty On A GE/Whirlpool Water Softener?
Like many water softener brands, GE/Whirlpool fully warranties their model WHES30 & WHES33 (two of their most popular models) water softeners for 1 (One) full year from the date of purchase from manufacturer defects and improperly working water softeners.
Unlike some water softener brands, they also warranty the labor required to repair the warrantied repairs for 1 (One) year from the date of purchase.
GE/Whirlpool also warranties the brine and resin tanks for 10 (Ten) years against rusting, corroding, leaking, bursting, or any other defect.
They even warranty the electronic control board that controls the water softener valve for a period of 3 (Three) years from the date of purchase.
Many water softener brands only warranty the electronic components of their systems for 1 (One) year or less.
Although many people tend to forget about registering the items that they buy for warranty purposes, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you register your new GE/Whirlpool water softener A.S.A.P. to ensure that your warranty will be honored.
Like any home appliance, it is impossible to accurately predict how long a GE/Whirlpool water softener will last but I have found them to be a quality water softener that could easily last for 10 to 15 years or more depending on your individual situation.
