How Often Should I Manually Regenerate My Water Softener?

You know that your water softener regenerates on its own every few days to soften your water, but does your water softener regenerate often enough? Should you manually regenerate your water softener?

Providing that your water softener is properly programmed for the characteristics of your water, there should be no need to manually regenerate it unless it runs out of salt or malfunctions.

If your water softener continues to use salt as usual and your water continues to be soft there are only a few reasons why you should need to manually regenerate it.

Here’s What We Will Be Covering:

• When Should You Manually Regenerate A Water Softener?

• What Happens When You Manually Regenerate A Water Softener?

• Should I Manually Regenerate My Water Softener Each Time I Add Salt?

• Can You Manually Regenerate A Water Softener Too Much?

• Will Manually Regenerating My Water Softener Make My Water Softer?

• Will Manually Regenerating A Water Softener Make It Last Longer?

• How Do I Manually Regenerate My Water Softener?

When Should You Manually Regenerate A Water Softener?

Although a properly programmed water softener will regenerate often enough to provide softened water, there are times when it is a good idea to manually regenerate a water softener.

– When Your Water Softener No Longer Regenerates Automatically

Sometimes a water softener will stop metering water usage due to debris becoming lodged in its metering gears so you may need to manually regenerate your water softener to maintain softened water in your home.

Need to know how often your water softener should be regenerating? Use this simple calculator to determine approximately how often your water softener should regenerate.

– When you add salt after your water softener has run out of salt

If you discover that your water softener has run out of salt, your water softener may not be able to provide you with softened water until the water softener’s next “Programmed” regeneration.

In this situation, you may need to manually regenerate your water softener resin to ensure that you receive uninterrupted softened water.

– When you use more water than usual

Watering your lawn, filling a swimming pool, or having guests over can require more softened water than your water softener can provide based on your water softener’s normal programmed setting.

If your softened water demand increases, you may need to manually regenerate your water softener sooner than the regularly scheduled regeneration.

– When your water softener has been without salt for a long period of time

A water softener needs to have sodium ions (salt) to perform the process of ion exchange which is how it reuses its water softener resin to remove hardness from your water.

If your water softener has been without salt for a long period of time, its water softener resin will not be able to remove hardness from your water until it has sodium ions to regenerate the resin.

So, if your water softener has been without salt for a long period of time, add salt to the water softeners brine tank, wait about 4 hours for the salt to dissolve and create a brine, then manually regenerate your water softener so that it will once again provide softened water.

– When your water softener has not been used for a long period of time

When moving into a new home or going on an extended vacation, hardness and dissolved (Ferrous) iron can collect on the water softener resin inside of your water softener.

Excessive hard minerals and dissolved iron can adhere to the water softener without water regularly flowing through your water softener, making it harder to regenerate (clean) the resin.

Manually regenerating your water softener a few times after it has not been operational for a long period of time can help to clear the resin and make the resin perform as it should.

– After servicing your water softener

Whether you service your water softener yourself or have it professionally serviced, it is a good idea to manually regenerate your water softener after it has been serviced to ensure that all of the cycles are functioning correctly.

What Happens When You Manually Regenerate A Water Softener?

The regeneration process of a water softener is generally the same whether it is the preprogrammed regeneration or if you manually regenerate the water softener.

By manually regenerating your water softener you are simply initiating the regeneration process before the pre-programmed time.

Your water softener will use the brine from its brine tank to regenerate the water softener resin and then rinse the brine and remove hardness and iron in the same way as a normal regeneration.

Should I Manually Regenerate My Water Softener Each Time I Add Salt?

Generally, there is no need to manually regenerate your water softener each time you add additional salt to the brine tank.

Only if your water softener has run out of salt for a period of time should you manually regenerate your water softener a few hours after adding salt to the brine tank.

Can You Manually Regenerate A Water Softener Too Much?

Manually regenerating your water softener more often than needed will regenerate more of its water softener resin than is needed for normal operation.

Regenerating a water softener more often than needed will generally not cause any damage to the water softener, so you can’t really regenerate a water softener too much, and here’s why.

A properly set water softener does not regenerate 100 % of its water softener resin each time that it regenerates.

Generally, only about 20 – 25 percent of the water softener resin in your water softener needs to be regenerated when it regenerates.

To regenerate all of the resin in a water softener would require considerably more salt and water than it is normally set for and simply would not be as efficient as only regenerating a portion of the resin each time the water softener regenerates.

Regenerating a water softener more often than needed would not only wear out the water softener and resin faster but also waste salt and water.

Will Manually Regenerating My Water Softener Make My Water Softer?

If you test your water for hardness and your water is not completely soft (in other words, 0 hardness), manually regenerating your water softener can make your water softer.

But if your water softener is functioning properly and is set properly for the characteristics of your water, the water coming from your water softener should have 0 hardness which means that your water softener cannot make your water any softer.

Will Manually Regenerating A Water Softener Make It Last Longer?

Although manually regenerating your water softener to regenerate its resin more thoroughly may sound like a good idea to make the resin last longer, it may actually wear out the resin quicker.

Water softener resin can develop wear and tear each time that it is regenerated and therefore, over-regenerating water softener resin will generally shorten its effective lifespan.

In addition to wearing out the water softener resin faster, manually regenerating your water softener too often will also create added wear and tear to the moving parts of the water softener control valve.

How Do I Manually Regenerate My Water Softener?

There are generally 3 types of water softener control valves, an electronic digital control valve, an electronic mechanical control valve, and a non-electric manual control valve.

If your water softener has a digital display, you should be able to start a manual regeneration by pressing and holding down the “Regen” or “Regeneration” button on the front of the control.

On an electric mechanical water softener control, you will likely need to rotate a large knob located on the front of the control valve clockwise a few “Clicks” to start a manual regeneration.

A non-electric mechanical water softener will require a #2 Phillips-head screwdriver.

Inserted the screwdriver into the top center of the control valve then pressed straight down and rotated clockwise until you make contact with a small tab which you will then advance the tab a few “Clicks”.

To Sum Up!

Providing your water softener is operating properly and is set correctly for the characteristics of your water, there is no need or benefit to manually regenerating your water softener.

You may need to manually regenerate your water softener if it runs out of salt, malfunctions, or after servicing.

Manually regenerating your water softener between regular regenerations may cause added wear and tear to the resin and moving parts.