Credit: Shutterstock / Lost_in_the_Midwest Water softeners help millions of people deal with their annoying hard water problem. However, water softeners aren’t always as reliable as one may hope. There are several signs that your water softener is not working. Excessive salt use or not going through salt at all can indicate something is wrong with your water softener. Discolored water and hard water stains are also signs that your water softener is not working. You can fix several problems by resetting your water softener. However, it’s worth replacing the unit if it’s 10-15 years old. Don’t hesitate to call a licensed plumber if you’re worried about your water softener. Follow along as we highlight eight signs that your water softener is not working. How You Can Tell If Your Water Softener Is Not Working Well 1. You Go Through Salt Too Quickly Replacing the salt in your water softener once every 4 to 8 weeks is normal. How often you must replenish the salt depends on the system and manufacturer. However, you can tell something is wrong with your water softener if you go through salt faster than the manufacturer’s recommended amount. Granted, this can happen if you program your water softener incorrectly, which is common. Some people assume their water has a higher mineral content than it really does, and they program the water softeners accordingly. This can make you go through salt much faster than expected, but it’s an easily fixable problem. If adjusting the settings doesn’t work, a broken timer or a damaged brine valve may be to blame. That said, you may want to replace your water softener if it’s 10-15 years old and uses salt too quickly. It’s not worth repairing the water softener if it’s too old. 2. No Salt Gets Used On the other end of the spectrum, you can tell that your water softener is not working if no salt is being used. This can be quite frustrating, but it doesn’t typically mean the water softener is broken. It’s more likely that a salt bridge has formed, which is a common issue. A salt bridge is a thick, solidified chunk of salt stuck in the brine tank of a water softener. Because it’s so thick, the salt bridge will prevent the water softener from properly using the salt. Once this happens, the water softener won’t effectively remove hard minerals from your home’s water supply. You can resolve this issue by breaking the salt bridge with a small hammer or blunt object. Of course, you must be careful, or else you may damage the brine tank. Reducing your home’s humidity and using the proper amount of salt can prevent salt bridges from forming. 3. It Runs Too Often Short-cycling is a problem many homeowners are familiar with, but it usually happens with air conditioners and furnaces. This occurs when a device or appliance runs, shuts off, and runs again in a seemingly endless cycle. Not only does this make you go through salt too fast, but it can also strain the water softener and shorten its lifespan. Short-cycling typically occurs when the water softener gets stuck in the regeneration phase. In that case, there’s a good chance the unit’s control valve or motor is damaged. Luckily, you can often fix this problem by resetting the water softener. The process varies between models, so you must read the instructions before resetting the water softener. However, you may want to replace your water softener if it still runs continuously after resetting. This is the best option if it’s 10 years old or older. 4. The Water Is Discolored Nobody wants to drink or cook with discolored water, as the implications can be quite concerning. However, discoloration is one of the biggest signs that a water softener is not working. This often occurs when a water softener has too much manganese. That said, your water may also appear discolored if there’s a problem with your local water supply. The only way to find out is to call your local water supplier and see if they have anything to do with it. Discolored water can also appear if your pipes are rusty, as the sediment can dissolve in the water. A licensed plumber can test your water to see what’s wrong with it. If it turns out that the manganese is too high, you may want get a new water softener. 5. Hard Water Stains Return Many people buy a water softener to protect their clothes and dishes from hard water stains. After using a water softener for a while, it’s easy to forget about such stains. However, hard water stains returning can indicate that your water softener isn’t working. A defective water softener cannot remove magnesium, calcium, and minerals from the water. Water softeners gradually go bad, but they can break overnight. This problem won’t fix itself, so you must repair or replace your water softener. You may need to replace the bypass valve or injector nozzle. The best-case scenario is that you only need to clean, refill, and reset the water softener. Otherwise, it won’t hurt to replace it altogether. 6. The Hard Water Taste Comes Back Do you prefer soft water over hard water? If so, you’re not alone, as many people use water softeners specifically for the taste. Soft water can spoil your taste buds, so you’ll likely notice when the water softener stops working. This can be disappointing if you’ve gotten used to your water tasting better. The best way to get to the root of the problem is to call a licensed plumber and see what they can do for you. They can at least help you decide between repairing or replacing your water softener. 7. You Find Contaminants In Your Water Have you recently noticed small particles and sediment in your water? If so, you should stop drinking tap water right away and inspect the water softener. This could be salt, or some of the resin beads may have slipped through the water softener’s screen. These beads are supposed to help remove minerals, like calcium and magnesium, from your water. The screen is supposed to keep them at bay, but that’s not possible when the screen is damaged. You can replace the screen for $25, on average, without professional help. Otherwise, a professional may charge you up to $300 to replace the screen. It’s worth trying it yourself to save money and learn more about your water softener. 8. Your Clothing Are Stiff Hard water can affect certain appliances as much as it can affect your drinking water. That includes your washing machine, and hard water can impact its performance. You can tell that’s the case if your clothes feels rough and stiff after washing them. This happens due to excessive calcium and magnesium in the water. Not only can it impact the texture, but hard water can also eventually discolor your clothing. You may even notice this before you notice hard water stains on your plumbing fixtures and dishes. Summing It Up You can tell your water softener is not working if hard water stains suddenly appear on your dishes, plumbing fixtures, and clothing. Going through salt too quickly can also indicate that something is wrong with a water softener. Repair or replace your water softener if your water is discolored and you find sediment in it.