How can I tell if my water softener needs repair?

Question

Accepted Answer

The clearest sign is hard water symptoms returning — spotting on glassware, soap that stops lathering, scale on fixtures. Others are salt levels that stop dropping, salty-tasting water, a unit that runs constantly or never regenerates, and reduced water pressure.

The Signs

Hard water symptoms are back. The most reliable indicator. If glassware is spotting again and soap will not lather, the softener has stopped doing its job regardless of how it looks.
Salt level is not dropping. Usually salt bridging — a hard crust spanning the tank with an air gap beneath it, so the tank looks full while no brine is being made. Push a broom handle through the salt to check.
Salty taste at the taps. The unit is not rinsing properly, often a control valve or drain line problem.
Running constantly or never cycling. A control valve or timer fault.
Reduced water pressure through the house, which can mean a fouled resin bed or a clogged distributor.
Unusual noises during regeneration.
Water in the brine tank far above normal, indicating a float or drain problem.
Resin beads at fixtures — small amber granules in aerators mean a broken distributor tube.

Check the Easy Things First

Salt bridging accounts for a large share of “broken” softeners and costs nothing to fix — break the crust and let the unit resume. Also verify the bypass valve was not left in bypass after service work, and that the unit still has power and its programming has not been reset.

What Usually Needs Repair

A clogged venturi or injector — the component that draws brine during regeneration, and a frequent culprit. A worn control valve. A failed float or brine line. And eventually, exhausted resin, which has a finite life; chlorine in municipal water degrades it gradually.