Do you have extra water in the tank? Your softener's venturi assembly produces a vacuum that pulls the salty brine water from the tank during a recharge. If the venturi isn’t producing the needed suction, you’ll have extra water leftover. By following our steps below you’ll be able to test the suction and increase it if needed to remove the water from the tank. It may sound more intimidating than it is, don’t worry we’ll guide you through the steps.
Click each step to expand directions.
Step 1 - Start a Recharge & Check the Drain Hose
1. You'll begin by holding the Recharge button until the you hear the motor start to turn, then let go. This starts a recharge. On most units, your tank will start filling.
*Note: If you notice a heavy flow out of your drain hose here, your softener has an extra Clean cycle set up. We need to skip that. Press Recharge once to move the Rinse cycle, then after the motor stops, press Recharge again to move to the Fill.
2. Advance to the Brine cycle by tapping the Recharge button one time.
- Check your drain hose here and see if there's a small trickle of water draining. If you can't see the end of the drain hose, readjust it to have an air gap:
Step 2 - Remove the top cover
- On the back of the unit, unhook the two clips that hold the cover onto the tank below (figure 1). Flex/pull the cover out and away from the softener at these clips.
- There are two similar clips holding the front of the cover on as well. Slide the cover towards you to release these clips, being careful not to disconnect any wires (Figure 2). It's normal for the plastic cover to make some noise as it shifts and bends.
Step 3 - Bypass the Softener
Bypass the water softener by pushing the handle in on the back of your unit. This will stop water from coming in or out of the softener while you work.
If you have a blending valve, make sure it's closed so no hard water is coming through. Refer to What is a Blending Valve for instructions.
Step 4 - Check the Venturi
1. Here, you'll unscrew the white ferrule nut from your Venturi assembly or if you have the 'push to connect' type, you'll push the collet in while pulling the hose out to remove it.
With Ferrule Nut
Push to Connect
2. Try to blow air down and draw salty water up through the hose like a straw to confirm it's clear. If it's hard to blow air through or if you can't suck water up the hose, you may want to Clean the Float Assembly to ensure there are no obstructions.
3. Now we'll check for suction at the Venturi port. You may want to place a towel under the Venturi port in case water leaks out. One of three things (listed below) will happen next. Slowly pull the white handle back out of bypass.
a. Water flows out the Venturi port consistently (at least 15 seconds).
i. Bypass the system again and remove the Venturi cap. Check that all pieces with numbers and letters on them are facing up inside the Venturi.
ii. Replace cap and open bypass again, listening for suction. Once you have suction, Skip to #4 below.
iii. If you don't have suction, check your Drain Hose Requirements here.
b. Suction, then water means your drain line is blocking water from exiting correctly.
i. Bypass the unit again and disconnect the drain hose elbow by removing the black clip (pictured).
ii. Look inside the elbow port and check for any debris.
iii. Blow through the drain hose elbow (like a straw) to free any obstructions.
iv. Reattach drain hose elbow and open bypass again, listening for suction.
v. If you don't have suction, check your Drain Hose Requirements here.
c. Consistent Suction is the desired outcome. If the suction is strong, move to #4 below. If it's weak:
We recommend replacing the Venturi. Replacement parts can be purchased here. Otherwise, check out our article What is my Warranty to see if you're still covered. In the meantime, you can follow the instructions below to remove a piece inside the Venturi that will help with the suction issue until your new Venturi comes.
- Bypass the unit
- Unscrew the white cap of your venturi. Pull up and out on the gray screen. Inside the red/blue disc is a circular black flow plug. Remove that black plug, set aside, and reassemble the venturi without it.
- Take the unit out of bypass and you should hear a stronger suction.
- Reattach the brine hose. Either screw the white nut back on or insert the hose into the collet. You'll need to make sure to push it in until it you notice some resistance. Then push it in a little further. The hose should be in about 5/8 of an inch.
With Ferrule Nut
Push to Connect
- Put the top cover back on and leave the bypass pulled out.
4. Leave your softener to automatically finish the recharge over the next 2 hours. You don't need to push any buttons. The excess water should drain over the next 2 hours, leaving 2-4 inches left in the bottom of the tank.
5. Depending on how much water you start with, you may need to run multiple recharges. Over the next few days, if you notice your tank continuously filling with water in between cycles, you may want to check for Internal Leaks.
Please let us know if this article was helpful by voting below.