During a recharge, the backwash cycle sends water up through the softener's resin bed and out to the drain. By watching the flow meter during this cycle, we can make sure water is entering the softener correctly. Let's get started with some testing.
Click below to expand directions.
I'm ready to test!
1. First, you'll need to make sure your softener is plugged in and not currently recharging. If it is recharging, it'll have an indicator on the screen.
2. Confirm the softener is not bypassed by making sure the bypass valve handle is pulled out.
If the water lines leading to and from the softener have their own shut-off valves, you may have a 3-valve bypass on your home plumbing. If so, the inlet and outlet valves should be open to allow water into and out of the softener, and the middle valve must be closed to prevent hard water from bypassing the unit.
3. If you have a blending valve (pictured below), make sure it's closed by twisting it clockwise as far as it can go.
4. Make sure no water is being used anywhere in the home (e.g. dishwasher, shower, faucets).
5. Now on the softener, press and hold the Select button down until ‘000’ appears on the display, then let go.
Note: If the numbers begin climbing, water is still being used somewhere in the home. Shut off any running water before continuing.
6. Now you'll press the Recharge button to start a recharge and wait for the valve motor to stop.
Note: If you notice a heavy drain flow here, skip to step 8.
7. Press the Recharge button once again to advance to the Brine cycle and wait again for the motor to stop.
8. Press Recharge again to advance to the Backwash cycle. After the motor has stopped, you should be able to hear and see a continuous heavy flow of water to the drain.
9. At this time, you want to watch the numbers on the softener's display. Are they going up?
- YES - If the numbers steadily climb while the softener backwashes, water is entering the softener via its outlet port. This means the unit may be installed incorrectly. Continue to the next section below.
- NO - The water should be entering your softener correctly.
Additional Things to Check
If you've determined that water is entering your softener incorrectly (via the valve outlet), there are a few things to check:
- If your plumbing has a 3-valve bypass, double-check that the middle valve is fully closed, as even a partially opened valve can allow some hard water to bypass the water inlet.
- Trace your water lines to verify that water is going through the softener in the right direction. When facing the front of the softener, hard water should enter the unit on the right-hand side.
- If you're on a private well, make sure the softener is installed downstream of your pressure tank.
Once you've checked those things out and determined they weren't the issue, we recommend reaching out to your installer (if you had one) or depressurizing the unit and swapping the lines yourself. Be sure to test for metering after the lines have been reinstalled correctly.
Please let us know if this article was helpful by voting below.