21
CHECKING THE SALT STORAGE
LEVEL and REFILL
Brine (salt dissolved in water) is needed for
each and every recharge. The water for making
brine is metered into the salt storage area by
the water softening system valve and control.
However, you must keep the tank supplied
with salt.
ADDING SALT
Lift the salt hole cover and check the salt
storage level frequently. If the water softener
uses all the salt before you refill it, you
will experience hard water. Until you have
established a refilling routine, check the salt
every two or three weeks. Always add if less
than 1/4 full. Be sure the brinewell cover is on.
NOTE:
if using potassium chloride (KCI), do not
fill above level 4 on the brinewell decal.
NOTE:
In humid areas, it is best to keep the
salt storage level lower, and to refill more often
to avoid salt “bridging”.
Recommended Salt:
Nugget, pellet or coarse
solar salts with less than 1% impurities.
Salt Not Recommended:
Rock salt, high in
impurities, block, granulated table, ice melting,
ice cream making salts, etc.
CAUTION
Water softening
salt with iron removing additives:
Some salts may have an additive to help the
water softening system handle iron in the
water supply. Although this additive may
help to keep the water softening system
resin clean, it may also release corrosive
fumes that weaken and shorten the life of
some water softening system parts.
CLEANING IRON OUT OF THE
WATER SOFTENING SYSTEM
Your water softening system takes hardness
minerals (calcium and magnesium) out of
the water. Also, it can control some (see the
Specification Guidelines section) “clear water”
iron. With clear water iron, water from a faucet
is clear when first put into a glass. After 15 to
30 minutes, the water begins to cloud or turn
rust colored. A water softening system
will not
remove any iron that makes the water cloudy
or rusty as it comes from the faucet (called red
water iron). To take red water iron out of water,
or over the maximum of clear water iron, an
iron filter or other equipment is needed.
GE Appliances recommends using
Super Iron
Out
®
to clean your resin bed if your iron content
is high. Use
Super Iron Out
®
with every 40lb.
bag of salt as preventative maintenance against
rust build up. Clean the bed at least every six
months, or more often if iron appears in the soft
water between cleanings.
IMPORTANT:
It is important to mix the
resin bed cleaner with water (following the
manufacturer’s instructions), pour it into the
brinewell
(see Figure 9) and recharge the
softener immediately. Do not pour the resin
bed cleaner in with the salt, as it will not be
as effective in cleaning the resin, and can
cause damage to the softener if it is left in the
brine tank for an extended period due to the
corrosive gases that are formed.
Care and Cleaning