Maintenance guides

The maintenance schedule that matters

Water treatment equipment fails in predictable ways: resin fouls, salt bridges, filters clog, membranes scale and UV lamps dim. Every one of those failures is cheaper to prevent than to repair, and every one has a schedule you can put in a calendar.

Item	Interval	Cost	What happens if you skip it
Salt level check	Monthly	$6–$12 per 40 lb bag	Hard water returns; resin can foul
Salt bridge inspection	Every 3 months	—	Unit regenerates with no brine; water stays hard
Sediment cartridge	3–6 months	$8–$25	Pressure drop; downstream filters clog faster
Carbon cartridge	6–12 months	$20–$60	Chlorine passes through; taste returns
RO pre-filters	6–12 months	$15–$40	Membrane scales; output drops
RO membrane	2–3 years	$40–$120	TDS rejection falls; water tastes flat
UV lamp	12 months	$30–$90	Lamp dims before it fails; no visible warning
Resin rebed	8–12 years	$300–$600	Capacity drops; salt use rises
Sanitise softener	Yearly	$10–$30 (chlorine)	Bacteria and odour build in the resin bed

Salt: the number that tells you the unit is working

A softener should use roughly 8–12 lb of salt per regeneration for a 32,000-grain unit at medium hardness. If salt consumption doubles without a change in water use, either the hardness setting is wrong or the resin is exhausted. If salt consumption drops to nothing, check for a bridge — a crust of salt that forms above the water line and stops brine from being drawn.

Pellets dissolve cleanly and are the default for most homes; crystals are cheaper but leave more residue; block salt is convenient but can bridge in humid installations. Iron-fighting salts contain a resin cleaner and are worth the premium where iron is present.

Filters: change on pressure, not on the calendar

A cartridge is spent when the pressure drop across it exceeds about 10 psi, which shows up as weaker flow at the tap. Calendar intervals are a fallback for homes with steady use; a pressure gauge on either side of the housing is the honest signal. Sediment filters in well systems can clog in weeks during spring runoff and last a year in winter.

Carbon filters have a second failure mode: channeling. Water finds a path through the bed and stops contacting the carbon, so the cartridge looks fine and does nothing. If chlorine smell returns before the change interval, replace it regardless of the date.

RO systems: the membrane is the expensive part

Pre-filters protect the membrane, so replacing them on time is the whole game. A membrane that runs on chlorinated water degrades permanently; a membrane fed hard water scales and loses output. Check the product-water TDS every few months with a $15 meter: when rejection falls below about 80%, the membrane is done.

Sanitising the storage tank and faucet once a year prevents the flat, stale taste that owners blame on the membrane. The reverse osmosis maintenance guide walks through the sequence, and the softener maintenance guide covers the brine tank in detail.

How often should a softener regenerate?

A metered unit regenerates when its capacity is used — typically every 3–7 days for a family of four. A timer unit regenerates on a fixed schedule, which wastes salt in low-use weeks. If yours runs every night, it is either undersized or set wrong.

Why is my softener using so much salt?

Hardness setting too high, capacity too low for the household, or a failing control head. Check the hardness number first; a unit set for 25 gpg on 8-gpg water can use twice the salt it needs.

Can I maintenance a softener myself?

Yes for salt, bridging, sanitising and the bypass. Resin replacement and control-head repair are worth paying for — the parts are inexpensive but the plumbing is not forgiving.