softner not using salt

[slurpie]

it's a 5600 econcminder dont know the year. It dont use any salt. When i bought the house last fall there was a bunch of build up in the bottom of the salt tank.I cleaned that all out added new salt and the new salt has'nt dropped any. I got a test strip from menards and it says the water is soft. But it dont feel like it when you shower or wash dishes the soap dont make alot of suds, and my skin feels sticky. Any thoughts and thanks in advance.

[echotrail]

I just went through the same thing. After cleaning the venturi and other componants (Kenmore water softner)it still wasn't using salt, so I called a repair service. They said the resin level was fine, but the head needed rebuilding, which is basically a gasket kit. It works fine now.

[Nutty Fisherman]

Were you able to do this or did they rebuild it?

[fishermn]

Another common problem is a b/o flow sensor. The unit doesnt detect any flow, so it never backwashes and recharges the resin, so no salt is used.

[bucketmouth64]

I think I might have the same problem with the head. Some water is leaking from the area and the mechanism is noisy. Who did you call? Was it expensive to have done?

[zepman]

I have the same problem. Called a repair guy from Sears and the thing still doesn't work the way it's supposed to.

[echotrail]

I had them do it. But after watching I was kicking myself for not just buying the rebuild kit. A couple of nylon parts and 6 or so gaskets were $75 and then another $75 to put it together. It took him about 25 minutes.

[echotrail]

I called Tony's Appliance in Burnsville. I've also had them to the house to fix the oven about a year ago.

[papabear]

is the salt bridging? I see that periodicly where it needs to be knocked down with a stick and if it keeps happening try different salt.

[Ryan_V]

the first thing you should check is bridging. take a broom handle and hit it hard into the salt. if it is bridged, the handle will break it up. sometimes you have to whack it pretty hard to get it to break up. then either break it up completely, or take it out and replace it. my salt got wet once when the unit wasn't working properly, and it bridged up really really bad!!

[Walleye Guy]

I had the same issue with a Kenmore water softener. Looked into getting new parts and after weighing those costs and the return from putting them into a 10 year old unit, I decided to pick up a new Water Boss from Menards based on recommendations from users on FM. The installation was easy and it works great. It also takes up alot less space in the utility room. I think it was about $450 plus a few connection pieces.