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Keep your system running well
General care for home water softeners, sediment and carbon filters, reverse osmosis, and UV systems.
Every system is different, so your owner’s manual and your installer’s instructions come first. The steps below are general care for common home system types.
Your responsibilities as an equipment owner
Your water softener is manufactured to be efficient and reliable. To ensure continued performance while keeping your system operating within manufacturer’s specifications, the following operating conditions must be ensured by you, the equipment owner/operator.
Water pressure regulator
The influent water pressure into this water system must be regulated by a code-compliant pressure-regulating device not to exceed 75 psi.
Power protection
Power to this system must be supplied by an unswitched 110VAC supply. Surge protection is mandatory and is to be supplied by you, the equipment owner. The use of a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is encouraged.
Salt
This water system uses either sodium or potassium salt to clean itself. The brine tank must be filled with a high quality salt to ensure proper system operation. Consult with your local water professional to decide on the best salt for your area.
Periodic replacement of media
While built to the highest standards, certain media in your water softener will need to be replaced periodically. Replacement intervals vary depending on your water chemistry and water consumption habits. Consult with your local water specialist to ensure that you always enjoy the very best water quality.
Why ProGuard™?
The ProGuard™ reservoir should be kept full to ensure proper system operation and maximum efficiency. ProGuard™ works synergistically with the softening media to ensure the very best water feel and to maximize cleaning power. Check the level of your ProGuard™ feeder each time you fill your brine tank with salt.
The ProGuard™ feeder incorporated into your water softener ensures that you have the best water quality all year long. This simple dispensing system is specially engineered to work in all climates to easily introduce ProGuard™ into your brine tank while the system is waiting to clean itself.
Your water softener will use varying amounts of ProGuard™ depending on your water consumption habits; it will always try to maximize efficiency and performance to provide you with the water quality that you deserve.
ProGuard™ is designed to:
Clean ion-exchange resin without damaging structured matrix media
Clean all moving parts and create a temporary protective coating
Remove oils and other hydrocarbons from resin
Clean activated carbon media
Enhance self-sanitization processes on compatible systems
Work with EPA-registered disinfectants
Always keep your ProGuard reservoir full to ensure proper system performance, longevity, and efficiency.
System cleaning and disinfection
Your water softener is probably the hardest working appliance in your home. Over its service life, it will process millions of gallons of water to protect you from countless amounts of inorganic calcium, magnesium, lead, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, and other contaminants that could be in your water.
In addition to capturing inorganic contaminants, your softener also accumulates sediment, bacteria, algae, mold, and fungus that can enter the system through safe city water, salt, or even from the air. These additional contaminants slowly accumulate in your softener and can even colonize it with a biofilm of Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) bacteria. These bacteria are usually benign, but they can create a food base and safe refuge for potentially harmful pathogens and seriously compromise the longevity and performance of your system. When paired with an EPA-registered disinfectant, ProGuard provides you with the protection that you need to ensure the water quality that you want.
Your system should also be cleaned and disinfected on a regular schedule to ensure that it is working to the best of its ability and to protect the safety of your family.
Water softeners
An ion exchange softener uses resin beads that hold on to calcium and magnesium. When the beads fill up, the unit rinses them with salt brine so they can work again. This is called regeneration (source: Water Quality Association, https://find.wqa.org/improve-your-water/solutions/for-the-entire-building).
Check salt regularly and follow your manual. Break up any hard crust (a salt bridge) with a broom handle. Make sure the clock or settings are correct after a power outage. If your water starts to feel hard again, check the salt first, then contact support.
Sediment and carbon filters
Cartridge filters trap particles or reduce taste and odor. They wear out over time, and a clogged filter lowers water pressure. Replace cartridges on the schedule in your manual, or sooner if pressure drops or taste returns. Turn off the water and relieve pressure before opening the housing, and check the O-ring when you close it.
Reverse osmosis (RO) drinking water systems
RO systems push water through a semipermeable membrane, usually with a prefilter before it and a carbon filter after it. Like any filter, they need regular maintenance: periodic replacement of the prefilters, postfilters, and membrane (source: Water Quality Association, https://find.wqa.org/learn-about-water/faqs).
Change prefilters, postfilters, and the membrane on the schedule in your manual. Sanitize the system and tank when you change filters. Slow flow, a change in taste, or a tank that never fills are signs it is time for service.
Ultraviolet (UV) systems
UV systems treat water with ultraviolet light as it passes a lamp inside a quartz sleeve. The lamp loses output over time even while it still glows, so replace it on the schedule in your manual. Clean the quartz sleeve when you change the lamp, and never look directly at a lit lamp. Water should be clear before it reaches a UV system, so keep any prefilter changed.
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