When researching water softeners for your home, you might have come across this fact a lot: Water softeners can lead to reduced water pressure. Is it true? Why does it happen? What’s the deal? Should you even consider water softener installation? How to remedy this problem? Here is everything you need to know about it.
Can A Water Softener Cause Low Water Pressure?
When you have hard water in your home, it is impossible to use water to do anything, from taking a shower to washing dishes and clothes.
This is why a lot of people install a water softener because they want to get rid of this problem once and for all. But with water softeners, there can be a couple of problems too and one of the most common ones is the water pressure reducing to a minimum, especially when the water is being regenerated. So, this can be a huge issue and you need to understand why it happens.
Water Softener Problems That Can Cause Low Water Pressure
Well, water softeners are important appliances in homes where hard water is the norm. So, here are some of the reasons why your water softener can cause low water pressure.
Incorrect Water Softener Sizing
Sometimes, the fact that you haven’t researched enough when you bought a water softener can show in the size of the appliance itself. When you’re debating getting a water softener for your home, you want to get the right size. Having too small of a water softener will lead to low water pressure because it is just incapable of pumping water out at a reasonable pressure.
This is all in the sizing, so make sure that you pick the right sized water softener for your home because then, low water pressure won’t be a problem.
Zero Maintenance
Getting a water softener means no more hard water, but that also means that you have another appliance to take care of. When it comes to water softener and low water pressure, a lot of the time, people don’t even maintain the water softener until the assembly stops working completely. If you’re in the same boat, then you need to check your water softener because it might be in dire need of maintenance.
There are lots of places where scale and residue can get stuck in the narrow pipes and turns off the water softener and you need to fix that for the assembly to run smoothly and with adequate water pressure.
Clogs In The Assembly
The water softener has a brine tank which is attached to a resin bed. This is what softens the hard water by replacing the calcium and magnesium ions with neutral ones. Well, the thing is – calcium and magnesium can cause clogs in the water softener and that’s not good at all.
They can accumulate and cluster up in the water softener and can lead to clogs and buildup in the brine tank as well as the resin bed. This is why the water pressure can get low to the point where even faucets sputter out thin streams of water.
It’s Regeneration Time
Regeneration is a process in which the water softener cleans and regenerates the resin bed by itself. This is done by backwashing of the water softener and this is the time when generally, the water pressure can be low.
The backwashing of the resin bed can take a lot of water and the softener is busy with a crucial task, so it needs to complete the cycle before it’s ready to power up again. So, if your water pressure is usually good and it’s suddenly low, then this might be the reason.
The Filter Is Clogged
In water softeners, there are also sediment filters. They keep the water nice and clean when the water is being fed into the pipes. This prevents sediments and other debris in the water from clogging your piping and plumbing in the house.
However, if the sediment filter is clogged and hasn’t been replaced in a long time, then the water pressure can be significantly low and that might be a problem. This is why it’s important to clean the filter regularly and change it when the time is up.
How To Fix Low Water Pressure Caused By A Water Softener?
Low water pressure can be a pain in the neck, so here are things that you can do to fix this problem. It’s typically an easy fix, so you don’t have to worry too much about the technical stuff.
Maintain, Maintain, Maintain
As much as you don’t want to maintain another thing, a water softener will only work wonderfully if you take care of it. This goes for almost all of the appliances you use. So, if you want your water softener to effectively clean and soften your water at an optimum pressure, then you need to maintain it.
It is easy and you can schedule one once every couple of weeks, depending on how much volume of water the water softener deals with on a daily basis.
Replace The Sediment Filter
This is also a part of water softener maintenance, but it is quite easy. A sediment filter is a very important part of the water softener assembly. It protects your house pipes and plumbing connections, so you want to ensure that you replace it to keep bigger problems at bay. So, changing a water softener filter is crucial and non-negotiable.
But you might be wondering: When is the best time to change a sediment filter? Well, that totally depends on the quality of your water. If the water is not as murky and dirty, then your filter will last for a long time. If the incoming water is chock full of sediments or the water pressure is low, then you will need to frequently change it. Usually, a sediment filter lasts between 6 to 9 months.
Regeneration Schedule
This is more like a small schedule change than anything, but it will solve your low water pressure problems for sure. You want to schedule the regeneration cycle for when you’re not using a lot of water in the house. A regeneration cycle is pretty short, so it’s not like you’re going to be waiting for a long time.
Generally, water pressure will be low during this cycle, so you want to let it pass and then use water normally from the softener. The pressure will be adequate by then.
Call A Professional For Troubleshooting
If you’re someone who can’t figure out what the problem with your water softener is, then maybe now is not the time to get handsy with it. It’s better to involve professionals who can inspect the problem and fix it
They will know what to do, while you can sit back, relax, and let them do the work for you. It’ll be expensive, but nothing’s worse than ruining a perfectly good water softener thanks to inexperience.
Conclusion
Yes, water softeners can cause reduced water pressure, but this isn’t a deal breaker. Water softeners are still an excellent option for softening hard water. To avoid water pressure problems, make sure to install a high-quality water softener system Meadville and maintain it well.