With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.

Many people wonder if their water softener regenerates too often or if it may not be regenerating frequently enough to keep the resin bed clean. Some newer water softener owner’s believe that their systems regenerate every night and this may not be the case. There are water softeners that regenerate based on the volume of water used rather than a pre-programmed schedule. The frequency of regeneration of water softeners can vary depending on key factors, such as water volume usage, the water hardness level, and more. In this article, we will take a closer look at these water softener regeneration issues in more detail.

What is Water Softener Regeneration?

This is a common question, the most effective water softeners use an ion-exchange process to make the water softener easier to use. There are other types of water softeners, but they are less reliable, and they will not be covered here. The ion-exchange takes place on the surface of resin beds in the resin media bed. These beads are coated with a brine solution that is created with sodium or potassium-based water softening salt. This creates a negative charge which attracts the dissolved minerals that have a positive charge. The mineral ions stick to the surface, and the salt ions take their place in the water, which then goes into the home. The surface of these resin beads becomes less effective as the surface is covered with mineral ions. The regeneration cycle flushes these mineral ions from the surface with more brine solution. This process removes the minerals and prepares the beads with a negative charge to repeat the water softening process.

Is Daily Water Softening Regeneration Necessary?

The water softener must regenerate on a regular basis, but a daily regeneration is not strictly necessary, and the frequency may be determined by other factors. Some water softeners will regenerate daily, others may regenerate a couple of times per week, and others may only regenerate once every two weeks. The key factors include the volume of water used, the hardness levels, the size of the tank, and more.

If you have a large tank that softens a large volume of water at a time, it may be necessary to regenerate on a daily basis. If the water hardness levels are very high, it’s more likely that the regeneration will occur every day. There are even rare scenarios when a softener might regenerate more than once per day!

Most water treatment experts agree that a more regular regeneration is optimal for water softeners. A regular softener regeneration cycle keeps the resin media bed active and efficient. Ideally, the regeneration cycle should run every 2-3 days, but high-efficiency models may regenerate daily or even multiple times each day.

7 Factors That Determine the Water Softener Recharging Frequency

Let’s take a look at seven factors that will affect the recharging frequency of your water softener:

1.   The Water Hardness

Many Canadian homes are affected by hard water issues. But, many people are not aware that the water hardness can vary a great deal depending on various factors. If your water is classified as very hard, it’s more likely that your water softener needs to regenerate 2-3 times per week.

2.   Iron Concentrations

If your water has higher concentrations of iron, more frequent recharging will be necessary. High levels of iron can bypass the system and cause damage to the resin media bed. Adding a dedicated iron filter to the water softener or installing a new system that has a built-in iron filter can fix this problem.

3.   Household Water Usage

It should come as no surprise that homes with more occupants use more water in any given period of time. So, if you have an on-demand initiated regeneration cycle for your water softener, it’s likely to operate more often if you have guests.

4.   Chemical Damage

High levels of chlorine and chloramine (chlorine mixed with ammonia), which are used as public water disinfectants, are common if you live closer to the water treatment plant. These chemicals can decrease the softener capacity significantly, and more frequent regenerations may be necessary. These problems can be mitigated with a pre-filter and granular activated carbon (GAC) filter that removes contaminants that can damage the softener.

5.   Resin Tank Capacity

The salt usage can be controlled with a setting on the water softener, and more may be required for single-tank systems as they age. The accumulation of damage to the resin structure will degrade the efficiency of the water softener over time. The optimal settings should be set by your local water treatment specialist during essential maintenance.

6.   The Age of the Water Softener

An older single-tank electric water softener system will gradually lose capacity, and this will necessitate more frequent regeneration cycles. During regeneration, large volumes of water are used, and this inefficiency can be expensive. In many cases, it makes more sense to install a new high-efficiency water softener to reduce the utility bills.

7.   The Control Valve

This is the control system for the water softener, and the type of control valve you have will affect the regeneration frequency (more on this next).

Understanding Control Valves

There are two main types of control valves: demand and time initiated:

Demand-Initiated

A demand-initiated regeneration cycle uses a metered control valve that monitors the water usage. When a pre-set threshold is met, the regeneration cycle triggers. This is more flexible than the time-initiated approach. It conserves water and water softener salt when compared to the time-initiated system.

Time-Initiated

This control valve triggers when a timer reaches a pre-set time and day. This is typically set to a day and time when the water usage requirement is low.

When a water softener is regenerating, it moves into a bypass mode, and hard water is supplied to the plumbing fixtures. For this reason, regeneration usually occurs at night when most people are asleep, and the demand for softened water is low.

If you want to schedule some essential maintenance for your water softener, contact your local water treatment specialist today.