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Guide to WATER SOFTENER Maintenance - to reduces effects on septic systems.
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• Tips to minimize water volume or salt damage to septic tanks and drainfields
• How to adjust a home water softener - control settings
• How to clean a home water softener
• Managing salt in drinking water

HOW TO REDUCE IMPACT OF a WATER SOFTENER - How to Reduce Water Softener Effects on the Septic System and on Groundwater

Adjust the water softener to the recommended settings for the level of hardness of your water supply. (Some water softeners actually monitor water hardness and water usage and will adjust the recharge cycle frequency and salt dose automatically.

Other water softeners require that these settings be made manually. Still simpler water softeners have no automatic recharge cycle and must be backwashed and recharged manually.

• Set the water softener operating controls correctly as we discuss at Guide to Water softener Adjustment below. Be sure the water softener backwash frequency and salt dose are set properly for the hardness of your water and water volume usage.
• Don't use a water softener if it is not necessary. Test your water for hardness.
• Watch for malfunctioning water softening equipment: if you hear water running continuously in your drain you should track down the source to a leaky toilet tank, faucet, or malfunctioning water softener, etc.
  We have seen a septic drainfield completely flooded by a water softener that stuck in it's "backwash" cycle.
• Turn off the water softener when the building will be unoccupied. There is no need to recharge the water softener when no water is being used in the home.
• Bypass the water softener when you are watering plants or washing the car.
  
  Some plumbers install a water line direct to an outside faucet, bypassing the water softener for this purpose.
  
  If you do not have a separate water line to an outside hose bib, you can temporarily put the water softener on "bypass" using a push-type control such as the one shown in this photograph.
  
  Remember to push the bypass lever back to softening position after such an outside use of water, lest you forget and clog your pipes with minerals.
  
  
  
• Use salt alternatives in the water softener: potassium chloride may be an acceptable alternative to normal salt or sodium chloride for problem areas
• Use a separate drywell to receive water softener backwash. This reduces the wastewater load on the septic system drainfield or seepage bed.
• Connect to municipal water supply (if available) so that your water will arrive already properly conditioned and wont' require softening
• See water softener maintenance guide of how to adjust the water softener and how to clean the water softener salt tank at   SOFTENER ADJUSTMENT & CLEANING

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

WATER SOFTENERS
  DETECT HARD WATER
  MEASURE WATER HARDNESS
  HOW SOFTENERS WORK
  HEALTH RISKS
  SALT OR WATER INTO SEPTIC
  REDUCE IMPACT OF SOFTENER
  SOFTENER ADJUSTMENT & CLEANING
  OTHER SOFTENER METHODS

More Information on Septic System Diagnosis, Maintenance, & Repair

• The Septic System Information Website home page for this topic
• Septic Systems Inspection, Testing, & Maintenance- online textbook. Detailed how to inspect, maintain, repair information
• The Home Buyer's Guide to Septic Systems


• Cesspools Home Buyer's or Owner's Advice
• Drywells Home Buyer's or Owner's Advice
• Septic Tank Pumping Guide: When, Why, How to pump the septic tank
• Tank Location - How to Find the Septic Tank, how deep will the cover be, how to document its location


• Additives & Chemicals: Septic System Maintenance - Are they even needed? Are they even legal?
• Biomat Formation in the Septic System Drainfield Absorption System - what leads to drain field clogging and expensive drainfield repairs
• Buyer's Guide Home Buyer's Guide to Septic Systems Inspection & Testing - What to Do, Step by Step.
• Cheating on Water Tests - (Chlorine in Wells and Septics) Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - Water Test Cheating Warnings for Home Buyers and Home Inspectors
• Clogged Drain Diagnosis - is the problem the septic system or the Building drain system?
• What is a Septic System An Engineer's View & Septic System FAQ's
• Contamination in Buildings how to test buildings for bacterial contamination from Sewage and Septic backup, remediation, & references
• Leach Field Inspection ProcedureSeptic Leach Fields - how to inspect and diagnose septic drainfield failures - what causes septic field failure?
• Maintenance: Ten Steps to Keeping a Septic System Working, suggestions from the U.S. EPA, edits and additions by DJF
• Sewage & Septic Backups and what to do about sewage spillage in buildings
• Tank Location - How to Find the Septic Tank, how deep will the cover be, how to document its location
• Tank Pumping Frequency Guide for Septic Tanks: When, How, What to Watch For when pumping or cleaning septic tanks
• Water Usage: Capacity: Determining Needed Septic Capacity - Typical residential water usage for people, appliances, and activities.

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