Water Softener Installation, Repair, and Maintenance
Full Nelson installs, repairs, and maintains water softener systems that remove calcium, magnesium, and other hard water minerals from your home’s water supply. Our plumbers size the system to your household’s water usage and hardness levels.
What Hard Water Does to Your Home
Hard water contains dissolved calcium and magnesium that leave mineral deposits on everything the water touches. These deposits, called scale, build up inside pipes, on heating elements, inside water heaters, and on fixtures. Over time, scale accumulation creates real problems.
Common whole-home filtration methods include:
- Water heater efficiency drops as scale insulates the heating element or burner from the water, forcing the unit to work harder and use more energy.
- Pipe interiors narrow as mineral deposits accumulate on pipe walls, reducing water flow and pressure
- Faucets and showerheads clog with mineral buildup, reducing flow and creating uneven spray patterns
- Dishwashers and washing machines develop scale on heating elements and valves, shortening appliance lifespan
- Glass shower doors, tile, and fixtures develop white or yellowish mineral staining that is difficult to remove
A water softener addresses these issues at the source by removing the minerals before they enter your plumbing.
How Water Softeners Work
Ion exchange water softeners use resin beads charged with sodium or potassium ions. As hard water passes through the resin tank, the calcium and magnesium ions in the water swap places with the sodium or potassium ions on the resin. The softened water, now free of hardness minerals, continues into your home’s plumbing.
Periodically, the system runs a regeneration cycle that flushes a brine solution through the resin tank to recharge the beads. The mineral-laden brine is flushed to a drain. The frequency of regeneration depends on water hardness, household size, and daily water consumption.
Water Softener Installation
Full Nelson installs water softeners at the point of entry, typically near the water meter or pressure tank, so all water entering the home is treated.
Installation involves:
- Connecting the softener to the main water line with a bypass valve
- Running a drain line for the regeneration discharge
- Setting up the brine tank and initial salt fill
- Programming the control valve for regeneration timing based on your water hardness and usage
- Testing the output water to confirm the system is reducing hardness as expected
We install a bypass valve on every system so the softener can be taken offline for maintenance without shutting off water to the house.
Water Softener Repair and Maintenance
Water softeners are relatively low-maintenance, but they do require periodic attention to keep performing correctly.
Common water softener issues include:
- Salt bridges: A hard crust forms in the brine tank above the water line, preventing salt from dissolving into the brine. The system regenerates with plain water and stops softening.
- Resin fouling: Iron, manganese, or organic material coats the resin beads, reducing their ion exchange capacity. A resin cleaner or bed replacement restores performance.
- Control valve malfunction: The timer or meter that triggers regeneration fails, causing the system to regenerate too often, not often enough, or not at all.
- Brine tank overflow: A stuck float or clogged brine line causes the tank to overfill during regeneration.
Full Nelson services water softeners from all major manufacturers and stocks common replacement parts.
Why Full Nelson
- Family, Women, and Veteran owned since 2003
- Licensed, insured plumbers
- System sizing based on water hardness testing and household usage
- Up-front pricing before work begins
- Service and repair for all major water softener brands
- 24/7 emergency service