Princess A asked:


My husband died last year and I am finding a LOT of things around here need fixing…
Like my WATER SOFTENER…We had a bag of those sale pellets in there, never went DOWN and now most are ROCK HARD. I called Sears, who installed it like YEARS ago, but they failed to come by. LOL.
a FRIEND said to take out ALL the salt, but what a job that IS…About 1/3 way done. Been chipping it w a tool and a broom stick,
Is there an easier here?
Any ideas of why the salt is NOT going down> A clog maybe? I think it was installed in 1995…

Yenta asked:


…it is being difficult.

I added salt like usual last week (it had run out) and soon noticed it was running far more frequently than the regeneration schedule. It is old…likely circa late 70s, but the timer had been replaced in 1989 according to records left by the previous home owner. It has now been running continually for the past three or four days. I tried unplugging it to see if that would stop the cycle, but it kept making the hissing sound it has always made during regeneration in the back. Assuming that it is not a possessed and evil water softener, I tried turning off the water to the appliance, and the sound stopped. Could it be a salt bridge? I am unable to get a broom handle far into the salt as it is pretty full and hate to empty the salt unless absolutely required. Or could it be something with the water line since the sounds I hear stop when the water line is closed? Is there any hope for this softener or is time to retire it?

I appreciate any help! Thanks in advance…

HHKIANG asked:


A rainsoft water teatment sales came to our house and did some water test 2 days ago. He told us we have really hard water – 26. Therefore, those water softeners sold in Sears or Homedepot won’t work for our house. We should buy an expensive one(4500$) from him to fix our hard water pb. Is that true that if the water is very hard, those regular water softener (like those costs couple of hundred) won’t work well ?

Benro asked:


I just bought this house and am learning to use the water softener that is 5 years old. It was just about empty so i called Sears and someone told me to add 3 bags of salt. I set it to regenerate and it kicked on but i don’t know how to tell if it’s working properly. it’s making sounds but i don’t see any water. should it run thru the softener or is it more subtle than that?

blutoadmirer asked:


I’m looking for either the same basic product offered somewhere else for less money, or another less expensive alternative product which will accomplish the same thing. Thanks.

rob b asked:


We bought a maytag quiet series dish washer from Sears about 3 years ago. Now we are seeing spots and residue on the glasses and plates. About once a month we run a special plastic cleaner in there to clear up the spots. And we also run the plastic cleaner. The inside of the dish washer is plastic not stainless steel. Our water is hard and we do have a water softener, could the water softener which is old be failing? How can I tell?

Yenta asked:


…it is being difficult.

I added salt like usual last week (it had run out) and soon noticed it was running far more frequently than the regeneration schedule. It is old…likely circa late 70s, but the timer had been replaced in 1989 according to records left by the previous home owner. It has now been running continually for the past three or four days. I tried unplugging it to see if that would stop the cycle, but it kept making the hissing sound it has always made during regeneration in the back. Assuming that it is not a possessed and evil water softener, I tried turning off the water to the appliance, and the sound stopped. Could it be a salt bridge? I am unable to get a broom handle far into the salt as it is pretty full and hate to empty the salt unless absolutely required. Or could it be something with the water line since the sounds I hear stop when the water line is closed? Is there any hope for this softener or is time to retire it?

I appreciate any help! Thanks in advance…

Duke asked:


I have hard water lots of calcium and minerals.I want to install a Sears water softener,will I burn more oil to make the same amount of domestic hot water? I do know we will take shorter showers if I get it and use less soaps. I need a science EGGHEAD to help me out. Any 9 grade teachers out there?

answerman3 asked:


it’s a sears brand and there is salt in the tub, there’s no salt dam (or dome or whatever) and the bypass is off. I cleaned the valve a week ago and that should be enough time to get to the newer, softer water.

the procedure to clean the venturi valve is posted and I made sure I went through every layer, it’s it possible that I didn’t clean things thoroughly enough?
the softener might be a year old.

Jenny_Shell asked:


A few years ago I bought a water softener from Sears after the store tested my water and said it was hard. It seemed to work great for a couple of months, but now I have reddish-orange stains and build-up in the showers and toilets again. I also notice the water looking discolored when my kids take baths. My water softener is set on the highest setting, has plenty of salt, and seems to be working. Are these stains caused by hard water or is it something else, and how can I fix it?