Water Softeners are widely used to remove the excessive hardness-causing minerals from the water to make it suitable for drinking and washing. Every water softener requires periodic or yearly maintenance to avoid hard water deposits in the water softener. However, it’s necessary to uninstall or remove the water softener before doing any maintenance work. Removing a water softener safely is a lot of challenging than installing it due to some complications.
In this brief guide, we will discuss some easy and quick steps to remove a water softener without causing any damage to it. Remember, you should carefully read this guide and take help from any professional. As one wrong step can cause major damage while removing your water softener.
First, you should carefully turn off the water supply to the water softener you want to remove or uninstall. You can easily perform this task by rotating the water control valve, which is usually located at the back of any water softener. Once the water supply is turned off, then move to step 2.
Step 2: Cut Off the Power Supply
In the second step, you should turn off the power supply to the softener by pulling the plug. If the water softener does not operate on electricity, then you can skip this step and move to the third step.
Step 3: Drain the Water Softener
Now, it’s time to drain all the remaining water from the water softener tank before performing any maintenance work. Remember, if you have a high-capacity water softener, then it should have a hose bib that can be easily connected to the garden hose to drain the water. However, some other softeners have a tap located at the bottom to drain the water in a bucket.
Step 4: Disconnect the Pipe
Don’t forget to keep a towel under the supply line, as removing the pipe may cause some water to spill out. Now, disconnect the inlet pipe carefully from the other side of the water softener to avoid any mess.
Step 5: Open the Side Panel
Once you have disconnected the water softener carefully and removed the inlet pipe, open the side panel with a screwdriver. You can also test the terminals inside the panel with a voltmeter to make sure that the electricity supply turns off.
Step 6: Remove the Water Softener
Now, it’s time to remove the water softener carefully and unscrew any bolts holding the water softener. You can also ask someone for help if you cannot handle the weight of the water softener after removing it.
Step 7: Keep Everything in Place
After removing the water softener, keep all its parts in one place to avoid any misplacement during the maintenance. It’s also recommended to keep the parts in a sequence so that it becomes easy for you to install them again.
1. How do I know if my water softener needs replacing?
A water softener is essential for every home as no one wants dirty dishes and itchy skin. Your dishes are spotty after you clean them, your skin is itchy and soap scum is collecting quicker than usual in sinks. Water softening units solves all such problems. Water softeners need replacement when there is leakage, needs to clean, you have to change the bypass valve or control panel. Sometimes due to maintenance, you need to replace the water softener.
2. How often should a water softener be serviced?
A water softener needs proper maintenance and service to get working efficiently. Moreover, besides adding salt to the water softener and cleaning out the brine tank, the experts suggest servicing your water softener after 6 months. Or at least once a year. However, maintenance varies among different water softener brands and companies.
3. How long does it take to replace a water softener?
A professional needs one hour to replace a water softener while ones who have no expertise can take 2-3 hours easily. Moreover, the installation of a water softener can also take 1-2 hours. Additionally, the average costs for installation and replacement of water softeners lie between $200 and $500.
4. What tools do I need to replace a water softener?
The required tools for water softener installation and replacement are plumbers tape, slip joint pliers, a soldering torch, and a tube cutter.
5. Is it hard to replace a water softener?
If you’re simply replacing an old water softener with a new water softener then this will take almost an hour. A new installation does require some additional plumbing knowledge but can be tackled in a few hours.
We hope it will become easy for you to remove the water softener with these easy and quick steps. Water softeners are quite sensitive, and the chances of damage become high during installation and removal. In our detailed guide, we have tried to keep the whole process easy for non-professionals to avoid any hassles. If you have any queries, don’t hesitate to comment below.
Steve Smith is a United State Licensed Plumber with over 18 years of plumbing experience. Steve has conducted residential and commercial plumbing jobs throughout the state and currently works for one of California’s largest plumbing companies. When he’s not working, Steve enjoys spending time with his daughter and son.
Leave a Reply