Water Softener not softening?

[BIGSKYPA]

Our system installation order-

Well water

5 micron water filter Acid Neutralizer Eco-mist (by Lancaster water treatment) Untreated Hardness- 17 (before a softener was ever installed) FORMER treated Hardness- 7

Current treated Hardness- unknown- test results should be in later this week.

I just changed the salt from Sodium chloride to Potassium chloride in our water softener.

The following has occurred immediately after changing the salt;

The water now "feels" like the water softening isn't occurring to the extent it was previously, that is- I don't feel the "oily" feeling of the water when I take a shower. Spotting is occurring on dishes in the dishwasher. Lathering is good, however.

What I've already done after replacing the salt-

1. Performed 2 "regenerations"
2. Checked all piping connections for leaks

Anyone have any idea what's wrong?

[Doug Miller]

My first guess is that what's "wrong" is your assumption that potassium chloride should produce the same feel as sodium chloride. Switch back, and see if that makes a difference.

[putt]

and you_miss_that oily feeling!? Use a spot-remover in the dishwasher (Jet-Dry or the like). Using Potassium is better for you than the Sodium. Usually folks don't get enough Potassium in their diets and way too much Sodium.

Dave S(Texas)

[Ermalina]

Did you change your hardness setting when you changed from sodium chloride to potassium chloride?

See, for example:

"2. You may use a salt substitute (such as potassium chloride) in place of water conditioner salt. If you start with water conditioner salt, you can switch to a salt substitute at any time - or vice versa. If potassium chloride is used in place of nugget or pellet salt, increase your hardness setting by 12% (multiply by 1.12). Do not use Potassium Chloride if there is iron in your water."

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Result later this week? You've got to be kidding. Buy a test kit and have the result is seconds. A $20 kit will last for years.

[mm]

Althought sodium doesn't have the same effect on everyone. I eat loads of it and my blood pressure is always 20 points below average.

[BIGSKYPA]

Yes, I miss the "oily" feeling of the water. I have to assume you understand that I'm not saying the dishes ever felt oily.

[putt]

althought? You are correct that sodium affects everyone differently, but eating 'loads' of it and thinking that is ok isn't good judgement. There is no 'average' blood pressure. There are Normal/High-Normal/High BP readings. Normal is below 130/85. I've been dealing with this over

40yrs, anyway this is a Home Improvement place, not Self-Improvement.

Dave S(Texas)

[BIGSKYPA]

thatpotassiumchlorideshould produce the same feel as sodiumchloride. Switch back, and see

I hope you're right on the feel of the water.

[mm]

Mine is usually 110/70 and on occasion 100/80, 120/60, or just as even

100/60. I get a moderate amount of exercise.

I go through a full 28 oz. cylinder of salt every year, plus whatever I eat in other ways. If I get arterosclerosis, my blood pressure will likely go up, but it won't be because of sodium.

It may not be a term used in medicine, but there is bound to be an average. You take all the blood pressures you know and add them together and divide by the number of people.

I'm not trying to make you feel bad, just to present the other side of the story.

I brought it up because you said "Using Potassium is better for you than the Sodium.". IMO, you brought up self-improvement, and I wanted to keep the record straight, that extra sodium can be very bad for some people, but for some (I don't know how many) it isn't.

My mother had some kind of trouble sleeping and after excluding other reasons, she thought maybe that she was allergic to her down or feather pillows, and she got foam or some synthetic instead. After a few months or even years, I asked her if they helped, and she said she didn't think so, she still had the same problem. So I suggested she go back to her feather/down pillows, which I think are more comfortable. But she was not willing. At one point, she thought acidopholus milk would be better for her, and after a few months I asked her about that. Again, no improvement, but she didn't want to go back to the regular milk. Despite my mother's many other wonderful qualities, that's no way to be. Your personal life prompted you to post, and my personal life prompted me to post.

I hope we are cool.

[Samual Rutherford]

I just the latest water results back.

Hardness- 1 (corrected previous water Hardness- 0 and not 7 as I had stated previously) pH- 6.5 TDS- 625

Here's the bottom line- Potassium Chloride produces a different "feel" on your skin when showering. It DOES NOT give an oily feeling as Sodium Chloride does. While Potassium Chloride is more expensive (about $11 a bag) I'm more satisfied with it than Sodium Chloride....for various reasons.

[Gary Slusser]

Your AN filter adds hardness to the water to buffer the acidity in the raw water, so you must size and set up the softener for the hardness after the filter.

And then... potassium chloride is not as efficient as sodium chloride. All softening resins are made in the sodium form, not potassium form. So you have to increase the salt dose when you use potassium.

Gary Quality Water Associates

[Gary Slusser]

The softener is allowing hard water through it because you are using potassium instead of sodium chloride. See my previous post above. Your water has 1 or more gpg of hardness in it, that changes the feel of the water because the softener is not removing all the hardness in the raw water as it should be.

Gary Quality Water Associates