Do All Water Softeners Need A Drain

After placing the brine inside its tank add salt to up to its maximum capacity.

Do all water softeners need a drain.

Add salt into the brine tank. Turn on the water supply. According to most plumbing codes a water softener drain line must not be connected directly to the household waste system. The chloride passes through the treatment plant and ends up in our lakes and streams.

One of the drain tubes connects to the control valve and is used to void the backwash water during the regeneration cycle. If the water inside is still relatively clean you can scoop it into a large container or your laundry tub so that you can use it again once you have fixed the problem. The hard minerals stick to little plastic resin beads and the dirt settles and collects at the bottom of the tank. Water softeners remove hard water minerals and to some degree they also remove small amounts of dirt and debris from your water.

By code water softeners must be emptied into a laundry sink floor drain sump hole or properly trapped special outlet preserving an air gap of at least two times the diameter of the drain line but in no case less than 1 1 2 above the top of the. A softener drain line must not be connected directly to the waste system but must be emptied into a laundry tray floor drain or properly trapped special outlet preserving an air gap of at least two times the diameter of the drain line but in no case less than 1 1 2 above the top of the receptacle used. Most water softeners recommend that you fill 2 3 rd of them with salt and in some cases water. Connect the drain tubes.

In some communities home water softeners drain to municipal wastewater treatment plants which are not designed to remove chloride. Cabinet style softeners however do not need you to install a brine line. There are a few different methods that you can use to drain your water softener s brine tank. This is to prevent non potable water from flowing backwards possibly mixing and contaminating potable drinking water.

Here s how to drain it. You can simply scoop out all of the water in your water softener by hand with a bucket. Is your water softener full of water.