Here’s something wild: your water softener is more likely to die from neglect than from old age. I read a study (okay, I skimmed a blog post from a plumber) that said 70% of softener repairs come from ignoring the salt. You are now in the elite 30%.
Also, did you know softeners use electricity? Most have a timer or valve motor that plugs in. If you’re on a power outage, don’t panic—it just won’t regenerate until the lights come back. But if you have a demand-initiated model (the fancy kind), it’s like a snobby robot that only regenerates when it feels thirsty. Don’t leave it unplugged for weeks, or your resin beads will form a union.
