To successfully install a water softener, you need decent knowledge about how a water softener works, how water flows into your home, and basic plumbing skills.
The process of installing a water softener involves specific components and processes such as the bypass valve, an electrical outlet, using your drain line, cutting off the house’s water supply, turning off your water heater, and figuring out where to install a water softener. It’s a straightforward process but there are a few things to consider.
Things to Do Pre-Installation
Find Out If Your House Has a Water Loop
A water loop’s primary function is to retain soft water in your home by channeling it to the various facets and appliances that use water, such as your water heater. It also hinders the flow of soft water to external appliances (outside the home). In essence, they help the home save softened water.
Certain homes were plumbed with a water loop already in place. Water loops lessen the need for a plumber to install your water softener. With water loops already present in your home, the process will take a couple of hours and can be done by a novice.
In the absence of a water loop, you have to place new pipes to channel water away from the primary water line that takes water into your home. Your water softener will be installed or connected to these new pipes.
The water loop usually protrudes out of the wall, forming a U-shape before disappearing back into the wall a bit further.
Shut Off the Main Water Lines
Ensure your main water supply to the house is shut down. You can locate the control valve of the supply line and lock it. The valve can be inside or outside your home (close to the water meter, in the garage, or utility sink). Before you place the softener, open all the faucets to drain any water still held in the pipes. Most houses usually have cold and hot water faucets.
Decide on the Location
As you know, the primary purpose of your softener is to combat hard water.
The next thing is to choose where to install your water softener. The ideal location will be somewhere to easily connect it to your home’s plumbing system or the main water line. The place should be flat-grounded and dry, such as your basement, garage, or even close to your water heater.
It’s advisable to install the water softener near your water filter and your water heater. This ensures that the system will protect your water heater from hard water damage by hindering the accumulation of sediments in your hot water pipe and your heater.
Please make sure that the area surrounding the softener has enough space. Again, this is to ensure that you can efficiently service it when the need arises.
The softener shouldn’t be directly exposed to the sun, outside the house, and somewhere with a freezing temperature (4 degrees Celsius). It can quickly freeze, and this will permanently impair your water softener.
Necessary Connections
There are certain things you need when installing a water softener. One of them is the drain line. It can be the floor drain or the faucet sink. You must channel the cold water line to outdoor faucets before connecting them to the water softener.
Also, the water softener will require an electrical outlet that’s not regulated by a switch nearby. It should be an outlet that can handle the required voltage for the water softener to be active. The voltage required by the water softener depends on the brand or capacity of the softener.
A lot of water softeners come along with their bypass valve. However, before installing the water softener, you must know how to connect the bypass valve and link it to the system.
Depending on the plumbing system, you might also need to install valves to the water supply pipe that make up the water loop. Water softeners that usually come with such bypass valves typically come with the company’s manual.
Get the Tools
To install the water softener, you should get a
- soldering iron kit
- measuring tape
- malleable tubing
- wrench
- Teflon tape
- pipe cutter
- flux
- elbow fitting
- copper pipe,
- adaptors/brass fittings
Installing the Water Softener
You can also refer to this process as plumbing the water softener. The steps for installing a water softener are outlined and explained below:
1. Cut the Pipes
Use your pipe cutter to cut the part of your water loop that connects both pipes. Once done, you’ll have both pipes coming out of the wall. While one of these pipes channels hard water into your softener, the other pipe channels soft water out of the loop into the house and your appliances, such as your electric water heater.
2. Connect the Fitting
Connect the elbow fitting (a curved pipe) to the separated water supply line. You should fit this curved pipe to align with the outflow and inflow valves of the water softener. For instance, if your water loop is at a high position on the wall, the curved pipe should face the ground. If the water loop of your plumbing system is at a low position on the wall, the elbow fitting will be placed to face skywards.
3. Measure
Use your measuring tape to know the length of the pipe needed for closing the gap between the elbow fitting and the valves of your water softener. Use your pipe cutter to cut the elbow fitting to its required length.
4. Solder Brass Fittings
Before you connect the curved pipe, use the soldering iron to solder the brass fittings needed to attach the pipes to the bypass valve.
5. Connect Elbow Fitting
Connect the elbow fitting to both pipes with the help of the brass fittings and the adaptors that came with the water softener.
Bonus Step
Put a clamp on the drain hose of the water softener to stop water from coming back to the system. You can channel the second end of the drain hose into a faucet sink.
6. Setting Up your Brine Tank
Connect the overflow tube of your salt-based water softener to its brine tank. Ensure the height and positioning of the tube is right. Use your manual as a guide.
Once connected, fill up your brine tank with water softener salt.
Salt is what the softener uses to treat hard water, and the salt needs to be refilled periodically. Once your brine tank is set up, release the bypass valve for your house’s water supply system. This will remove almost all of the sediments accumulating in your plumbing.
Typical Mistakes
Too Many Guides or Manuals
There are many guides and manuals for installing a water softener. It will help if you stick to one. Every company has its manual, and it’s usually designed for its system. While Springwell provides a detailed manual on how to install the CF1 water filter, Culligan water filters can only be installed by the company. Using a manual or guide for another company’s system can result in disaster.
So if you’ve decided to do this yourself, refrain from jumping from manual to manual in the process of your water softener installation.
Inaccurate Drain Hose Positioning
If you’re doing this yourself, you will likely place the hose wrongly during the installation process.
To prevent the occurrence of flooding in your surroundings, ensure that you channel your drain hose to somewhere that can easily drain the volume of the water coming out of it.
Wrong Size of the Water Softener
This is another common mistake made in the installation process. People tend to purchase the wrong size of water softener for installation. It is best to get an expert’s opinion, such as a plumber, before making that purchase.
Buying the wrong size will be a waste of money because the system will be unable to match the demands of your home. Plus, it will easily break down due to overload, which will make you frequently spend on repairs.
Forgetting to Put Salt in Your Brine Tank
It’s very common to install the water softening system, set up the brine tank, and then activate your house’s water supply without filling the tank with salt. That should be the next step once the tank is fully set up.
Last Words
The installation cost ranges from water softener brands and sizes, but the average minimum cost of installation is usually $500.
This article contains information on how to install the softener. It includes in-depth details on things to do before installation, the installation tools, the installation process, and mistakes made when installing the softener.
