Repair guides
Pick a type, an appliance or a brand. Every guide lists the tools, the safety call-outs, the steps and the reading you should expect.
Diagnostic · 374
Symptom → most likely cause, step by step
Component tests · 69
How to test a specific part, with expected readings
Installation · 33
Install, replace and hook up appliances correctly
Fundamentals · 24
Core skills every appliance tech uses
Appliance
Brand-specific guides
14 guides · Water Softeners & Filters
Diagnostic · 14
Guide · Water SoftenerBrine tank overflowing or holding too much water
Excess brine water means the valve refills but does not draw brine out, or the refill does not stop. Typical causes are a plugged injector or screen, a kinked or scaled brine line, a stuck float, or internal valve leakage.
Guide · Water SoftenerHard water returning (softener has salt but water is hard)
Most hard-water callbacks come from salt that is not reaching the water (bridge or mush), wrong settings, or a regeneration that is not drawing brine. Check the brine tank first, then programming, then the valve.
Guide · Water SoftenerLeaking bypass valve or valve-to-plumbing connection
Bypass leaks are usually worn O-rings in the bypass body or yoke connection, a cracked plastic bypass, or strain from misaligned plumbing. Repair is O-ring replacement or bypass replacement.
Guide · Water SoftenerLow water pressure after the softener
Pressure loss across a softener usually comes from a clogged pre-filter, fouled or broken-down resin, resin escaping into lines, or a valve stuck partly in a regeneration position. Bypassing the unit isolates it quickly.
Guide · Water SoftenerOrange/rust stains even with a working softener
Softeners handle hardness well but have limited ability to remove iron, especially iron that has already oxidized. Iron coats the resin, cuts capacity and passes through to stain fixtures. Test the water before recommending an iron filter or resin cleaning.
Guide · Water SoftenerResin beads in faucets, aerators or toilet tanks
Beads in the plumbing almost always mean a cracked or loose distributor/riser tube or bottom basket in the resin tank. Very old resin can also break into fines that pass the screens.
Guide · Water SoftenerRO storage tank: checking and setting the air pre-charge
The tank pushes water out using an air charge behind a diaphragm. The charge must be read and set only with the tank empty of water.
Guide · Water SoftenerRO system will not shut off (water always running to drain)
The auto shut-off (ASO) valve closes when tank pressure reaches about two-thirds of feed pressure. If the tank never gets there, or the check valve leaks back, the system keeps running to drain.
Guide · Water SoftenerRO system: slow flow or no water at the faucet
Slow RO water comes from a low tank air charge or failed bladder, clogged pre-filters, a fouled membrane, low feed pressure, or a clogged post-filter. A timed flow test splits filter/pressure problems from membrane problems.
Guide · Water SoftenerSalt level not going down
If salt is not used, either the unit is not regenerating, the salt is not dissolving (bridge), or brine is not being drawn. Rule out a bridge first because it is the quickest fix.
Guide · Water SoftenerSoftener not regenerating
A softener that never regenerates usually has a drive problem (motor, gears, stuck piston), a programming problem, or a meter that is not counting. Error codes on Fleck and Clack valves point straight to the drive.
Guide · Water SoftenerSoftener regenerates at the wrong time (often after a power outage)
Most timer and metered controls schedule regeneration by the clock, typically in the middle of the night. After an outage the clock can be wrong or reset, so regenerations happen when people are using water. The softener still softens, but the clock and settings need checking.
Guide · Water SoftenerWater softener uses too much salt or regenerates every night
Excess salt use is almost always a settings problem: hardness programmed too high, a timer set to regenerate every day, wrong capacity or salt dose for the household, or a lost program. Mechanical causes include a leaking brine valve, iron-fouled resin and a brine tank that overfills.
Guide · Water SoftenerWater tastes salty after the softener regenerates
Softened water should not taste salty. A salty taste means brine was not fully drawn and rinsed out of the resin: clogged injector or brine line, restricted drain line or drain flow control, low supply pressure during regeneration, or a regeneration interrupted by a power or pressure loss.