Care And Cleaning - GE GNSF48A01 Installation And Owner's Manual

Care and cleaning of the water softening system.
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Checking the Salt Storage level and Refilling
Brine (salt dissolved in water) is needed for each and every regeneration. The water for making
brine is metered into the salt storage area by the water softening system valve and control.
However, you must keep the tank supplied with salt.
When to refill with salt: Check the salt level a few weeks after you install the water softening system
and every week after that. Refill when the brine tank is from 1/3 to 1/2 full. Never allow the
water softening system to use all the salt before you refill it. Without salt, you will soon have hard
water.
Use clean water softening salts only, at least 99.5% pure. NUGGET, PELLET or coarse SOLAR
salts are recommended. Do not use rock, block, granulated or ice cream making salts. They contain
dirt and sediments, or mush and cake, and will create maintenance problems.
CAUTION: Water softening salt with iron removing additives: Some salts have an additive to help
the water softening system handle iron in the water supply. Although this additive may help
to keep the water softening system resin clean, it may also release corrosive fumes that
weaken and shorten the life of some water softening system parts. Do not use salt with iron
removing additives.
Cleaning Iron Out of the Water Softening System
Your water softening system takes hardness minerals (calcium and magnesium) out of the water.
Also, it can control some (see Specification Guidelines section) "clear water" iron. With clear
water iron, water from a faucet is clear when first put into a glass. After 15 to 30 minutes, the
water begins to cloud or turn rust colored. A water softening system will not remove any iron that
makes the water cloudy or rusty as it comes from the faucet (called red water iron). To take red
water iron out of water, or over the maximum of clear water iron, an iron filter or other
equipment is needed.
If your water supply has clear water iron, periodic resin bed cleaning is needed. Clean the bed at
least every six months, or more often if iron appears in the soft water between treatments, using
a resin bed cleaner. Follow directions on the resin bed cleaner container. Resin bed cleaner is
available from most hardware stores.