Generally speaking, the water regeneration process takes about 85 to 90 minutes and involves four main steps:
1. In the backwash cycle, the water flows in reverse to clean the tank, a process that takes about 10 minutes.
2. Next, the brine flushes away unwanted hardness minerals, which takes 50 to 60 minutes.
3. The brine and unwanted minerals are then drained down the drain, which takes another 10-15 minutes.
4. Finally, new water refills the tank to provide more brine for the next service cycle, which takes another 10 minutes.
The average home water softener should regenerate every other day. But some homes may need to regenerate every day, while others may only need to regenerate weekly.
There are two main factors you need to pay attention to: water usage and water hardness
In addition to water usage and water hardness, you also need to know:
The capacity of the water softener (expressed in grains per cubic foot) – Water softeners have a specific mineral capacity. This is usually 30,000 grains per cubic foot, but check with the manufacturer to confirm your exact specifications. This capacity is the number of mineral grains the water softener can exchange before the softening quality deteriorates.
Cubic feet of water softener – Most home water softeners have a cubic foot. Larger homes or commercial buildings have a cubic foot of 1.5 to 2 cubic feet or more.
Once you have determined these two numbers, you can enter your water usage and water hardness to determine how often your water softener needs to regenerate.
