In order to keep your Water Softener working at peak performance it is very important that you keep the flow of salt brine to the system consistent at all times. With this in mind, I have assembled a few tips that will help you along the way.

First off, it’s important that you don’t skimp on the quality of the salt that you use. Inexpensive Softener Salt usually contains a lot of impurities brought in from the mining process. Bits of debris such as rocks, pebbles, and sand will multiply in a brine tank over time. When the Softener regenerates it will pull out a saturated brine solution from the Brine Tank. The debris that was in that salt gets left behind. After many cycles the debris starts to build up. Eventually The debris will solidify into a mass at the bottom of the Brine Tank and cause the Brining system to fail, potentially costing big bucks to fix. In the end it would have cost about the same to purchase a higher quality Softener Salt and avoid the Service charges. Plus, you wouldn’t have to suffer with bad water quality during the repair process.

Even the best Softener Salt can bridge and mush. The weight of Salt pushing down upon itself in a damp environment can cause the Salt to solidify in the Brine tank. High Humidity can also ad to the equation. Eventually the Salt at the bottom of the tank may not dissolve properly and can cause a lump of hard or mushy Salt that doesn’t dissolve. The excess weight can also cause a hollow space at the bottom of the Tank. If you notice that your salt is not dropping give the Brine tank a good kick, or smack it with a Mallet around the base. This has solved the bridging problem many many times and it’s simple. If you are interested in learning more about Softener brining please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com .

The best way to avoid mushing and bridging is to avoid overfilling the brine tank by following some simple rules.

Rule 1, Keep a log. Write down when you last checked the Salt level and where it was at, and if you added Salt or not.
Rule 2, Always keep salt above the water line. This will insure proper Salt saturation.
Rule 3, Refill the Brine Tank when it drops to only 1/3 full.
Rule 4, Never fill the Brine tank over 2/3 to 3/4 full unless you will be refilling the tank in less than one month. If you live alone don’t fill the Tank more than 1/2 full.

I will be writing more Brine Tank maintenance tips next week. Til then have a Great Weekend and Happy Valentine’s Day.

We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading!, Don’t bridge your Brine Tank, and enjoy your great water”… : )

Many people are surprised when they learn that I am on call this week. The usual response is that I’m not a doctor, why am I on call.

Let me just say that there have been a few times when my pager went off at 10 o’clock at night and I have wondered the same thing! Truth be told though, if it was my house and I had no water or a leak, I would very relieved to have that on call Manager call me back. That’s really what it’s all about. Giving the customer what we would want, if we were in their shoes.

I’ve heard it all, from my pipes are burst, I ran out of Softener Salt on Monday and I waited until Friday night to call you, to there’s a strange odor in the sink. I even had a Marketing rep ask that I be paged on a weekend. Imagine that one, a Marketing emergency! lol

The vast majority of the pages are of legitimate concern and we all do our best to help the customer get back to enjoying their weekend. The main objective for the on-call Manager is to get the water back on. If there is a leak we want to assist the customer in bypassing or shutting down the leak. If there is no water we want to get the water back on, or determine if the blockage is a well pump problem, or a water treatment problem. Long ago Secondwind began labeling the 3 ball valve bypass on our Water Treatment Systems 1, 2, & 3. This makes it easy to put Systems in bypass over the phone. If you would like more information about your bypass go to our website at www.secondwindwater.com . We have put a lot of practical information on our website. So if a customer has a problem opening their Cartridge Filter or just has a question they can access info on line quickly and easily.

If there is no solution over the phone but to send out a technician to the site to solve the problem, and the customer wants to pay weekend rates, we have a Technician and a stocked Van ready to go at all times. With 10,000 customers out there the pager will go off sooner or later. The thing that makes it all worth it to me, is that it actually still makes me feel good to help someone get their Water back on, or solve a problem over the phone.

Soon my week will be over, Friday night at 5 pm, and I will be free from on-call for another 10 weeks. Yeah!

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 your Secondwind On Call, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )

One of the most fundamental steps that you can take towards having consistent water quality in your home or business is to take ownership of your Water Treatment System.

Most people don’t realize it, but Water Treatment Systems are not an appliance. Think about it, when you buy a new toaster Microwave, Fridge, or Stove all you have to do is plug it in and away you go for about ten years or so. That’s it, and that’s what makes those systems an appliance. Water Treatment Systems require regular attention from the homeowner in order to function properly. Whether it’s changing a Cartridge, adding Salt, or just remembering to schedule your service call, when the card comes in the mail. It always comes down to you taking ownership of your Equipment in order to keep the System running properly for as long as you own the home.

I’m not telling you to go out and study Chemistry or Hydraulics, and you don’t need to be all that handy either. Quite often it just comes down to reading the owners manual, keeping a log, staying in contact with your Water Treatment Dealer, and insisting on as many walkthroughs with your sales person/service technician as it takes, until you become comfortable with your role as the Owner/Operator of a Water System. If you would like to learn more about your Water treatment System go to our website and read up on it. That’s www.secondwindwater.com .

The last thing that you want to happen is to invest in a new Water System that becomes forgotten in life’s busy shuffle, covered over in dust like an old furnace, that you are afraid to even go near because you don’t remember what it does, or how it works. Believe me I have seen it more often than I like to remember.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwatersystems.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading!, and take ownership of your Water treatment System, enjoy your great water”… : )

As the snow and ice slowly pile up outside over the course of the Winter here in New Hampshire, it’s easy to lose track of where your Well is located. The 6″ piece of pipe that normally sticks up above ground slowly disappears, which Is why I’m raising the question “Have you seen your Well Cap lately”.

Bedrock Well construction has come a long way from it’s Rustic beginning. Sanitary seals used in today’s modern Wells hold back surface Waters that may contain Bacteria and other contaminants. Modern Well Caps have a Flanged design that incorporates a rubber seal and an air vent with screen.

For proper design of a new Well Cap should be at least 18 inches above grade. This will keep the Well Cap and Air Vent above any surface water. As the Ice gets thicker and thicker and surface water run off starts to flow above the ice, that 18 inches of pipe starts to become more and more important.

I have seen many homes where the excavator has returned to the site and back filled the well so much that the Well cap is only 6 inches above grade. Also homes where the homeowner has created nice rock gardens around the Well, practically burying the Well. When the ice and snow come the surface water can enter the Well and problems start. If you would like information on how to professionally sanitize a well please visit our website at www.secondwindwatersytems.com.

If your Well doesn’t extend up high enough there is always the possibility of welding on an extension. Older Well Caps can be replaced with new ones. Many older Well Caps are only held on by 4 set screws with no gasket to seal out Water. The Air vent is also important because if it isn’t screened properly wildlife will take up refuge in the well during Winter. If a piece of black plastic pipe going to the Well Cap (usually containing wires) has become disconnected, it should be fixed as soon as possible. The hole left behind by the disconnected pipe is large enough for wildlife to enter.

So, if you haven’t seen your Well Cap lately, remember that there are things that you can do to keep your water supply sanitary even during Winter.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwatersystems.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading!, have you seen your Well Cap lately, enjoy your great water”…