What are the most common replacement parts for water softeners?
Your water softener neutralizes the calcium carbonate in your home’s water supply to reduce wear and tear on your clothing, prevent filmy deposits on your dishes and thoroughly rinse soap from your skin and hair.
When your water softener isn't working right, you’ll quickly notice that your skin doesn't feel slick after rinsing off in the shower. You’ll also notice that it takes more dishwashing liquid to make water suds up in your kitchen sink.
If you suspect that your water softener isn’t working, try this quick test to check water hardness:
When your water softener isn’t working, you may need to replace one of these parts.
Electronic control
The electronic control monitors water flow and manages the operation of the water softener. The electronic control positions the rotor valve to direct water flow for softening and regeneration.
Water softener resin beads
The resin beads act as a magnet to remove the minerals that make the water hard as the water flows through the resin tank.
Rotor valve
The rotor valve on top of the resin tank is driven by the valve motor. The rotor valve directs water flow for water softener functions such as regeneration, flushing and softening.
Rotor valve seal
The rotor valve seal prevents water from leaking between the openings in the rotor valve as the rotor valve directs water flow for water softener functions such as regeneration, flushing and softening.
Valve motor
The valve motor rotates the rotor valve to perform the various water softener operations such as regeneration and water softening.
Venturi
The venturi draws the brine solution from the salt tank to the resin tank during the regeneration cycle.
Rotor position switch
The rotor position switch detects the position of the rotor valve.
Brine well
The brine well inside the salt storage tank houses the brine valve assembly. The brine well prevents the salt pellets from interfering with the brine valve’s operations.
Brine valve assembly
The brine valve assembly inside the brine well controls the brine water level.
Brine float
The brine float on top of the brine valve rises with the brine during brine production to prevent the brine well from overfilling.
Determining which part to replace when your water softener isn’t working can be challenging. Follow the DIY troubleshooting advice in our Water Softener Repair Help section to determine the cause of the failure and figure out which part to replace.
If you’re not able to diagnose and repair the water softener failure yourself, schedule a Sears Technician to visit your home and fix the problem. Our techs are experts at repairing water softeners as well as all of the other appliances in your home. Call Sears Home Services whenever you have an appliance problem.
Symptoms for water softeners
Choose a symptom to see related water softener repairs.
Main causes: clogged drain hose, faulty rotor valve, leaky rotor valve seals…
Main causes: broken water flow meter, faulty timer, water flow to softener is bypassed…
Main causes: faulty brine valve assembly, bad rotor valve…
Main causes: broken resin tank screen, bad resin tank seals, cracked upper distributor in resin tank…
Main causes: salt bridge inside the salt tank, bad timer, valve motor failure, faulty rotor valve, clogged venturi…
Main causes: lack of electrical power, bad power transformer, faulty timer…
Main causes: empty salt tank, salt bridge, depleted resin, clogged or damaged venturi, broken rotor position switch, fai…
Main causes: loose water line connections, cracked water-carrying components, bad rotor valve seals…
Repair guides for water softeners
These step-by-step repair guides will help you safely fix what’s broken on your water softener.
How to replace a water softener venturi
The venturi valve in your water softener draws brine water from the salt tank to the resin tank for regeneration. Follow…
How to replace a water softener rotor position switch
The rotor position switch detects the position of the valve rotor. If the rotor position switch fails, follow these step…
How to replace a water softener timer
The timer is the control board you use to program the water softener. If the timer isn’t accepting commands when you pus…
Articles and videos for water softeners
Use the advice and tips in these articles and videos to get the most out of your water softener.
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