Can I Add Bleach To My Water Softener

A water softener has a large tank called a brine tank.

Can i add bleach to my water softener. They always sell specialty products for cleaning out your water softener when such a disaster occurs. As water flows over the salt it drains from the tank and goes into a conditioner. Water softeners use rock salt to neutralize hard water. The short answer is yes.

You can clean this system by running a bleach cycle which kills bacteria in the water system. 4 5 ounces of bleach. A typical home water softener is 2 3 cubic feet and gets 1 2 ounces or about 1 4 cup of bleach. However when using bleach be sure to keep it between 50 100 mg l or parts per million.

Make sure you cycle recharge the softener before you drink water from the softener. Allow this solution to sit for approximately 20 minutes to eliminate any mildew or mold present in your softener. Never use bleach on a water softener as it can wreck it. More than that and it could become a problem.

A small amount of bleach maybe 1 2 cups into the brine well is not going to hurt anything with the softener. You can use 2 ounces of unscented household bleach. For a sears kenmore 100 150 series water softener others are similar the company suggests adding 3 4 ounce or 1 2 tablespoons of 5 25 unscented household bleach to the water in the brine tank. This is the tank used to house the rock salt.

This conditioner then sends the filtered water to your home s water system. Stronger concentrations of bleach will degrade the softener s resin and weaken its ability to eliminate the hardness minerals. Bleach is also very effective at neutralizing resin fouling bacteria and sanitizing your system.