What to expect after we service your water treatment system

If the water was staining or had a bad odor inside the house and your water system was just serviced, please keep in mind servicing your treatment system does not instantly eliminate that problem. The water in the system and the plumbing must be replaced with water from the repaired device. This may take some time. For example, when a chlorine pump is repaired, the chlorine starts injecting into the treatment system, and over time it properly treats all the 150 gallons of water in that treatment system. After that, the properly treated water will move through the pipes and the plumbing system to the inside of your home resulting in treated water. If your treatment system was just serviced, don't do laundry until the next day. You must give the filter and the softener a chance to regenerate. Water treatment systems usually regenerate at night when there is little to no water usage. 

It’s very tempting to open all the faucets and flush all the water when your treatment system has just been serviced but unfortunately that makes the problem worse. All treatment systems have an optimum flow rate of 6 gallons per minute or less. All water filters and water softeners work by a process called absorption. The water must stay in the filter or softener tank for a certain time for the process to work. If the flow rate is exceeded by excessive flushing, then the water will move too fast through the system causing it not to be successfully treated. 

The important thing to remember is don't flush the water too fast. It will just make the problem worse. Allowing the system to work at its own pace is the best method. 

Water filters and water softeners have a self-cleaning mode called regeneration. Most filters regenerate or backwash at midnight. Water softeners usually regenerate from 2 AM to 4 AM. Most people are done using the water by then. During the regeneration time which can be two hours long, any water used during that time will be unfiltered. Something as simple as getting up in the middle of the night and flushing a toilet can result in two or three gallons of unfiltered water being let into the house by the plumbing system. Most people never notice this. But with water that smells, it can be alarming. Water systems regenerate about every three days. Standard usage will cause this problem to pass soon. Customers may adjust regeneration timing to suit their lifestyles.