How to Hookup a Home Water Softener

Is it hard to hook up a water softening system?

Do you think that hooking up a water softening system to your home plumbing is difficult? Well, to a certain extent it is, there is no denying that. However, with the right tips, materials, and tools, the job can be a bit easier to handle. Just keep in mind that one of the most important things, well if not the most important thing, is to know how to make the right connections. Are you ready to begin?

How it Works

Before doing anything you should know how water softeners work to make sure that you got things right. Generally, the hard water will enter from the system’s valve head and will flow towards the resin. This results in exchanging hardness ions for the sodium ions of the system. This will result in the softening of water that will flow to the riser tube and head on out the plumbing fixtures of your home.

If you have about a day to spend in hooking up your water softening system, then you should be good to go. The entire work would involve moderate complexity and should cost you no more than $50 if done properly.

Materials and Tools

In order to make this project a reality you would need to have all the necessary materials and tools on hand. This helps you avoid any last minute problems during the installation process. You will likewise successfully save time and minimize the possibility of being frustrated with the work.

So what should be on your materials checklist? Here they are:

  • • Valves;
  • • Solder;
  • • Flux;
  • • Copper pipes;
  • • Copper tees; and
  • • Fitting brush.

Of course for installations like these you will need to use the right tools to get the job done correctly. If there is anything missing from this list you need to either borrow or buy one to finish the water softener hook up. Here are the tools you will need:

  • • Slip joint pliers;
  • • Plumber’s tape;
  • • Soldering torch;
  • • Tube cutter; and
  • • Tape measure.

Make sure to double check everything on this checklist before starting the actual hook up process for the water softener.

Hook Up Process

Do not be confused about the piping around the water softening system. If you are not a trained plumber it is natural to look at it as something that is very confusing. Do you see a cold water branch before the water softener? This is not a mistake and it is not an indication of a problem as well. In fact, it is a standard practice to make sure that one of the cold water lines is branched off to the supply outdoor hose connection. It is natural to also see it connected to the refrigerator icemaker or the kitchen sink sometimes if you do not intend to have softened water for your potable water supply.

To simplify things, it is important to point out that water for the garden or the lawn does not need to be softened. Hard water will not affect the growth or beauty of your garden or lawn. So where does the soft water need to go? To make the connection easier, the water softening system should be connected to the main supply line of the entire house.

This is done so that when the water leaves the softening system it should go into the two lines. One runs to the cold line for the faucets and fixtures inside the home and also feeding the water heating system. An outgoing line coming from the water heating system will then run to the faucets and fixtures in your home so that your hot water is also softened.

It is a good idea to include a bypass loop to allow you to temporarily disconnect from the water softening system without affecting the actual water supply to your entire home plumbing.

If you are not at all ready for this or not entirely sure of what you have done, make sure that you call a licensed professional plumber immediately to have the hook up checked and tested.

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