Have you noticed your water looks cloudy or maybe even foamy? Cloudy or foamy water can be a result of a few things, including your softener completing a recharge overnight. Read on below to help identify what’s going on.
Click on your situation below.
It’s cloudy/foamy AND salty in the mornings...
You’ll want to check out our Salty Taste troubleshooting article for help with that.
It's cloudy/foamy in the morning for a short time and then goes away...
It’s most likely from the recharge that was done overnight. In this case, the foam will go away on its own with your water use during the day. If you want it gone right away, you can turn on your cold water from a faucet and let it run until it’s clear.
If it happens often and it’s something that bothers you, there's a possible fix. If you have the Styrofoam float type brine valve you can take it apart and there's a seal at the bottom that you can clean.
Note: We have 2 versions of brine valve assemblies (pictured below.) If you have the one on the left, it has a plastic float and it can’t be taken apart and cleaned. If you have that one and still have this issue, please Contact Us for help to troubleshoot. If you have the one on the right with the Styrofoam float, follow the instructions below to clean the seal.
1. Remove the Top Cover – For additional instructions check out our article Removing the Top Cover.
2. Inside the tank you’ll see a tube with numbers on it like pictured below. Your unit may look a little different as this is just a general example. If there's a top on the black tube, remove that top. Inside that tube is the brine valve assembly. There is a black hose connected to it. Reach into the tube and remove the brine valve assembly. It's as simple as pulling it up and out. You may need to pull on the hose a little to get some slack to remove the assembly.
3. Once it’s out, check the seal at the bottom of the Styrofoam float piece where the yellow arrow is pointing to and clean it by wiping it down with a towel.
4. Reverse these instructions to put it back together.
It's cloudy/foamy all the time...
That's likely another issue. Let’s go through some troubleshooting to fix this. Follow the steps below.
1. You want to first verify that you used the correct cleanser for your unit. Refer to the Owner’s Manual for this information.
- If you used the correct cleanser, move on to step 2.
- If you used the wrong cleanser, you’ll need to clean the salt tank. Check out our article Cleaning the Salt Tank and Brinewell.
2. Next, we need to verify if it’s your water softener causing the foam or something else. On the back of your unit find the bypass valve and push the handle in. This will stop water from flowing through your softener.
- Go to a sink and let the water run for about a minute. If the water is still cloudy or foamy, it’s not the water softener causing the issue but something else. We recommend you reach out to your local water specialist. Make sure to go back and pull the bypass handle back OUT to let water pass through again.
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