I have a Kenmore "Super Capacity Genius +" water softener that is almost 7
years old and (knock on wood!) still seems to be working fine. Its raw
water input has a hardness of 10 grains per gallon and a clear water iron
content of about 2 ppm. Our water usage rate probably averages about
150-200 gal/day.

The owner's manual states that, in order to keep the iron from shortening
the life of the resin bed, Kenmore Water Softener Cleaner should be used.
This chemical is a white powder that comes in the 20-oz plastic jar and is
used as a solution of 10 oz in a gallon of water. Sears sells the stuff in
its store, of course, but its price seems to increase every year.

My question concerns the frequency with which this cleaner should be used.
Sears provides three different answers, depending on where you look: (1)
The water softener owner's manual states that the cleaner should be used "at
least every 6 months." (2) Sears' Web site states that it should be used
"several times a year." (3) The label on the bottle containing the cleaner
says it should be used "monthly."

To be on the safe side, I have been using the cleaner almost every month
over the lifetime of the softener, and I have therefore spent almost as much
on cleaner as I did on the water softener itself. Given its increasing
price of the cleaner and the fact that Sears only stands to gain from
over-prescribing it, I wonder if it is really necessary to use it as often
as I have. Does anyone have any experience and/or advice in this matter?


Dwynn

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L. Dwynn Lafleur
Professor of Physics
University of Louisiana at Lafayette

http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~ldl6737/
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