wrote in message

I need to know something: Can the clay in the holding tank ever get
corrupted or ruined, so that it no longer interacts the way it should
with the salt infusion?

Yes, but generaly it lasts for years. There are also conditioners available
bt I don't know how well they really work.


I had posted because of the amount of scum in the brine tank. Is there
any industry or chemical test that can find out if the clay in the
holding tank is still good?

All you hav to do is check the softness of the water. If it is soft, the
resin in working properly, as is the rest of the system.



after it was installed that I began to take care of it (cleaning out a
brine tank so filthy I actually sold my own home and moved in with mom
because it-- Well, it suggested mom needed more help than she was
getting). I'm so afraid the length of time the brine tank remained so
filthy somehow corrupted the holding tank.

We have a softener at work that treats between 10,000 and 12,000 gallons a
day and uses a few of bags a salt a week. We clean the brine tank once a
year. Nasty as it looks at times, the softener still does its thing. If it
is still working, don't worry about it. Takes but a few seconds to test the
water so do it once a week or so.