Ok, I'm RENTING a house that has hard water and has a water softener.
I had been in the house for a couple of months and realized that the
salt level in the softener never changed. The system IS NOT ON
BYPASS, I made sure of that, I'm getting water flow. When I went to
poke around in the salt, i realized that it is a solid block. It
looks like the pellets in the bag, but they are fused together. So
from about halfway down the tank to the bottom is a solid chunk of
salt. How can I break up/dissolve the salt without removing the
tank??? I am not going to pay a plumber to come out, and the owner of
the house doesn't feel it is worth his time/money. The hard water
bothers my skin, so I would like to find a way to fix this. Any
suggestions???

This is known as a salt bridge. Use a broom handle to start poking
holes in the salt. Or use a shovel to break it up

On Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:34:41 -0800, DW1015 wrote:

Ok, I'm RENTING a house that has hard water and has a water softener.
I had been in the house for a couple of months and realized that the
salt level in the softener never changed. The system IS NOT ON
BYPASS, I made sure of that, I'm getting water flow. When I went to
poke around in the salt, i realized that it is a solid block. It
looks like the pellets in the bag, but they are fused together. So
from about halfway down the tank to the bottom is a solid chunk of
salt. How can I break up/dissolve the salt without removing the
tank??? I am not going to pay a plumber to come out, and the owner of
the house doesn't feel it is worth his time/money. The hard water
bothers my skin, so I would like to find a way to fix this. Any
suggestions???

I wouldn't break up the salt pellets in the brine tank. You might
punture the tank that are usually plastic. My softener uses salt blocks.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/...pec ial=false
My guess is the timer is not set correctly.

First off, the unit could be by-passed, because you get
water flow whether it is bypassed or not. Look on the
side of the bypass, it should say either push to bypass,
or the other side should say push for soft water. some
have a lever that pushes forward and backward, just look at the writing on
it. If there is no writing, then
"GENERALLY" if it is pushed in from the right, it's
bypassed, if it's pushed in from the left, it's soft. Secondly
don't be poking around, it rarely works with a broom
handle. I tell my customers to just pour a bunch of water
right in and over the salt. 5 gallons should be sufficiant.
after you pour in 5 gallons, measure the water level and
then check the level in a few days, or push the regen
button, and then check it the next day to see of the water
goes down. If it does not, then you have a different
problem. Check top make sure it's plugged in, and then
check the drain hose to make sure it's not kinked, the unit
will not work it the drain line is blocked.
wrote in message
...
Ok, I'm RENTING a house that has hard water and has a water softener.
I had been in the house for a couple of months and realized that the
salt level in the softener never changed. The system IS NOT ON
BYPASS, I made sure of that, I'm getting water flow. When I went to
poke around in the salt, i realized that it is a solid block. It
looks like the pellets in the bag, but they are fused together. So
from about halfway down the tank to the bottom is a solid chunk of
salt. How can I break up/dissolve the salt without removing the
tank??? I am not going to pay a plumber to come out, and the owner of
the house doesn't feel it is worth his time/money. The hard water
bothers my skin, so I would like to find a way to fix this. Any
suggestions???

On Sun, 9 Nov 2008 13:39:21 -0700, "bob" wrote:

First off, the unit could be by-passed, because you get
water flow whether it is bypassed or not. Look on the
side of the bypass, it should say either push to bypass,
or the other side should say push for soft water. some
have a lever that pushes forward and backward, just look at the writing on
it. If there is no writing, then
"GENERALLY" if it is pushed in from the right, it's
bypassed, if it's pushed in from the left, it's soft. Secondly
don't be poking around, it rarely works with a broom
handle. I tell my customers to just pour a bunch of water
right in and over the salt. 5 gallons should be sufficiant.
after you pour in 5 gallons, measure the water level and
then check the level in a few days, or push the regen
button, and then check it the next day to see of the water
goes down. If it does not, then you have a different
problem. Check top make sure it's plugged in, and then
check the drain hose to make sure it's not kinked, the unit
will not work it the drain line is blocked.
wrote in message
...
Ok, I'm RENTING a house that has hard water and has a water softener.
I had been in the house for a couple of months and realized that the
salt level in the softener never changed. The system IS NOT ON
BYPASS, I made sure of that, I'm getting water flow. When I went to
poke around in the salt, i realized that it is a solid block. It
looks like the pellets in the bag, but they are fused together. So
from about halfway down the tank to the bottom is a solid chunk of
salt. How can I break up/dissolve the salt without removing the
tank??? I am not going to pay a plumber to come out, and the owner of
the house doesn't feel it is worth his time/money. The hard water
bothers my skin, so I would like to find a way to fix this. Any
suggestions???

Use 5 gallons of very hot water.

Rick-Meister wrote:
This is known as a salt bridge. Use a broom handle to start poking
holes in the salt. Or use a shovel to break it up

Look he
http://www.systemsaver.com/morton-we...lt-bridge.html

On Sat, 8 Nov 2008 15:34:41 -0800 (PST), wrote:

Ok, I'm RENTING a house that has hard water and has a water softener.
I had been in the house for a couple of months and realized that the
salt level in the softener never changed. The system IS NOT ON
BYPASS, I made sure of that, I'm getting water flow. When I went to
poke around in the salt, i realized that it is a solid block. It
looks like the pellets in the bag, but they are fused together. So
from about halfway down the tank to the bottom is a solid chunk of
salt. How can I break up/dissolve the salt without removing the
tank??? I am not going to pay a plumber to come out, and the owner of
the house doesn't feel it is worth his time/money. The hard water
bothers my skin, so I would like to find a way to fix this. Any
suggestions???

Whatever method you use to break up the solid salt bridge make sure
that you only use one bag of salt at a time. Keep the salt level as
low as possible to prevent this from happening again.

On Nov 11, 1:55 am, wrote:
On Sat, 8 Nov 2008 15:34:41 -0800 (PST), wrote:
Ok, I'm RENTING a house that has hard water and has a water softener.
I had been in the house for a couple of months and realized that the
salt level in the softener never changed. The system IS NOT ON
BYPASS, I made sure of that, I'm getting water flow. When I went to
poke around in the salt, i realized that it is a solid block. It
looks like the pellets in the bag, but they are fused together. So
from about halfway down the tank to the bottom is a solid chunk of
salt. How can I break up/dissolve the salt without removing the
tank??? I am not going to pay a plumber to come out, and the owner of
the house doesn't feel it is worth his time/money. The hard water
bothers my skin, so I would like to find a way to fix this. Any
suggestions???

Whatever method you use to break up the solid salt bridge make sure
that you only use one bag of salt at a time. Keep the salt level as
low as possible to prevent this from happening again.

Hot tap water will dissolve that salt block without any chance of
damaging the brine tank. As the salt melts and separates remove and
discard it. Ultimately you'll end up with a lot of water in the brine
tank and that should be removed.

As stated above, it's a good idea to only put enough salt in the brine
tank to cover the water so there isn't lots of weight on the salt at
the bottom.

Also a good idea to clean out the brine tank once a year before the
BIG salt block forms.

wrote in message
...
Ok, I'm RENTING a house that has hard water and has a water softener.
I had been in the house for a couple of months and realized that the
salt level in the softener never changed. The system IS NOT ON
BYPASS, I made sure of that, I'm getting water flow. When I went to
poke around in the salt, i realized that it is a solid block. It
looks like the pellets in the bag, but they are fused together. So
from about halfway down the tank to the bottom is a solid chunk of
salt. How can I break up/dissolve the salt without removing the
tank??? I am not going to pay a plumber to come out, and the owner of
the house doesn't feel it is worth his time/money. The hard water
bothers my skin, so I would like to find a way to fix this. Any
suggestions???

Call the landlord the unit needs to be serviced. You don't need a plumber.

Olddog

wrote in message
...
On Nov 11, 1:55 am, wrote:
On Sat, 8 Nov 2008 15:34:41 -0800 (PST), wrote:
Ok, I'm RENTING a house that has hard water and has a water softener.
I had been in the house for a couple of months and realized that the
salt level in the softener never changed. The system IS NOT ON
BYPASS, I made sure of that, I'm getting water flow. When I went to
poke around in the salt, i realized that it is a solid block. It
looks like the pellets in the bag, but they are fused together. So
from about halfway down the tank to the bottom is a solid chunk of
salt. How can I break up/dissolve the salt without removing the
tank??? I am not going to pay a plumber to come out, and the owner of
the house doesn't feel it is worth his time/money. The hard water
bothers my skin, so I would like to find a way to fix this. Any
suggestions???

Whatever method you use to break up the solid salt bridge make sure
that you only use one bag of salt at a time. Keep the salt level as
low as possible to prevent this from happening again.

Hot tap water will dissolve that salt block without any chance of
damaging the brine tank. As the salt melts and separates remove and
discard it. Ultimately you'll end up with a lot of water in the brine
tank and that should be removed.

As stated above, it's a good idea to only put enough salt in the brine
tank to cover the water so there isn't lots of weight on the salt at
the bottom.

I've never heard that but you maybe talking about another system. I just
talked to the serviceman for Rain Soft and he said to fill it up. Mine holds
about 250lbs. But I do get mine serviced each year. He didn't say anything
about cleaning the tank but I'll ask him next time he comes.

Olddog

On Nov 11, 9:25 pm, "olddog" wrote:
wrote in message

...

On Nov 11, 1:55 am, wrote:
On Sat, 8 Nov 2008 15:34:41 -0800 (PST), wrote:
Ok, I'm RENTING a house that has hard water and has a water softener.
I had been in the house for a couple of months and realized that the
salt level in the softener never changed. The system IS NOT ON
BYPASS, I made sure of that, I'm getting water flow. When I went to
poke around in the salt, i realized that it is a solid block. It
looks like the pellets in the bag, but they are fused together. So
from about halfway down the tank to the bottom is a solid chunk of
salt. How can I break up/dissolve the salt without removing the
tank??? I am not going to pay a plumber to come out, and the owner of
the house doesn't feel it is worth his time/money. The hard water
bothers my skin, so I would like to find a way to fix this. Any
suggestions???

Whatever method you use to break up the solid salt bridge make sure
that you only use one bag of salt at a time. Keep the salt level as
low as possible to prevent this from happening again.

Hot tap water will dissolve that salt block without any chance of
damaging the brine tank. As the salt melts and separates remove and
discard it. Ultimately you'll end up with a lot of water in the brine
tank and that should be removed.

As stated above, it's a good idea to only put enough salt in the brine
tank to cover the water so there isn't lots of weight on the salt at
the bottom.

I've never heard that but you maybe talking about another system. I just
talked to the serviceman for Rain Soft and he said to fill it up. Mine holds
about 250lbs. But I do get mine serviced each year. He didn't say anything
about cleaning the tank but I'll ask him next time he comes.

Olddog

If you keep the brine tank full of salt that puts a lot of weight on
the wet salt on the bottom. Wet salt + weight = salt bridge and that
is regardless of the brand of water softener.

Keeping enough salt in the brine tank to cover the water and adding as
needed results in fewer salt bridge problems.

If you're paying Rainsoft for yearly service and they are NOT cleaning
your brine tank then what are you getting for your money?

As far as your Rainsoft serviceman... sometimes you can't teach an old
dog new tricks and sometimes you can't teach an old dog any tricks.

wrote in message
...
On Nov 11, 9:25 pm, "olddog" wrote:
wrote in message

...

On Nov 11, 1:55 am, wrote:
On Sat, 8 Nov 2008 15:34:41 -0800 (PST), wrote:
Ok, I'm RENTING a house that has hard water and has a water softener.
I had been in the house for a couple of months and realized that the
salt level in the softener never changed. The system IS NOT ON
BYPASS, I made sure of that, I'm getting water flow. When I went to
poke around in the salt, i realized that it is a solid block. It
looks like the pellets in the bag, but they are fused together. So
from about halfway down the tank to the bottom is a solid chunk of
salt. How can I break up/dissolve the salt without removing the
tank??? I am not going to pay a plumber to come out, and the owner
of
the house doesn't feel it is worth his time/money. The hard water
bothers my skin, so I would like to find a way to fix this. Any
suggestions???

Whatever method you use to break up the solid salt bridge make sure
that you only use one bag of salt at a time. Keep the salt level as
low as possible to prevent this from happening again.

Hot tap water will dissolve that salt block without any chance of
damaging the brine tank. As the salt melts and separates remove and
discard it. Ultimately you'll end up with a lot of water in the brine
tank and that should be removed.

As stated above, it's a good idea to only put enough salt in the brine
tank to cover the water so there isn't lots of weight on the salt at
the bottom.

I've never heard that but you maybe talking about another system. I just
talked to the serviceman for Rain Soft and he said to fill it up. Mine
holds
about 250lbs. But I do get mine serviced each year. He didn't say
anything
about cleaning the tank but I'll ask him next time he comes.

Olddog

If you keep the brine tank full of salt that puts a lot of weight on
the wet salt on the bottom. Wet salt + weight = salt bridge and that
is regardless of the brand of water softener.

Keeping enough salt in the brine tank to cover the water and adding as
needed results in fewer salt bridge problems.

If you're paying Rainsoft for yearly service and they are NOT cleaning
your brine tank then what are you getting for your money?

As far as your Rainsoft serviceman... sometimes you can't teach an old
dog new tricks and sometimes you can't teach an old dog any tricks.

You probably have some good points but I know they are not going to clean
the tank. That would involve taking all the salt out. I'd think that is a
owner's job when the tank runs low. He probably didn't say anything because
the tank appears clean. I don't want to pay him extra to do that anyway.

I'll keep the weight thing in mind but so far no salt bridge problem. It's
full now so I'll let it run down and see what's cookin'

Thanks

Olddog