*Water Filter Symptom*
Over the last 6 months or so, we've observed that water flow from our fridge door water dispenser gradually decreases. Each time, replacing the fridge water filter resolves the problem, for about a month. Then, the filter needs to be replaced again to restore good water flow.
That seems too frequent, so I'm wondering if our whole-house water softener has malfunctioned. This fridge is a GE, approx 2 years old. On our previous Kenmore fridge the water filter typically lasted 4-5 months, and that "lasting" was based on an automatic "need-to-change" light, not based on significantly reduced water flow which we're now experiencing with the GE fridge/filter.
*Softener Background*
We replaced the water softener in our house approx 7 years ago with a Whirlpool 44,000 Grain Softener. A plumber installed it. I never did much with/to it other than add salt from some yellow bag from HomeDepot. Once, I used some other brand which turned out to be much finer chunks than what's in the yellow bag. Never did that again.
I'm wondering if our water softener might be malfunctioning and/or unnecessarily adding salt to our water, causing the fridge filter to clog. Maybe it's no longer even needed (if water supply in Williamson County, north of Round Rock, is no longer as hard as it used to be).
Approx 1 year ago, some in the house noticed the water tasted salty, so I lowered the setting on the softener and also noticed that it was set to kCL (Potassium) instead of nACL (Sodium). So, I changed it to NACL. I also bought a bottle of the Whirlpool cleanser and went through the cleaning cycle.
I've never disconnected the softener and hosed it out or anything like that. Is that recommended?
Currently, the bypass is engaged, so no water softening is occurring. I'm about to replace the fridge filter again, so I'll see if the filter clogs while the softener is bypassed.
Any recommendations on water testing services (that don't just use the test as a means of making a sell), or any other recommendations/suggestions?
Over the last 6 months or so, we've observed that water flow from our fridge door water dispenser gradually decreases. Each time, replacing the fridge water filter resolves the problem, for about a month. Then, the filter needs to be replaced again to restore good water flow.
That seems too frequent, so I'm wondering if our whole-house water softener has malfunctioned. This fridge is a GE, approx 2 years old. On our previous Kenmore fridge the water filter typically lasted 4-5 months, and that "lasting" was based on an automatic "need-to-change" light, not based on significantly reduced water flow which we're now experiencing with the GE fridge/filter.
*Softener Background*
We replaced the water softener in our house approx 7 years ago with a Whirlpool 44,000 Grain Softener. A plumber installed it. I never did much with/to it other than add salt from some yellow bag from HomeDepot. Once, I used some other brand which turned out to be much finer chunks than what's in the yellow bag. Never did that again.
I'm wondering if our water softener might be malfunctioning and/or unnecessarily adding salt to our water, causing the fridge filter to clog. Maybe it's no longer even needed (if water supply in Williamson County, north of Round Rock, is no longer as hard as it used to be).
Approx 1 year ago, some in the house noticed the water tasted salty, so I lowered the setting on the softener and also noticed that it was set to kCL (Potassium) instead of nACL (Sodium). So, I changed it to NACL. I also bought a bottle of the Whirlpool cleanser and went through the cleaning cycle.
I've never disconnected the softener and hosed it out or anything like that. Is that recommended?
Currently, the bypass is engaged, so no water softening is occurring. I'm about to replace the fridge filter again, so I'll see if the filter clogs while the softener is bypassed.
Any recommendations on water testing services (that don't just use the test as a means of making a sell), or any other recommendations/suggestions?