Water Softener Winterization Guide

In the Midwest, when the days get shorter and the nights grow colder, it’s time to start the process of winterizing your cabin for the long months ahead.

You may have many “to-dos” on your winter checklist before you can officially close up your cabin, but make sure water softener winterization is at the top of the list.

If your cabin is using a home water softener, like Kinetico, to help improve its taste, remove rust, and protect your appliances, it’s fair to say you want to keep it running at optimal level when you reopen your cabin in the spring. If you winterize your plumbing system it’s important you winterize your water softener properly, as well, to avoid damaging the valve and/or tank.

Failure to do so can potentially ruin your system and make for an unpleasant surprise in March.

How to Winterize Your Water Filtration System

1. Turn the system to bypass and disconnect the unit from the bypass.
2. Remove the control valve from the media tank. (We recommend storing the entire control valve in warm storage due to water being in several small valves and ports throughout the valve.)
3. Drain the water out of the media tank/s. (Note: some systems have two resin tanks; both need to be drained.)
   • After the tank/s have drained, we recommend dropping 5-10 pellets of water softener salt down the distributer tube.
   • Because resin holds water, it’s common to have some water drain out of the resin after the tank has been initially drained and creating another 2-3” of water in the bottom of the tank.
   • By dropping some salt pellets down the tube, it creates a saline water solution and prevents this small amount of water from freezing and damaging the bottom of the tank or the distributer tube.
4. Remove the brine assembly from the brine tank and drain the water out of the assembly.
   • Don’t worry about the water in the brine tank, as long as there is salt in it.  The salt creates a saline solution so it will not freeze.
   • If the tank is out of salt, then this water must be drained out also.
5. Put an air tight cover or cap on the media tank/s to prevent insects and dirt from getting inside your tanks.
6. In the spring, when you put everything back together, we do recommend sanitizing the system at start up to ensure no contaminants entered the system during the winterization.
7. Always refer to your owner’s manual for any additional recommendations.

Protect Your Cabin Water Softener with Aquarius

At Aquarius Water Conditioning, we’ve helped families throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin find the water softening solutions they need to enjoy quality water from home or at the cabin. To learn more about the benefits of upgrading to a water filtration system, contact us for a free cabin water analysis today!

If you are planning to utilize your cabin this winter, check out our blog on how to protect your water softener in the winter.