Why is my water softener always draining?

One possible solution is to reset the timer.

I think I’ve already tried that.

It doesn’t hurt to reset it again. After all, you have to reset it after a long power outage no matter how many times that happens.

What else could it be?

The water softener might be stuck in regeneration mode. Whether that is due to the broken controls or a damaged valve, I don’t know.

I do know a service call is going to drain my wallet.

So will a constantly draining water softener, though the water will probably cost more than the salt. I don’t know how much the resin is going to cost you.

I don’t like these budget leaks.

It could be a leak in the water softener itself. The leak could be anywhere from the tank to a valve to a seal.

What do I do until I get a service tech out?

Put the water softener in bypass mode.

Then I get hard water in my pipes.

You’re getting more damage on the drain pipes and possibly your foundation depending on where the water drains. And wearing out the water softener with useless cycling doesn’t help it.

I’ll try resetting the timer first, since that’s the easiest thing to do.

If you reset the timer and it keeps going, the timing motor itself might be stuck on. Or the control valve might be stuck in the brine phase or backwash part of the cycle.

I wish this was as easy as taking a hammer to the darn thing.

That only works when it has a salt bridge. For a situation like this, it is unlikely there is salt clogging the valve, though that might be the case.

Then I probably have to get it fixed.

Don’t worry, the service tech would be more than happy to sell you a new one.