Water softner - how muchwater is wasted?

[JTsyo]

My water bills have been high and I think it might be due to the wasted water from the softner. For ones I look up, it doesn't really say how much water is needed to soften however many gallons of water.

 

[WilliamM2]

If it's fairly new, not much. 20 to 40 gallons each time it regenerates, depending on size and settings. Modern softeners will meter the water used, and only recharge when needed. Mine does it every 5-7 days. No worse than an extra load of laundry with a top loader.

 

[Elixer]

That depends on your settings.
I think the average amount is 25 gallons or so per month.
I really doubt it is the softener, unless the settings are set to regenerate every day... Most regenerate every 3-4 weeks on average, but then again, it really depends on how hard the water is in your area.

You might have a leak someplace, and that can add up fast.

 

[boomerang]

According to the calculations based on the setting on my softener, it uses 43.8 gallons per regeneration cycle. Mine regenerates based on actual water usage and regenerates approximately once a week.

Backwash - 12G
Brine and Rinse - 19.8G
Rapid Rinse - 9G
Brine Tank Fill - 3G

These are my figures. Yours could vary considerably.

 

[JTsyo]

hmm the water here is pretty hard. I'll have to check it's settings to how often it's regenerating. The county charges me about 1/3 of my bill as excess.

 

[LegendKiller]

That depends on your settings.
I think the average amount is 25 gallons or so per month.
I really doubt it is the softener, unless the settings are set to regenerate every day... Most regenerate every 3-4 weeks on average, but then again, it really depends on how hard the water is in your area.

You might have a leak someplace, and that can add up fast.

3-4 weeks? I think almost all systems/installers recommend not going more than 1-2 weeks before regeneration with 1 week being more of the norm.

 

[boomerang]

The county charges me about 1/3 of my bill as excess.

Sorry, but what does this mean? You have a line item that is "excess"?

 

[JTsyo]

Sorry, but what does this mean? You have a line item that is "excess"?

yea. I guess there's some amount of gallons that are one rate and if you surpass that the remaining usage is at a higher rate. So I'm not using 1/3 more than the allotment but with the higher rates, it's 1/3 of my bill.

 

[boomerang]

yea. I guess there's some amount of gallons that are one rate and if you surpass that the remaining usage is at a higher rate. So I'm not using 1/3 more than the allotment but with the higher rates, it's 1/3 of my bill.

Ah, I see.