Water softener problems in a Las Vegas home, from salty taps to low pressure

Why is there salty water from my water softener?

Salty water means brine is reaching your taps: the recharge didn’t rinse all of it out of the resin before the softener went back to work. Morton’s help centre puts it down to wrong settings, a partly blocked drain line or a leaking seal. Pentair’s troubleshooting guide lists “salt water to service” with two causes, too much water in the salt tank and low water pressure, and WaterBoss’s adds a plugged injector, a restricted drain line or brine line, and a brine valve that drips back into the tank.

Check these in order:

1. The settings. Morton’s first step is to confirm that the model code stored in the control matches the code printed on the softener’s rating label.
2. The injector and drain hose. The injector (Morton calls it the venturi) draws brine in during a recharge, and the drain hose carries the rinse water away. Morton has owners bypass the softener, take the venturi apart, wash the pieces in warm, soapy water and clear the tiny flow plugs with a paper clip, then pull the drain elbow and blow through the hose to prove it’s open.
3. Your water pressure. WaterBoss says to keep at least 20 psi. The Las Vegas Valley Water District says pressure in its system ranges from about 30 to 100 psi, depending on how high your home sits compared with the reservoir serving your area, and that peak demand can make it fluctuate. A pressure gauge on an outside faucet tells you where you are. For a supply that dips now and then, WaterBoss suggests a check valve on the softener’s inlet line, subject to local plumbing codes.
4. The salt tank’s water level. Too much water makes too much brine. The section on a tank full of water, below, covers that.

Then run a manual recharge (about 2½ hours on Morton’s models) and taste a softened cold tap afterwards. If it is still salty, Morton points to the O-rings on the distributor inside the resin tank, a parts job. If the salty taste only follows each recharge, Morton suggests lengthening the backwash and fast rinse by two minutes at a time.

A softener that works properly still adds sodium, it just shouldn’t taste of it. How much it adds on valley water is on softened water and sodium in Las Vegas.

Water softener not using salt? Why the level stays put

If the salt hasn’t gone down in weeks, the softener is either not recharging or not dissolving the salt. On valley water it should be getting through it steadily. Here’s what our calculator expects at a setting of 16:

Morton’s checklist for little or no salt use runs in this order:

• Is it counting water? A metered softener only recharges after it has measured enough water. On Morton’s models you hold the Program/Select button until “000” appears, run a hot tap, and watch the number climb. If it doesn’t, the softener isn’t metering and won’t recharge. First make sure the bypass is in the service position: WaterBoss lists a valve left on bypass as a reason no flow shows.
• Is there a salt bridge? A hard crust can form with a hollow underneath, so the water never reaches the salt above it. How to find and break one is under unclogging, below.
• Does the tank fill during a recharge? No water in the tank means no brine. Pentair’s guide blames a blocked brine line or brine valve, or a refill flow control that is missing, plugged or the wrong size.

The setting matters too. Morton says a hardness number set too low means the softener can’t keep up with the household, and Pentair says the opposite fault, recharging too often, uses too much salt. Check yours against Las Vegas water softener settings.

Why is my water softener full of water?

Water standing above the salt means brine isn’t being drawn out during the recharge, or extra water is getting in. A brine tank that isn’t draining has the same causes. Pentair’s troubleshooting guide traces “excessive water in the brine tank” to a valve that fails to draw brine, a refill flow control that is missing or the wrong size, or a leak inside the valve between the rotor and seal disk. Its list of reasons a valve won’t draw brine includes low operating pressure, a plugged injector or injector filter, a restricted drain line, and a kinked or leaking brine line. WaterBoss adds a sticking refill valve.

Morton’s step-by-step for excess water starts with the simple things:

1. Lift the cover and look for drips at the inlet and outlet that could be filling the tank.
2. Check the drain set-up: the valve’s drain hose and the salt tank’s overflow hose should run to the drain separately, never joined. Morton’s limits for its drain hose are 8 feet up and 30 feet across, with a gap of 1 to 1½ inches of air between the hose end and the drain.
3. Blow through the drain hose to clear it.
4. Only then test for a leak inside the valve, which Morton fixes by replacing the rotor and seal kit.

Water coming out of the overflow elbow onto the garage floor is the same fault showing itself; see water softener leaking in Las Vegas for the overflow and drain hose checks.

Is it normal to have water in the bottom of a water softener tank?

Yes, a few inches. Morton says it is normal for its salt tanks to hold 0 to 4 inches of water at the bottom, after 3 gallons are added at installation. The level rises when the tank refills during a recharge, then drops back. WaterBoss starts its cabinets with 2 gallons and says the softener sets the amount itself after the first recharge. Water above the salt is the fault covered in the section above. Makers’ levels differ, so your own manual’s figure is the one to go by. How the refill, float and grid plate fit together is on water softener brine tank.

Can a water softener cause low water pressure?

Yes. The quickest test comes from the water district: put the softener on bypass and see whether the pressure comes back. If it does, the district says the softener is probably the cause and may need servicing or replacing.

Every softener costs some pressure. WaterBoss lists a drop of 15 psi at a flow of 8 gallons a minute for its models. A drop well beyond normal points inside the tank: Pentair links lost pressure to mineral or iron build-up in the resin, plugged or crushed distributors, or a plugged riser pipe.

If bypassing the softener changes nothing, the district’s list of other causes is worth working through:

• Only some taps are weak: clogged aerators, which the district says can collect scale and debris; our guide to cleaning calcium buildup on faucets covers the soak.
• Every tap is weak: a pressure reducing valve set too low. Most plumbers recommend 35 to 60 psi, the district says, and adjustments are a plumber’s job.
• Only the hot side: the water heater, or its shut-off valve not fully open.
• Anywhere: the house shut-off valve, often near the softener or water heater, not fully open; or a leak on the property.

How to know if your water softener is working

Test the water rather than judging by how it feels. Morton’s check goes like this:

1. The bypass is in the service position.
2. The hardness setting is right: 16 on water district water. Henderson’s figures are on Las Vegas water softener settings.
3. The meter counts when a tap runs.
4. There is salt in the tank, and no bridge.
5. Run a manual recharge, then test several softened taps with a hardness test strip. Morton calls 0 to 3 grains per gallon (0 to 50 ppm) soft.

For contrast, test a tap that isn’t softened. Unsoftened district water should read about 16 grains. In many homes the outside faucets are left off the softener; Pentair’s installation steps bypass them in most cases.

No strips? Morton’s soap test: fill a bottle a third full, add a few drops of pure liquid soap and shake. Soft water makes plenty of fluffy bubbles; hard water makes few. A dissolved-solids (TDS) meter won’t help. Valley water starts at 591 ppm of dissolved solids, and Morton says a softener swaps minerals rather than removing them, so the reading barely moves.

How do you unclog a water softener?

Most “clogs” are a salt bridge, or a blocked injector or drain line. Start with the salt.

Salt bridge. Morton says bridges come from high humidity, the wrong type of salt, a very full tank or long gaps between recharges. To check, push a broom handle straight down into the salt in a few places, or knock on the side of the tank from the salt line down: a solid sound near the bottom suggests a block of salt, a hollow sound a bridge. Morton’s fix:

1. Scoop out as much salt as you can.
2. Pour 2 to 3 gallons of hot tap water into the brinewell (the tube in the tank).
3. Wait 45 to 60 minutes for it to soften the crust.
4. Run a recharge, then break up what’s left with the broom handle.
5. Repeat until the hard salt is gone.

WaterBoss suggests the broom handle, or hot water poured around the inside edge to loosen the salt. To stop it coming back, Morton recommends pellets, nuggets or coarse solar salt with less than 1 percent impurities, keeping the salt between levels 2 and 4 on the brinewell’s scale, an occasional stir, and setting a maximum number of days between recharges. Our guide to buying softener salt in Las Vegas covers the types.

Injector. Morton recommends cleaning the nozzle and venturi once a year. WaterBoss says to clean the nozzle and throat with a wooden toothpick.

What are the signs your water softener is going bad?

Hard water coming back is the main one. Morton’s list of what to look for around the house includes spotty glassware after a dishwasher cycle, white crust on faucets, scale inside appliances, needing more soap to get a lather, scratchy clothes, and lower water pressure.

Two signs point to the inside of the softener. Orange or brown beads in your water, which the water district says some owners call “fish eggs”, are softener media breaking through. And if the water is still hard after every check above, Morton’s last step is the distributor O-rings.

Age counts as well. Morton says even the best models last about 10 years, depending on use and upkeep. Whether to repair or replace, and what to ask a technician, is on water softener repair and service in Las Vegas. If it’s replacement time, a family of four on valley water needs about a 40,000-grain softener; other household sizes are on how big a water softener for Las Vegas.

Sources for this page

• Las Vegas Valley Water District · water pressure page and water quality questions page (checked October 2026); water quality summary (2026, 2025 data) · 30 to 100 psi; bypass test and other low-pressure causes; 35 to 60 psi; softener media in tap water; 16 grains per gallon; 591 ppm dissolved solids.
• Morton Water Softeners · help centre troubleshooting articles on salty taste, little or no salt use, excess water in the tank, salt tank water level, salt bridges, cleaning the venturi, testing for hard water, whether a softener is working and signs it is failing · checked October 2026.
• Pentair · whole-house softener owner’s manual · 2020 · troubleshooting causes for salt water to service, excess brine tank water, failure to draw brine or refill, too much salt and lost pressure; outside faucets bypassed.
• WaterBoss · owner’s manual for models 700, 900 and 950 · 2020 · causes of salty water and excess water; 20 psi minimum; check valve; 15 psi pressure drop; starting water level; salt bridge and injector cleaning.