Tech Support Guide
On this page we have listed some of the most common questions we receive for support. Please try to utilize this guide before contacting us for phone support. If you still have questions, please call our tech support department at 412-828-6003.
Questions in this guide:
1. Where do I send my water sample for free testing?
2. How do I troubleshoot my degassing Chemical feeder pump?
3. How do I sanitize my water pipes?
4. How do I figure out how much Soda Ash I need to use in my Chemical Feeder?
5. How do I sanitize my Reverse Osmosis (RO) Drinking Filter
6. How do I do a simple in-home tannins test?
8. How do I do a manual backwash?
9. Can my filter be installed outdoors?
10. How do I stop my brine (salt) tank from overfilling?
11. How much bleach should I be using in my Chemical Feeder?
12. How do I replace my Chemical Feeder Tube?
13. How often should I replace my filter cartridges?
15. Why is there no water in my home during a regeneration?
16. Why is my demand water softener not regenerating?
17. Why is my softener not using any salt?
18. How much salt should be in my brine tank?
19. How long does a backwash/regeneration take?
20. Why is water going out the drain even when my system is not in backwash/regeneration?
21. How do I know if my well water has Coliform or E. coli?
22. How do I place my filter/softener in bypass.
23. Why is my control valve’s screen blank?
ANSWERS:
1. Where do I send my water sample for free testing?
Water Filters of America Water Testing
***PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WITH YOUR SAMPLE***
Questions? Please call us at: 1-800-684-0979
Name: ________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________
City & State: __________________________________________________
Phone: _______________________
Email: ___________________________________________________________
Water source: City______ Private Well______ Other______
Please send sample to:
WFOA Free Water Testing
4920 3rd St
Mckeesport, PA 15132
A plastic bottle with a plastic lid such as a 12 or 16 ounce water or soda bottle would be OK. Rinse it well with raw untreated water. DO NOT use any soaps or cleaners to clean the bottle, as this will possibly alter your test. Fill the bottle completely full with so there is no air in the bottle, and send it to us immediately. It is always best to overnight the sample if possible. Try not to send it on a Friday or Saturday as it may sit for the weekend before testing.
Our friendly expert water techs will contact you the moment our lab has the results. We look forward to receiving your sample.
2. How do I troubleshoot my degassing Chemical feeder pump?
To check the pressure on your chemical pump.
Make sure the degassing hose that comes out of the top of the pump has some water in it, It must have water in it for the pump to prime.
Remove the Chemical pump from the Solution tank.
Remove the suction hose on the bottom of the chemical pump that goes down into the solution tank at the chemical pump.
Remove the injection hose from the injector valve that is in your water line, keeping this hose attached to the chemical pump.
Place the suction nozzle that the suction hose was attached to on the chemical pump into a container of water.
Get the pump to turn on, by opening a faucet in the home to get water flowing and causing your pressure switch to send power to the chemical pump.
Once the chemical pump turns on, hold your thumb over the end of the injection hose, and see what the pressure is like.
It should squirt out around your finger about like a squirt gun.
If it does squirt out, then you need to clean the screen at the end of the suction hose down inside the solution tank , and the injection valve.
The injection valve comes apart and has a ball, seat, and spring inside. Vinegar and water is the best thing to clean these with.
Turn off your water and open a faucet to release pressure in your system before removing the injection nozzle from you plumbing.
If is does not squirt out, then you may need to replace the diaphragm, and possibly some balls, seats, and spring in the KOP.
They can be reached by removing the 4 screws on the faceplate where all the hoses connect.
You can try cleaning the balls seats and springs with vinegar and water sometimes it is just sediment causing them not to seat properly.
If you touch the diaphragm and any of the black from the diaphragm rubs off it, it is worn and needs replacing.
3. How do I sanitize my water pipes?
Here is the method to sanitize your pipes, and flush your Terminox with bleach using your Chemical Feeder/Chlorine injection.
Best to do at night when no water will be used.
Start with just 5 gallons of water, and 1 quart of bleach in your chlorine injector’s solution tank.
If you have a Terminox or Carbon filter, Bypass them.
Go to the furthest faucet in your home and open the faucet until you smell bleach.
Then work your way back doing the same to every faucet, and flush every toilet until you smell bleach.
Let that sit OVERNIGHT, or at least 4 hours.
In the Meantime,
Take any filters you may have put into bypass out of bypass.
If you have a Terminox, run two manual backwashes through your Terminox
Then in the morning or after at least 4 hours, make up your normal injection solution in your solution tank.
Then do the same as before, opening every faucet, this time until you don’t smell bleach anymore.
4. How do I figure out how much Soda Ash I need to use in my Chemical Feeder?
To figure out how to get you pH where it needs to be with a chemical feeder using soda ash.
First, your test point must be after the chemical feeder’s injection point, BUT BEFORE the Terminox Filter.
If you do not have a place you can test before the Terminox we recommend adding one . But if you don’t have one you must put the filter in bypass.
Then turn on the faucet. Let the faucet run until your Well Pump kicks on so that the chemical pump turns on. Then let it run a while to allow the treated water to get to the where you are sampling from. Then test the water.
Your goal is to get the water to 7.6 or above. If your test is not at 7.6 or above then you need to add more soda ash and repeat this process.
5. How do I sanitize my Reverse Osmosis (RO) Drinking Filter
Drain the storage tank
Take out all the filters
Add 2 tablespoons of bleach into the sediment housing.
Replace all housings with no filters in them.
Open the RO faucet until you smell bleach.
Allow it to sit overnight.
Open the RO faucet until you no longer smell bleach.
Replace all filters, and membrane.
Fill and drain storage tank twice with filtered water.
6. How do I do a simple in-home tannins test?
To do a home tannins test is very simple.
Fill a glass with the discolored water. NOTE: It must be clear and made of glass.
Ad a teaspoon of bleach.
Allow it to sit over night.
If the color clears it is probable that it is iron causing the discoloration. If it does not, or just partially clears then you have tannins. Tannins are not effected by bleach,
and require a tannins specific filter.
7. How far apart should I space my backwash times when I have multiple backwashing filters and softeners?
You should space the backwash times one hour apart. Setting the times starting with
The filter that the water first goes through the earliest and the last filter the latest.
8. How do I do a manual backwash?
Depending on your control valve it can vary.
Autotrols: have a button all the way to the right that looks like a recycle symbol.
Just hold it down for 5 seconds.
765: Has a dial you just turn clockwise to Ba. Wa. BUT never advance the dial beyond backwash manually, if you need to advance it out of backwash hols the Up and Down arrows at the same time.
89 and 95: Hit the MENU button, Go to Manual Regeneration hit SET, go to Regenerate Now, and hit set.
WFOA 100 Series: First you have to unlock by holding Both ARROW buttons then just press the button all the way to the left that looks like a hand with a finger pointing.
9. Can my filter be installed outdoors?
Yes BUT they need to be covered and protected from weather like rain, freezing and even direct Sunlight can damage the components. We also recommend you purchase an outdoor transformer.
10. How do I stop my brine (salt) tank from overfilling?
The number one cause of a brine tank over filling is an air leak has developed in the brine hose, usually occurring at the end of the hose.
Simply remove the brine hose, remove the fittings from both ends, and using something very sharp like a new box cutter blade or a razor blade. Go back about ¼” or so and make a new cut. Do this to both ends of the hose. The put it back together, remove any excess water from the brine tank, get it down to about 12” from the bottom of the brine tank. The run a manual regeneration and see how much water is replaced in the brine tank. If it is still overfilling then you may need to clean the injectors.
11. How much bleach should I be using in my Chem Feeder?
Start with 1 cup to 15 gallons of water. If you are fighting strong odors then increase that ½ a cup at a time until you no longer have odors, but also do not smell bleach getting through as well.
12. How do I replace my Chemical Feeder Tube?
Your new feeder tube will appear to be too short, it is not. It is a good idea to soak the new feeder tube in warm, not too hot, water for a few minutes. This will make it easier to work with. Start by placing the end of the feeder tube into the slot on the SUCTION side first. Then turn on a faucet to get your pressure switch to send power to the pump and use the rollers to help feed the tube around till you can place the other end in its slot on the injection side.
13. How often should I change my filter cartridges?
Reverse Osmosis: Pre and post filters every year. Membrane every 3-5 years. (This can vary if you are removing a lot of junk out of your water)
Whole House filters: For carbon and sediment filters. The average is between 6 months to 1 year. That can vary depending on the size of the filter, usage, and the quality of your raw water. With these filters you will probably notice when a change is needed. Chemical odors in your water start coming back, sediment starts showing up, or even a reduced flow due to the filter being clogged.
Other filters like nitrate, arsenic, and tannin filters. These can vary widely depending on usage, and the amount of the substance in the water that needs to be removed. Testing should give you an idea on the life of these types of filters.
14. Why is the level of the solution in my tank for my injection system with a peristaltic injection pump not going down?
The two most common reasons for the solution not to get used are. 1 The feeder tube is worn and needs to be replaced. It is a ware item, and your pump even came with the first replacement. A sure sign that the feeder tube needs replacing is fluid leaking from the injection pump. 2 The injection nozzle that is installed into you water line is clogged. There is a possibility it can be cleaned by taking it apart and soaking it in a solution of vinegar and water. If the check valve has fail the injection nozzle may need to be replaced.
15. Why is there no water in my home during a regeneration?
This is normal and why we regenerate filters/softener in the middle of the night when no one is usually using water. The valving inside most control valves stop water from getting past them for a couple of reasons. They need all the flow rate available to regenerate/backwash properly. The other reason is you do not want to suck the nasty water that is being backwashed out of your filtration system into your home. You should avoid using water while your system is regenerating.
16. Why is my demand water softener not regenerating?
A demand water softener regenerates by counting the gallons of water that have passed through it. It is programmed with the hardness of the water in Grains Per Gallon GPG. It’s capacity is also programmed in. There is a sensor that plugs into the incoming or outgoing water line depending on the control valve your softener has. If that sensor is not plugged into it’s receptacle, or in the case of the S100 control valve the wrong receptacle then the control valve cannot count how many gallons of water have passed through it and does not know when to regenerate. If it is in it’s proper receptacle then there could be an issue with the impeller, and it may need to be cleaned or replaced.
17. Why is my softener not using any salt?
If this is a new install, then give it some time our demand softeners are very efficient and may not use as much salt as a previous softener you may have had in the past. Other reasons are a salt bridge. Check the salt make sure it has not become a solid especially towards the bottom where the salt touches the water, and the salt is not being suspended above the water. Another reason is to be sure the capacity gallons are counting down, so your softener knows when to regenerate. If the capacity is not counting down then you need to check that the sensor is connected into the proper receptacle, or that the impeller is functioning properly.
18. How much salt should be in my brine tank?
The number one rule is, your salt should be higher than the water in the brine tank. Water should be somewhere between 7″ and 12″ from the bottom of the brine tank, and the salt should be above the water level. Any water above the salt will not brine because salt water is heavier than fresh water. You can keep the salt just above the water or fill the brine tank to the top with salt that is up to you. Just be warned that filling the brine tank all the way with salt increases the slim chance of causing a salt bridge.
19. How long does a backwash/regeneration take?
Most filters are set to backwash for a total of 30 minutes. 15 minutes of backwash, 15 minutes of renice. Softeners can vary depending on the control valve and capacity of the softener. Most control valves regenerate for 1 to 1.5 hours. Our new S100 does not regenerate based on time but by gallons passed through it. So, depending on your flow rate and the capacity of the softener it can take as little as 10 to 30 minutes to complete it’s regeneration.
20. Why is water going out the drain even when my system is not in backwash/regeneration?
This what is called a leak to drain. It could be caused by a piece of sediment or something else causing the valving inside the control valve to stick open allowing water to get by. Most control valves this can be fixed by cleaning the parts that are sticking. In some cases the parts may have gotten worn out and they may need to be replaced.
21. How do I know if my well water has Coliform or E. coli?
The only way to know is to have the water tested by an independent lab. Needless to say, it is very important to know if your water contains Coliform, E. coli, or any other harmful contaminates so you should have it tested. We offer a wide range paid testing though an independent lab for Coliform E.coli and other possible harmful contaminates in your water. Those tests can be found on this page. Professional water testing for well water. BUDGET PRICES! (waterfiltersofamerica.com)
22. How do I place my filter/softener in bypass.
You should have ordered the bypass valve for your filter’s/softener’s control valve. They are two valve handles usually red in color one on the incoming and one on the outgoing side of the water connections on the control valve. To place the filter in bypass BOTH must be turned 90 degrees to where they are across the flow of water coming into and out of the filter.
23. Why is my control valve’s screen blank?
A blank screen is usually a power supply issue. Start at the beginning and check the breaker box in your home. Then the transformer/power supply for the control valve. If you have two backwashing filters you can do this very simply by swapping the power supplies to see if one is bad. If not, then replacing the power supply would be the first step. If that does not fix the issue then we may need to move on to replacing the control panel.