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My neighbor cleans his washing machine by doing an empty load with bleach and something else… Maybe a load with vinegar? I’d never heard of cleaning a washing machine before.

I had to replace the mixing valve in my shower several times because of hard water. I’d remove the valve, soak it in vinegar and replace it. Moen even sent me another one so I had a demineralized one on hand. But it’s a tight connection and after I had to call the plumber (again) to do the exchange I got a water softener.

@mtnagel Have you tried running the machine (empty) with vinegar instead of detergent? Doing that regularly might help.

My neighbor cleans his washing machine by doing an empty load with bleach and something else… Maybe a load with vinegar? I’d never heard of cleaning a washing machine before.

I had to replace the mixing valve in my shower several times because of hard water. I’d remove the valve, soak it in vinegar and replace it. Moen even sent me another one so I had a demineralized one on hand. But it’s a tight connection and after I had to call the plumber (again) to do the exchange I got a water softener.

How’s the water softener? My wife askedf or one years ago, but I’m not sure we have the space for it, or how hard it is to maintain.

I have no way of knowing how much the softener has extended the life of my appliances but it’s eliminated plumber visits. It’s supposed to have annual servicing but I haven’t done that.

@dangeruss Excellent. Its taller than my Shop Vac but has ~ same footprint. I don’t use a lot of water so need less than a bag of salt ($8) a year. Last year my mixing valve was starting to stick again. Checked the water softener and sure enough, it was low on salt. Added salt and the valve un-stuck. I add a 40# bag of salt at a time. Recently got salt free on FB Marketplace and both “sellers” had an open bag with a scoop used so they must add a scoop at a time.

I have no way of knowing how much the softener has extended the life of my appliances but it’s eliminated plumber visits. It’s supposed to have annual servicing but I haven’t done that.

Did you do the plumbing yourself, or have someone do it? What unit is it and how much did everything cost?

@dangeruss I had a water treatment company install it. I looked but can’t find how much I paid. My guess is ~$1700. There’s no brand name on it but it looks like a Clack. I paid $130 for an annual service visit in 2018 and the guy changed my sediment filter for me too. Researching this for you I learned that there might be a filter in the softener. Maybe I should have another maintenance visit. The cat carrier is for scale. The salt tub takes up more floor space than the softener.

That sounds pretty similar to my setup. I had mine done by a water filtration company Watermart and they were super thorough about explaining everything, including hidden components like the internal filter in the softener. Might be worth having someone out again just for peace of mind. That salt tub really does take over the floor, doesn’t it? 😅