Water remains hard even though the softener appears to regenerate normally.

Safety: Shut off water and depressurize before opening the resin tank or valve head.

• Test hardness: Measure hardness of both inlet and outlet water. If both are similar, the softener is not exchanging ions effectively.
• Check salt level and type: Ensure the brine tank has adequate high-purity softener salt and that salt bridges are broken up.
• Verify settings: Confirm that the programmed hardness matches actual inlet hardness and that regeneration capacity is appropriate for the resin volume.
• Resin inspection: If the unit is older or exposed to iron, remove the valve head and inspect the resin. If resin beads are mushy, discolored, or significantly reduced in volume, replace the resin with Hansgrohe-compatible cation exchange resin.
• Sanitize and flush: After resin replacement, sanitize the system per Hansgrohe guidelines and run a full regeneration before use.