DIY guideWater quality
Find where the water softener drains
Follow the softener's small drain hose to a floor drain or a standpipe, and check its end is held in place, above the water.
- 5 to 10 min
- 6 steps
- Every step animated

6 steps
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A small flexible hose runs off the back of the softener's head: that's its drain line. The salt tank may have one too.
Follow the hose along the floor or the wall to where it ends.
It should end over a floor drain, a laundry sink or a standpipe, not on the floor.
Its end should be held above the drain with a gap of air, never pushed down into the water.
Check it isn't kinked or crushed, and that a clip or a tie holds its end so it can't jump out.
Water on the floor after it cleans itself, or a hose that ends in a wall or ground: ask Handyman for a plumber.
What you need
- A flashlight
- A cable tie, if its end is loose
Call a pro if
- Water on the floor after it regenerates
- The hose ends in the wall or the ground
- The hose is cracked or too short to reach

Handyman says: Water on the floor? I'll find a plumber.
Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.
Rather have
a pro do it?







