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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
Find where the water softener drains: the animation’s first picture

6 steps

Tap a step to watch it again.

  1. 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.

  2. Follow the hose along the floor or the wall to where it ends.

  3. It should end over a floor drain, a laundry sink or a standpipe, not on the floor.

  4. Its end should be held above the drain with a gap of air, never pushed down into the water.

  5. Check it isn't kinked or crushed, and that a clip or a tie holds its end so it can't jump out.

  6. 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.

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