Is the auto-regen working? Maybe the timer and/or flow sensors aren't working and it's only ever regenerating when you do it manually.

Do you have the hardness numbers before & after the softener? The service people should have given you those numbers to prove that it's working.

If your service guy is trying to upsell you to something you don't need (can't really see the relationship with a chlorine filter), I'd be shopping around for a new service provider.

Thanks Brad. He said the chlorine in the water (again very little) is wearing down the components... but he didn't check any components to know this. I agreed with him that it was working when he was here (I have test strips and you can feel it). But I told him it will only offer soft water for a few days. Here I am a few days later, and the water is completely hard again. I am looking to bring in a non-kinetico repair service to help. I found a softener company that services all brands. Very dissappointed in Kinetico--they were known to be the best.

I will tell you up front I'm not a big fan of Kinetico. I think they are way over-priced and they really lock you into their ecosystem. That said, they generally have decent hardware.

The service can be hit or miss - and that's a big problem since you are locked into their dealers / service. If you only have one in your area and they aren't great, you are stuck. They limit repair parts to dealers.

Keep in mind that a good, Fleck valve based water softener with 10% cross-linked resin (resists chlorine better) is about $600 on Amazon - delivered. These are standard water softeners with one of the best control valves made- that everyone can service.

Also know that the resin bed in a water softener lasts 10-15 years. At 8 years you are at least half-way. Replacing the resin is something that's done, but with the Kinetico you will be paying through the nose again.

Thank Jake. I used to be a fan of kinetico, not so much now. I keep hearing about fleck systems. I like the non-proprietary parts, etc.

Also, don’t judge the rebed time on the resin against other softeners. As has been said here. Kinetico softeners regenerate the resin with clean, soft water instead of hard, raw water. I have seen kinetico softeners with 30 year old resin working perfectly.

Thanks for all the replies--it was helpful. I gave up on the local Kinetico dealer and had another company (non-kinetico) come out same day (kinetico was taking about a week). The new one actually took things apart to investigate and noticed debris in the flow control valve. He cleaned it fully--the softener has been working beautifully since June.

Guess what ? When this kinetico system goes kaput, I am tearing it out and going with this other company (they sell Fleck). Not because of the product, although I have heard great things about Fleck, but because of the "horrid" response time and service received from the Kinetico dealer and immediate and satisfactory service I received from the other one. Still not sure why Kinetico came out and took apart NOTHING and left. Twice. That's bad. Thankfully my problem is solved and I have a good softener supplier to rely on now.

"Kinetico won’t even warranty the resin with chlorinated water."

Virtually all municipal water is chlorinated. You are telling me that the warranty is void on the Kinetico resin bed unless you add another very expensive filter to it? Seriously?!? I'm surprised you didn't just say, "The warranty is void if the resin is exposed to water".

The $600 Fleck based unit I can get on Amazon has 10% cross-linked resin that is more resistant to chlorine than standard resin. I would expect to get at least 15 years out of it. At that point I can replace the resin or replace the entire softener. I'm still miles ahead of a very expensive Kinetico softener.

" As has been said here. Kinetico softeners regenerate the resin with clean, soft water instead of hard, raw water."

And why does that matter? The resin is going to be exposed to "hard, raw water" the other 99% of the time it's operating - that's its job, after all.

This is just another example of a difference that doesn't matter with Kinetico.