Water Softeners and Air Filtration Systems - Kinetico Mini Kinetic leaked and now constantly running

My parents have a Kinetico Mini Kinetic water softener (looks like it dates from the early Eighites). Yesterday morning the softener was leaking water out of the side of the tank. I turned the water off at the pipe and cleaned up the mess. I turned it back on again a few hours later to ascertain where it was leaking from and to fix the leak. I've had no problems with it leaking since then in fact it hasn't filled up enough to leak. The problem I have now is that the water softener is constantly running and there is a continual flow of water pouring into the drain outside.

My parents are currently away so I don't want to call a plumber and start running up bills for them if it's an easily fixable problem. Any help would be appreciated.

It's an interesting one! The water (brine) level is controlled by the brine valve in the salt tank. Is it the salt tank that was overflowing? Normally the overflow on the salt tank would be connected to a tube leading safely away so that no damage would be caused in the event of an overflow. Check for an obvious leak from the sofener module or any issue with the tube that connects the brine valve.

It should only run to drain during regeneration, so if it's constantly running try a manual regeneration. At the top of the softener main module there's a clear perspex cap with a screwdriver slot in the top. Get a phillips screwdriver and push down and rotate the valve manually until the water stops.

If the softener hasn't been serviced for a while, it may be the valve quads. They control the flow of water to the drain. If you need technical help or to order spare parts, the firm I use is Kinetico Block Salt Softeners (http://www.block-salt-softener.co.uk). They specialise in Kinetico water softeners and carry all the bits as well as new machines.

Thanks for your reply. The leak was from the hose at the side of the salt tank. It was about three quarters full but hasn't been that full since then so I haven't had a chance to tackle that problem properly.

I just carried out your advice with the screwdriver and the perspex cap and all is quiet so thank you very much. That'll hopefully save me having to bother my folks. I shall pass the rest of your advice onto them when they return next week.

Thanks again.