The beads are ready to once again attract hardness ions from the water. Many installed water softeners are fully automatic. An automatic unit regenerates according to a preset clock. For example, it might be set to regenerate every third night at 3am. Other systems may use an electronic sensor that regenerates the system according to water usage.
Automatic softeners regenerate on a schedule regulated by a timer.
DIR softeners are the most sophisticated, containing a hardness sensor or water meter which triggers regeneration as needed. There are several factors that a person must take into consideration before purchasing a softener, including the number of people in the home, how much water is used, and the hardness of the water. Determining the size of the softener, knowing these factors, is rather simple. For example, four people in a household will likely use 300 gallons of water per day. Multiply the 300 gallons per day by the number of grains per gallon of hardness present in your water.