In the brining cycle, the brine is moved from the salt storage tank, and into the resin tank. In the resin tank, brine removes the hardness minerals from the beads and they are released into the drain. Suction is needed to pull brine from the salt tank into the resin tank, the nozzle and venturi produce this suction. The flow of the brine is fed at a slow rate to get the best resin cleaning with the smallest amount of salt. During brine rinse, all the brine goes into the resin tank and the brine valve closes.
Water flows in the same way it did during the brine cycle except that the brine flow has stopped.
Hardness released from the resin beads and brine flush from the resin tank and into the drain. The length of the brine cycle and the brine rinse cycle vary relatively to the fill cycle length. During the backwash cycle, water flows up at a fast rate to flush iron minerals, dirt and sediments from the resin bed and to the drain. The resin bed expands and lifts for cleaning. This fast flow packs the resin beads and gets the softener ready to return to service.