Your softener is leaking, running, or scaring you. Start here.

Where is the bypass valve on a water softener?

On the back of the control head — the box on top of the tank where the pipes connect. Follow the two water pipes into the unit; the bypass lives right where they land. It comes in these common shapes around here:

• Two handles (Clack valves, the ones I install): two red arrow handles. The arrows point the way the water flows — inlet arrow into the valve, outlet arrow out to the house = service. Turn both until the arrow tips point at each other = bypass. Clack WS1 quick guide · Your full manual lives in the library
• One knob or lever (many Fleck valves): on the metal bypass, swing the lever until its arrow points at BYPASS, stamped right into the body. (Plastic Fleck bypasses with two small handles or two knobs exist too — follow the markings on yours.) Fleck 5600 quick guide
• Two round knobs (Autotrol, Series 256 bypass): turn both knobs together — “Not in Bypass” is service, “In Bypass” is bypass. Autotrol 255 quick guide
• One round handwheel (Hankscraft ceramic-disc valves, REV4 and REV 2.5): turn it slowly between service and bypass. Ceramic is the current style. REV4 quick guide · REV 2.5 quick guide
• Push-pull knob (some Hankscraft systems, part 41204 — older units): the knob slides in and out, nothing turns. Its service direction is flagged as contested in the push-pull animation until it’s verified on a real unit — check the labeled positions on your unit, and see the animation before you go by any one-liner, including this one.
• Push knob (Culligan and some others): push it in for bypass, pull it back out for service.
• Three plain valves in the pipes (older installs): close the two outside valves (handles across the pipe), open the middle one (handle along the pipe).

Stiff? They get stiff when nobody touches them for years — which is exactly the problem. Open a faucet nearby to drop the pressure and try again. Don't force it with a wrench; a cracked bypass turns a small problem into a big one. Call me instead.

Tap it: pick your valve, watch the handles move

Each animation below is the bypass block on the back of that valve — tap SERVICE / BYPASS inside the animation and watch the handles move and the water reroute inside the bypass block. Ceramic handwheel = the current Hankscraft style. Push-pull = older Hankscraft units.

How do I turn off a water softener that's leaking?

Bypass it (above). Unplugging it is optional — the bypass is what stops the water; the plug only stops the motor and the clock. If it's leaking from the drain line or running water down the drain nonstop, bypass still works: with the unit isolated, the draining stops once the pressure in the tank settles. Then get it looked at — a softener that won't stop running is burning water and salt every hour it sits there.

The power went out. Do I have to reset my softener?

Usually just the clock. If the time of day is wrong, the softener regenerates at the wrong hour — sometimes the middle of your morning shower. Reset the time of day and check the regeneration time is still 2 a.m. (or whenever nobody's using water). After a big storm outage, this is the single most common call I get. Your valve's clock steps are in its quick guide in the manuals library.

Owner tips by email

Leave your email and I'll send the short owner tips — the checks, settings, and reminders that keep a softener out of trouble. No spam, and you can stop it any time.