How to Plumb Water Softener
Slowly open the main water valve. Check every connection for drips—put a paper towel under each fitting. If it stays dry, you win. If it’s wet, tighten it just a hair (over-tightening cracks plastic, so channel your inner Goldilocks). Then, plug the unit in and run a regeneration cycle. This usually takes two hours, so go binge an episode of something. Your water will be brownish during the first flush; that’s just the factory dust saying goodbye.
Add salt—pellet or block, but read the manual. Gary used rock salt from his driveway, and the unit wheezed like an old accordion. Don’t be Gary. For the love of soft laundry, don’t be Gary.
And there you go: you are now a plumber. The water feels like silk, your soap lathers like a dream, and you never have to descale your coffee maker again. Just remember: it’s bolts and water, not magic and curse words. Now go fix Gary a beer—he probably just flooded his basement.