After adding salt, your water softener needs time to regenerate. Think of it like a washing machine: it rinses, recharges, and gets back to work. This usually takes about two hours, but newer machines do it quietly at night.
You don't need to stand there with a stopwatch. Go make a cup of tea. The softener's timer or sensor will kick off a regeneration cycle automatically. No manual labor required—just a little patience.
