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We installed a Kenmore Genius II water softener 10+ years ago, and with the exception of refilling it with salt every so often (actually I use the potassium chloride) I've completely neglected it. And it hasn't really complained - as far as I know, it is quietly humming along doing its thing. The water pressure in the house might be less than it was 10 years ago, it's kind of hard to know for sure. This last time as I refilled it, I noticed a sticker inside the lid telling me how to clean the nozzle and venturi, and it got me wondering if that was something I was supposed to be doing every so often. Which, in turn, got me wondering if there was other maintenance I was supposed to be doing every so often. And should I run a hardness test on the water to see if it is in fact doing its job? Thanks for all advice, Chris p.s. The input is city water (chlorinated etc.), if that makes a difference.

I installed a water softener in our residential house 13 years ago (a Kenmore Genius II model 625.348670) and have pretty much ignored it that whole time (except for giving it new potassium when it asked nicely). Now I'm seeing that it's causing a huge drop in pressure and/or flow which I think has been growing over the past 3-5 years. When I turn on the laundry tub in the basement full blast (it has just a standard-issue kitchen-type faucet), the faucet in the kitchen stops running completely. Zero flow. If I switch the softener into bypass mode, I have plenty of water in both places. This happens all over the house, not just those two sinks, but those made an easy test. There is a note on the machine to check the venturi regularly (which I have not been doing) but I pulled it out and it looked absolutely fine, no buildup of any sort or clogging. What should I do with this beast? Is there something I can replace, or do I need to get a whole new unit? How can I figure out what is going wrong? As always thanks in advance for your advice, Chris