Every year or so your softener needs a bath itself so it can give you a nice bath back. If your water softener doesn't work the way it used to it is probably fouled. The resin inside your system gets coated and is unable to remove the minerals, like used scotch tape trying to stick to something. Resin is sticky, and when it gets coated, it doesn't work well.  All softener over time has the resin degrade, although resin properly taken care of should last 20 years. This is a one shot product and simple to use. There is no stronger, more concentrated product on the market and one simple 6 ounce bottle does the trick. Buying a gallon of another brand is a complete waste, as it will go bad in about a year and this one bottle will do a better job.  Simply pour this bottle into your salt/brine tank and run your regeneration cycle twice back-to-back.  do this once a year and you will be pleased with the results.  Your softener must be functioning for this product to work.