Water Softener Resin Cleaning And Replacing Procedure (Updated)

At present, the water softener is an important home appliance. It removes minerals i.e., Magnesium or calcium, iron from the bed of hard water. Water softener absorbs useless minerals by using resin beads.

It replaces the minerals of hard water with a salt such as sodium, potassium.

But to ensure the smooth service of your water softener you need to clean the resin when it is necessary. 

The following guideline will help you to know details about water softener resin cleaning and replacing procedure.

Cleaning Procedure of Water Softener Resin

A standard water softener requires cleaning every 1 year to every 5 years.

However,

it mainly depends on the type of water you use. After a certain period, the resin can be full of iron and other minerals.

As a result,

the normal softening procedure of the water softener becomes ineffective, i.e., it won’t deliver the soft water.

To clean the water softener resin, you need to choose the right product which will suit to your water softener.

Cleaning the resin beads is the first steps of the cleaning procedure.

There are different brand’s water softener resin cleaners available in the market. Iron out (R) is one of the effective resins cleaner among them.

It’s important to choose the right resin cleaner for resin bed cleaning.

Follow the manufacturer instruction to put the process “Bypass Mode.”

This way,

water can bypass the softener for a small period so that the cleaning process can be completed.

Cleaning Process

• Schedule the cleaning work: A modern water softener resin can continue 5 to 20 years without cleaning. Clean the resin while it does not supply flat water. Make a routine to clean the resin.
• Disconnect all water pipes of the water softening system. Then, remove the whole water and make sure that the resin vessel is empty. Keep the garbage away from your garden because salt may kill the plants.
• Discharge the water on the drain. Don’t pour it on the lawn; if you do so, it’ll overflow the surroundings.
• You need to take out the existing salt and abandon it. Warm water helps to break the solid salt. So you need to use hot or warm water to break the salt bridge of brine tank.
• Make a mixture of detergent into a big bucket. Pour the mixture into the tank and scrub the whole tank thoroughly.
• You can use a soft hand brush to clean the tank with soapy water.
• You can also use bleaching powder for further cleaning. Mix 60 ml bleaching powder with 8-10 liter water into the tank.
• Thud and scour the bleach water.
• After using the bleach solutions, use more fresh water for cleaning that tank.

It’s wise to maintain a checklist of cleaning the water softener resin.

You should always wear PPE (i.e., Hand gloves, Face musk, etc.) during cleaning work.

Replacing Procedure of the Water Softener Resin

A water softener resin bed usually lasts 10 to 15 years, but over time it can be damaged before the timeline.

If it is damaged and fails to supply soft water, you will have to replace it with the new one.

The main reason for damaging the resin is city water contains too much chlorine and chlorine damages the resin bed.

If your resin bed damaged you need to replace it immediately.

Replacing Procedure

Necessary tool: A screwdriver & a resin funnel

Required materials for replacing work: New resin, riser tube, and gravel.

• Dismiss the water supply: Before starting the replacing work, dismiss the water supply.
• Disconnect the plumbing line: You need to disconnect the plumbing line.
• Open the control head: Now open the control head.           
• Eliminate the water tube: You must remove the water tube.
• Remove the damaged resin: Before installing the new resin, remove the old resin from the tank.
• Replace the old resin: After removing the old resin, you have to replace the new one at the same place.  
• Rejoin control head: Make sure you rejoin the control head.
• Connect the plumbing again: After joining the control head re-connect the plumbing line.
• Test the quality of water: Check the quality of water after replacing the new water softener resin.
• Close the lid: And finally, close every point of the lid correctly. You need a screwdriver for this work. Ensure the lid is leak proof.

Some Precautions

Skin Contact: Wash your hand and skin with soap or water after finishing the replacing work.

If you feel discomfort, take rest in the open air after completing the work. If you still don’t feel comfort get the doctor’s advice.            

Eye contact: Wash your eyes with cold water. You should remove the contact lenses if possible.

How to Dispose of the Resin?

To protect the environment and ensures green health, additional materials should be disposed of properly.

Normally Solid and Liquid resin is available in the market.

After its life span expiration, these materials need to dispose of.

1. Solid Resin: Ensure the environment-friendly disposal of solid resin.
2. Liquid Resin: Uncured liquid resin should be disposed of as per local regulations. Please don’t dump into the drain or water.

Dispose of the resin carefully and ensure the protection of the environment.

Cleaning water resin is a vital periodical job. Proper maintenance of water softener resin will increase longevity and will ensure the supply of fresh water.

A piece of good advice to you: don’t buy a cheaper resin because it will not meet your requirement. You need to invest here to get perfect service from the water softener resin.

So, review the best quality resin available in the market then purchase a branded water softener resin.

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading our article on water softener resin cleaning and replacing procedure.

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