What is the Best Way to Clean Your Water Softeners?

Is the water in your home becoming less soft and less manageable? If so, it’s possible you’ve neglected a key element to successful water softener ownership. When hard water begins sneaking its way back into your home, you may want to ask yourself when the last time was that your water softener was cleaned. 

Softener systems are reliable machines that reduce the amount of minerals and scale present in water. They help to extend the life of pipes, appliances, and clothing. When routine water softener maintenance is neglected, your home can be left unprotected from hard water. 

The Importance of Resin 

When you think about a water softener system as a type of water filter—undesirable water goes in, clean water comes out—have you also wondered what happens to the substances that have been eliminated? Unlike many water filtration devices that use removable filters to collect contaminants and require periodic filter replacement, water softening systems use  resin to “catch” unwanted substances. 

A water filter pulls out impurities to leave behind healthier water. After a certain amount of time, filters get dirty or clogged and will becomes less and less effective with each use. You’ll need to replace or clean a water filter regularly to keep it functioning properly. Just like other filtration devices, a water softener also requires cleaning and maintenance to continue to work at maximum capacity. But with no filter to replace, where do all the hardness minerals go inside a water softener? 

To understand this process, you must know what lies inside your water softener tank. An  ion exchange water softening system contains a resin bed filled with millions of tiny beads. When hard water enters your home, it travels to your water softener where these tiny beads inside the tank attract and hold fast to hard minerals, removing them from the water supply. Softened water exits the tank and continues on, flowing out of faucets and appliances, through plumbing and pipes. 

During the softening process, sodium ions on the resin beads are exchanged for calcium and magnesium minerals in the water. Unlike calcium and magnesium,  iron and manganese minerals also found in hard water are not as effectively removed during the cleaning cycle of a water softener. Over time they begin to accumulate, and the resin beads become saturated. Resin need to be cleaned, or “recharged” in regular intervals so it can continue attracting and collecting the minerals that cause hard water. The cleaning of resin beads is called the regeneration cycle.

Eventually, resin becomes coated to the point where it is no longer able to be washed clean by the regeneration cycle. If your softener is using salt at a normal rate, yet the water that comes from your tap is hard, or, your system is frequently regenerating, but you run out of softened water too quickly, your resin bed may be fouled.

Good Resin Gone Bad

It’s possible for water softener resin to last 10 years or longer--often as long as the water softener itself. When exposed to high levels of chlorine, iron, or hardness minerals, resin is likely to last only half that long. Your home’s water quality and the amount of wear and tear on a resin bed determines how long your resin will last. If your resin is irrevocably damaged, it will need to be replaced. But before assuming that your resin has gone bad, it’s beneficial to first try using a cleaning solution or water softener cleaner to establish its condition.

To prevent or treat accumulation in a softener, a cleaning solution can be added to the brine solution. Traditionally, a resin bed is cleaned using water softener resin cleaner. This product is specifically made for water softeners and chemically changes iron into a soluble state that can be rinsed away.  Water softener cleaner can be found online or at most home improvement stores.

Follow the instructions for your system’s specifications, then manually regenerate your softener to flush the wastewater through the system. If water softener resin cleaner doesn’t do the trick, your resin bed is mostly likely damaged and in need of replacement. When resin fails, you often see particles floating in your softened water or your water flow could even become greatly reduced. The beads not only become ineffective at softening water, they can also get into your pipes and clog the screens in your faucets.

Keeping it Clean

The most cost-effective method of removing hardness minerals from water is with the installation of a water softener. The resin inside the softener tank is an essential part of a water softener’s ability to reduce the amount of minerals and scale present in your home’s water. Well-maintained resin with the use of water softener cleaner will enhance the regeneration cycle and help relieve the resin beads of a build-up of minerals.

It’s easy to take your water softener for granted. After all, it does a big job with minimal effort on your part. In addition to topping off your brine tank with high quality salt, and making sure your tank is free of  salt bridges, protecting the resin ranks high up on the list of basic water softener maintenance.

Without the use of a water softener cleaner or resin bed cleaner, even a trace of dissolved iron in water can cause a water softener to lose capacity and prevent dependable water softening. Performing basic cleaning and maintenance of a  water softener prevents breakdowns and minimizes inconsistencies in your water quality. It can mean the difference between a long lifespan of your appliance, and an unpredictable one.