Like with most things in life, time can take its toll – with the resin in your water softener being no exception. Over time minerals and even bacteria can build up in the resin bed of your softener, decreasing its efficiency and ability to provide you with soft water. Luckily there are steps you can take to keep your resin bed in tip-top condition.

Let’s briefly understand what causes this build up. Your water softener works hard all year round to remove minerals like calcium, magnesium and iron from your water that could otherwise cause problems like limescale and staining. Water softeners are designed to last as long as 30 years, however over time the resin inside your water softener can suffer from a build up of minerals and ions that are difficult to remove during a normal regeneration process.

One of the primary contaminants that build up in the resin bed is iron, so if you have high levels of iron in your water then regular cleaning of the resin is paramount to keeping your water softener running efficiently for years to come.

Regular maintenance helps to prevent expensive breakdowns. It is recommended to clean the resin bed of your water softener every 6-12 months and doing so offers a number of benefits:

• Improves the efficiency of your water softener by maintaining the resins ion exchange capacity
• Cleans mineral deposits from inside the softener valve, preventing premature breakdowns
• Disinfects the resin bed, removing the build up of any bacteria and micro-organisms
• Prolongs the life of you water softener by keeping the resin in good condition

How To Clean Your Water Softener Resin Tank

So, how do you clean your water softener resin tank? There is lots of information on the internet about different products that you can use but you should always be careful to use a product that is specifically designed for use in water softeners, to minimise risk and avoid voiding any warranties you might have. We recommend the use of our Water Softener Resin Cleaner which is specifically designed for use with all water softener models.

How To Use The Water Softener Resin Cleaner:

1. Wait until the salt level in the brine tank is low
   
   
2. Identify how much resin is inside your water softener – this information can usually be found in the manual
   
   
3. Once you have identified the resin volume in your softener you can work out how much resin cleaner you need to use. For every 1L of resin inside your water softener you will need to use 10ml of resin cleaner solution
   
   
4. Pour the resin cleaner directly into the brine well (or into the brine tank if you can not access the brine well in your model)
   
   
5. Perform a manual regeneration, details of how this is done can again be found in the product manual
   
   
6. Run water from a softened water tap for 10 minutes, to give the resin bed a final rinse

For heavily fouled water softeners, you can repeat the process a second time. You can then check that your water softener is operating efficiently by using a water hardness test to give peace of mind. If it is working correctly, you should see a reading of less than 100ppm (parts per million).

All home appliances benefit from regular maintenance, your water softener included. The use of a resin cleaner at 6-12 month intervals keeps your system in tip-top condition. If you want to find out more about what you can do to keep your water softener in the best condition, check out our 5 Tips For Maintaining Your Water Softener.