How to Clean Water Softener Resin
The resin bed in a soft water pressure tank contains ion exchange resin beads that work to dissolve metals, particles and minerals from the water. Resin beds and injectors can become fouled with a buildup over time of iron, silt and magnesium, which cause the resins beads to operate inefficiently. Clean the resin bed in your water softener with a rust-removal chemical treatment to return efficiency to your unit. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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1
Turn your water softener control head to "Bypass" mode.
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2
Locate the regenerate setting on the control valve on the top of the unit. Turn it in a counter-clockwise direction to the "Regenerate" mode.
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3
Run the softener through a manual regeneration to ease water pressure before cleaning the injector.
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4
Pull off the caps on either side of the injector head. Remove the injector nozzle and remove the screen.
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5
Flush the injector screen with warm water and a mild detergent. Rinse the screen thoroughly before returning it to the unit.
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6
Remove any clogged debris from the nozzle with a small paperclip or other small wire.
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7
Reassemble the softener injector, replacing the screen and nozzle.
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8
Measure out the rust remover designed for water softeners according to the manufacturer's directions and mix with the recommended amount of water before pouring it into the brine well.
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9
Remove the top of the brine tank. Add the water/rust-removal mixture directly to the brine well.
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10
Run the unit through a second manual regeneration to purge it of the waste water. Purge a second time for heavily soiled resin beds.
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11
Return the unit to the normal settings.
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Tips & Warnings
You can use a product such as "Iron-Out" once yearly for major cleaning, or in smaller doses more often to keep a buildup from occurring inside of the resin bed.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit water drop and water rings image by glgec from Fotolia.com
