Best water softener resin

Having high quality resin ensures that your water softener operates optimally. In this review, of the best water softener resin we check out some of the best resins in the market and tell you which is the best.

If you have a salt-based water softener then you will be forced to replenish it at some point. Hard water is a serious challenge to most households even where they do get city/municipal water. Hard water is characterized by its heavy presence of minerals like magnesium and calcium. To get rid of these minerals, water softeners while come with resin tanks that reduce the hardness in water through the process of ionization. In simple terms, you exchange sodium ions in the resin beads for magnesium and calcium ions.

To ensure the efficiency of this ionization process, you need high quality resin. You may be asking, aren’t they all the same? The resin will vary with manufacturer. In this review, we take a closer look at some of the top resin for water softeners in the market.

How the resin compare with each other

Model	Weight (Pounds)	Dimensions (inches)	Check on Amazon
Purolite C-100E soft water Cationic Resin	49.9	18 X 14 X 8	Buy Here
AFWFilters SOFRES 1	44.6	16 X 8 X 12	Buy Here
ResinTech High Capacity Resin	82	N/A	Buy Here
LiquidGen High performance resin	75	8 X 8 X 10	Buy Here
CATION 50 High Capacity Resin	23	8 X 16 X 14	Buy Here

Purolite C-100E soft water Cationic Resin

This is on top of our list due to its abilities to remove iron and other hard water minerals from water. It is a premium industrial grade product from a reputable company in the USA – DuraWater. It is also a strong polystyrenic strong acid resin gel that is vital for the ionization process. With the product you will have to say goodbye to discolored sinks and bathtubs.

Sodium ions found in the resin will exchange for hard minerals calcium and magnesium ions. The resin is designed to handle the most extreme hard water with ease. It will also work well for well water that has high iron content.

The premium polystyrene sulfonate resin exchange is meant to treat your beverages, foodstuffs, and portable waters. The resin has complied with the EEC rules, the US food & drug administration code regulations and food stuff standards.

Pros

• Suitable for iron
• Industrial grade
• Certified by various food regulators
• Helps clean extreme hard water

Cons

• May need iron resin filter for extreme cases

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AFWFilters SOFRES 1 – High capacity resin

When you are in the market purchasing resin one of the key factors you will need to consider is the crosslink. Most of the resins are in the 8% crosslink category but if you want more results go for those with 10%. The AFWFilters has a crosslink of 8% and has been approved by the NDF, USDA, and FDA. It has a high capacity for softening hard water of 1 cu. Ft.

Our preference for this brand is that it is gives you more for the price range. This comes in handy in an area where you only source of water is well water. The working life for this resin is around 12 years. This offers you clean and soft water for a long time. High chlorine content often increases the use of resin. So if you are living in such an area expect shorter resin working life of about 8 years. However, the resin is not that effective for water with high iron content. You may need a separate filter for this.

Pros

• Operates with most water softeners
• High capacity resin
• Certified by FDA and USDA
• High life expectancy of 12 to 15 years

Cons

• Lifespan is shortened by high chlorine presence

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ResinTech High Capacity Resin

While the company manufacturing this resin is little known it has a solid reputation of producing quality products and their resin is no different. This is an ideal resin for residential homes. The ResinTech comes with a crosslink of 8% which works just fine if you have an average household. However, if you suspect your water has more iron than normal or is harder than you can find something else in the market with a crosslink of 10%.

The ResinTech comes with full one cubic foot of resin and this wonders during the sodium ionization process. This is adequate to flush out the hard minerals present in your water. Having soft water will make a very big difference in areas that have many chlorine compounds.

Pros

• Suitable for high capacity residential hard water treatments
• Comes with one cubic foot of resin
• Long lasting
• Optimized for the ionization exchange

Cons

The company manufacturing the product is not well known

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LiquidGen High performance resin

This high performance resin from LiquidGen comes with a crosslink of 10% making it ideal for living in places with extreme hard water. Most of the 8% crosslink resin in the market will do fine for average households put this one takes your water softening to another level.

For one the resin is produced by a company known for high quality products, in fact this is one of the best resin products we have come across. The resin lasts longer and you should expect a life expectancy of up to 20 years. It also works well for those living in areas with high iron concentration. Most resin products will handle calcium and magnesium with ease but iron molecules are bigger are cling to resin more. This means you need more salt to filter out the iron. This damages your resin very fast.

With more resin crosslink at 10% you are able to handle more iron and soften more water. You get a cubic feet for the resin. The resin by LiquidGen has been designed for high performance and does not disappoint. Included in the purchase is a funnel for pouring in your resin. The resin has high thermotolerant and sensitivity characteristics.

Pros

• High crosslink of 10%
• Handles water with high iron
• Funnel included
• Ideal for large resin tanks

Cons

Heavy carrying

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CATION 50 High Capacity Resin

There are often two types of resin you will find in the market – fine mesh and cation. This particular model comes with 8% crosslink which works fine for moderate consumption. There cases where you may be worried that your municipal water is not clean enough and need it to be softened. Water softeners will use the process of ionization to remove any hard minerals from your water and replace them with sodium ions. This means you will need resin for your salt softener to operate.

When you purchase this resin you will notice that it is designated as “50”. This number is used to show you the size of the resin. In the market you will note that the cation is measured by the mesh number. If you want finer mesh then go for products with numbers as high as 100. Amanzi manufacturers this product and they have made an amazing job at it. While this is a great product do not expect it to handle extremely hard water or that which has a high iron content. The company however, has a long history of producing high quality products and this brand is no exception.

Pros

• Optimized for high residential performance
• Standard cation resin
• Life expectancy of more than 10 years
• 8% crosslink

Cons

• May not work well in areas with high iron content

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Buying Guide

Hard water contains minerals like calcium and magnesium that make it hard. This minerals are the ones that cause that itchiness and dryness that you feel after taking a shower. Hard water can also contain considerable amounts of iron that leads to discoloration of your toilet bowls, bath tubs and can cause various respiratory problems. Water softeners come in handy to remove these hard minerals from water. But, you need resin for this.

The Ionization process

The process of removing the above hard minerals is called ionization. Resin contains sodium ions which replace the calcium and magnesium ions in the hard water. This leaves you with clean soft water that is safe for drinking and other domestic uses. For you to maximize on this ionization process you need the best resin in the market.

The ionization process takes place through resin beads. You can either have small or large ones depending on the brand you choose. Hard water will pass through the resin tank and the exchange takes place. This exchange does not occur into perpetuity, the resin tank does reach its maximum capacity and at this point a process of regeneration takes place. The process flushes the hard minerals from the resin tank and replaces the sodium or potassium. Flushing is done from the brine tank.

You can use sodium or potassium for the ionization process. Most people prefer sodium because it is affordable but potassium will come in handy for those who suffer from sodium health problems.

Fine mesh resin

When it comes to resin they come in two types – standard ion exchange and fine mesh resin. The fine mesh resin is characterized by small beads that have the capacity to handle iron at a rate of 10 parts per million. During usage you will need an upper flow that prevents the beads from flowing out during regeneration.

Most of the resin available in the market is categorized as standard ion exchange. It is great for removing hard minerals and iron content of 3 to 5 parts per million. You can either use sodium chloride or potassium chloride with sodium been the most used due to its affordability.

Crosslink – 8% or 10%

When it comes to resin you can use either polystyrene or divinylbenzane. The latter is more expensive hence the preference for polystyrene. Crosslink measures the content of divinylbenzane in resin. If you want resin that will work even for hardest water then go for one with higher levels of crosslink – preferably 10%. However, this comes at a higher price tag.

Crosslink is a factor for purchasing resin because products with low divinylbenzane also tend to have bigger beads that will swell up during ionization. This makes then susceptible to resin attrition and oxidative stress. If your water has higher amounts of chlorine then go for those with higher crosslink. The downside is that low crosslink tends to hold more water hence making it effective for removing hard water but they also have a lower capacity.

Right time to change resin

The next dilemma you will face with a salt water softener is when the ideal time to change your resin is. During ionization, the calcium and magnesium ions will be exchanged for sodium ones. At some point your resin tank becomes saturated with these hard mineral ions. You can know this by carefully monitoring your rate of salt consumption. Most of the modern water softener units will come with digital monitors that regulate the flow of water.

You can check the resin bed for any issues with the system. Iron and chlorine tend to do more damage to the resin bed than other minerals. If you have such kind of issue the first thing you will notice is that the salt consumption is at recommended levels but when you check your water supply there is still a high concentration of hard water. However, if you check you control unit and detect high/low levels of salt then the problem is the valve control. The solution is to flush your resin bed with enough brine so that the ionization process can run flawlessly.

Conclusion

The ionization process is vital to remove contaminants from hard water. Through the process sodium ions replace magnesium and calcium ions present in hard water hence turning it into soft water. The process will also remove excess chlorine, iron, lead, copper, or cadmium from the water. The smooth operation of this process requires one to identify the right resin for their unit. Not all resin products are the same. The reputation of the company producing the product matters a lot. Low quality resin not only harms your water softener unit but causes you to continue consuming hard water.