Backwashing water softener and the potential of resin beads getting into house plumbing

[alienux]

I have a Whirlpool WHES33 water softener that is about 6 1/2 years old. It recently starting causing lower water pressure in the shower and sinks (not a lot, but noticeable), which I verified by bypassing the softener, which caused pressure to return to normal.

I also hear a fairly loud dripping noise inside the resin tank when we run any water. There are no leaks anywhere that I can find, outside of the unit, nor from the resin tank inside the salt compartment.

So I called Whirlpool customer support and they sent instructions for an "Extended Backwash" that they said might correct the issue. So I started to follow the instructions and came across this note:

Running an extended backwash can clear up any potential clog in the system. Please note this process has a low risk that the bottom distributor may fail (especially on older units), letting resin beads escape into the plumbing.

This concerns me. The softener, as I mentioned, is about 6 1/2 years old. If I run this procedure and this actually happened, and resin beads got into the house plumbing, how bad can that be? I've read about how to get resin out of plumbing and flushing the water heater/etc., but I'm more concerned about appliances that don't have an open faucet. Is this potentially a big deal, or is it something I shouldn't be that worried about?

 

[Rushplbg_10]

Can you take an aerator off at a faucet, and run without it on to check if you are getting an amount of resin beads from the softener? I had a new guy one time install the softener backward by installing the water supply to the softener output, which to say the least caused the resin to disperse throughout the house. So we spent the next 3 hours (for free) flushing the lines out and adding more resin to the unit. Luckily the water system wasn't an old one with galvanized water lines because that would have made the day even more fun. I am not sure how close your unit is to the water heater but most units that are within 10ft require a check valve be installed so that it doesn't cause that issue as well. You might read in the manual. Hope this helps.

 

[alienux]

I can take the aerator off and do that, but I haven't done the procedure from Whirlpool yet. I definitely don't have resin beads from the softener at this point, I'm just concerned about the "note" from the procedure I mentioned that Whirlpool wants me to perform since it says there's a low chance it will cause resin beads to go into the plumbing.

Wondering if I'm worrying to much about doing the backwash because of their note in their instructions.

 

[Rushplbg_10]

Yea, I get your concern but I haven't seen a softener's backwash cycle (in 20 years in the industry) be strong enough to force the resin beads out of the softener into a water supply system. You can usually control how long the backwash goes for you if it does become a concern just shut down the cycle. IF I remember right didn't you say the unit is 6 1/2 years old? Depending on the amount of hard water coming in, resin beads only last so long, before they would need to be replaced. So I am just curious maybe the reason lower water pressure.
Do you have other condiments in your such as iron or others?

 

[mark3885]

Install a carbon block filter after the softener, any resin will be caught before your plumbing. Your water will most likely taste better too.

 

[alienux]

Yea, I get your concern but I haven't seen a softener's backwash cycle (in 20 years in the industry) be strong enough to force the resin beads out of the softener into a water supply system. You can usually control how long the backwash goes for you if it does become a concern just shut down the cycle. IF I remember right didn't you say the unit is 6 1/2 years old? Depending on the amount of hard water coming in, resin beads only last so long, before they would need to be replaced. So I am just curious maybe the reason lower water pressure.
Do you have other condiments in your such as iron or others?

I think the concern raised by Whirlpool wasn't just the backwash, but the potential failing of the bottom distributor during the process. But it seems like this is a very low risk.

The Whirlpool tech did mention that the resin beads were likely exhausted and that if the backwash didn't work, that was likely the issue.

 

[alienux]

Install a carbon block filter after the softener, any resin will be caught before your plumbing. Your water will most likely taste better too.

Thanks, I will look into that.