How to Flush Resin Beads From the Plumbing

Water Softener Resin Beads in Pipes – How Did This Happen?

So how do these resin beads get out of the water softener tank and into your plumbing system? It can happen if the membrane that holds the resin beads in place breaks, then beads are free to travel throughout your plumbing system. 

A common telltale sign that the membrane has broken is low water pressure. If water isn’t coming out as forcefully in showers or faucets, look for grit in the shower heads and faucet screens; resins break down over time and once they get into the water line wind up clogging shower heads and faucet screens. And, of course, that you see the resin beads coming out of your faucet.

Follow these steps to flush the resin beads out of your plumbing system:

1. Close the valves to the water softener and open the bypass valve.
2. Drain and flush your water heater.
3. Remove all screens on your faucet.
4. Open the cold water valves throughout your home.
5. Flush and clean the water supply from the washer.
6. Run all appliances that use water, i.e., dishwasher, washing machines, bathroom showers, sinks and kitchen sinks
7. Check if you continue to see if resin continues to stream out of the water.
8. If appliances are clogged after running or start to overfull, turn them off. Detach their water hoses and check for clogs. Flush hoses to clear the beads. Check the connections and remove any beads clogging them. Reattach and run the appliances again to flush.

Once you see clear water flowing from all your outlets, it is safe to assume you have flushed all the resins out of your pipes. You still have the remaining problem of a malfunctioning water softener. Do not turn your water softener out of bypass mode. While you can use all your appliances and faucets, you haven’t removed the resins that remain in the water softener tank. 

You might think that you need to take the water softener out of bypass mode so you don’t have hard water, but the resins can still move through the broken membrane and then you have the same problem all over again. You need to fix or repair the water softener.