Hard water is the biggest problem which we are facing either in the United States (USA), United Kingdom (UK), or Canada. The limescale deposits on showerheads or faucets, reduction in the leather of soap or detergents, all these headaches are due to hard water. How can you beat that? Buying a water softener is the perfect solution for the removal of hard water. And the best part is to add salt and resin to the water softener to work efficiently and to speed up the process. However, if you have a city water supply or well water, you must need the best water softener to improve the quality of water. Therefore, you need to buy the best quality water softener resin available in the market as well. So, sit back! Relax and read ahead to find the best rated water softener resin.
Take a look at our top 5 best water softener resin reviews of 2021. We selected these products after reviewing consumer reports. Check out our recommended products:
Purolite C100E is a top-notch resin brand that offers perfectly soft water after the removal of hardness-causing metals. As far as the water softening abilities are concerned, the premium quality of this resin makes your water soft, tastier to consume, and suitable to use with kitchen and bathroom appliances.
On the other hand, this water softening resin works perfectly with almost all brands of water softeners. Therefore, Purolite C100E is the best residential water softener resin available in the market.
Packaging: The Purolite C100E is a premium quality industrial-grade gel resin. It comes in packaging that contains one cubic foot of resin. However, it is highly efficient in removing water hardness and works well with water that has a high iron level. It is amber in color and is in the form of clear spherical beads.
Mechanism: Its formation gives physical and chemical stability. The resin is in the form of polystyrene gel cross-linked with DVB. It works when cations of strong polystyrene acid are exchanged with the Na ions in the salt. Its composition gave it excellent physical and chemical stability.
Life Expectancy: The life expectancy of Purolite C100E Resin depends on the quality of water. The harder the water is, the shorter will be its life. However, the resin works best with water that has a medium hardness level.
Pros
Efficient Regeneration
Works appropriately with all brands of water softeners
Works with water having a high iron content
Cons
Water hardness level influences the life of the resin
For areas that have medium water hardness level, this resin not only gives the best results but also relieve you from the worry of changing resin sooner than required. Therefore, Purolite C100E resin is one of the best ion exchange resin water softeners you can choose for your water softener system.
AFWFilters SORES1 offers high quality in addition to a unique replaceable feature. It increases the process of ion exchange, and hence, you get soft water as a result. Apart from its efficient working, the resin is also approved by the FDA and NSF that gives you one more reason to get this for your water softener system. However, it is very easy to replace.
Packaging: AFWFilter SOFRES1 is an 8% Polystyrene cross-linked resin with DVB. The bag contains one cubic foot of high-quality common-grade resin. This resin is shipped in 2 bags so that when it reaches you, it is entirely fresh and ready to use.
Mechanism: AFWFilter Resin is in the form of beads. It has sulfonate cations that exchange with the hardness, causing metal ions like magnesium and calcium.
When the resin bed gets exhausted, its capacity is restored by the process of regeneration using salts. So, it is better to use the best water softener salt for better results.
Life Expectancy: The expected life expectancy of this resin is around 12 to 15 years. Although, if you have a high content of chlorine or iron then its life expectancy will be about 8 to 10, which is overall a good number.
Pros
Easy to use, Long life & replaceable
FDA & NSF certified
Cons
Pouring is difficult without a funnel
AFWFilters SOFRES1 is the best water softener resin for iron in 2021 because of its prolonger life expectancy. In addition, this high capacity resin works well with all types of salt-based water softeners. Also, its replaceable feature makes it highly recommended by many.
ResinTech is a high-quality nuclear-grade resin that is a fantastic product for removing not the only hardness of water but also efficiently removes iron and chlorine content in water. The resin works perfectly well for water softeners/filters either in UK, USA or in Canada.
Composition: ResinTech MBD-30 combines both anions and cations in one 5-pound bag. The resin has an 8% standard cross-link. Moreover, the resin is a mixture of nuclear-grade hydroxide and hydrogen.
The anion in the resin is a type I gel that is highly basic in nature, whereas the cation is a sulfonated polystyrene gel that is highly acidic in nature. Besides, the resin also has an indicator bye that changes its color when the resin is exhausted.
Colour Changing Indicator: The resin indicates its expiration by changing its color. Hence, It is a convenient way that suggested the perfect time to replace the resin. The color of the resin is green, and when it is exhausted, it changes color to violet.
Usage: The 5 pounds resin can quickly fill up to 4 refillable filters.
Pros
Easy to Use
High Capacity Treatment
Suitable for residential water softeners
Cons
Some customers complained that it works less efficiently with commercial water softeners
The unique color-changing feature of Resintech MBD-30 makes it very convenient to use. Therefore, because it is easy to use, reliable and robust, this is a reasonably good choice for a water filter resin.
Aquatrol is a well-known resin company that makes high-quality resin. This resin is also a top-notch product of theirs. Its 100% ion exchange process and high efficiency make it stand out from the rest of the products making it one of the water softening resins available in the market.
Composition: The premium product comes in a one cubic feet packaging. The resin is in the form of fine mesh that has an 8% cross-link of both DVB and polystyrene. The 8% cross-link helps in regulating the pH of hard water. Hence, the result is water-free from hard metal ions and iron.
Ion Exchanging: It has a 100% ion exchanging feature. This means that as soon as you install this resin, you will clearly see a great deal of positive difference in the quality of your water.
Life Expectancy: The life of this resin is between 15 to 20 years which is an excellent time for any resin. However, resin works efficiently with water with medium hardness levels. Moreover, for water that has a high hardness level, the life of this resin will be around 10 to 15 years.
High efficiency with residential water softeners that have a medium water hardness level
Finally, high life expectancy makes Aquatrol Resin a winning product among the lot. The resin is explicitly developed to remove hardness causing metals and is perfect for all standard salt-based water softeners.
The LiquaGen Resin is a 10% cross-linked product that is perfect for water that has a high level of hardness. It works perfectly in removing metal ions like magnesium, calcium, and even iron. This is undoubtedly among the best water softener resins available in the market.
Packaging: LiquaGen Ion Exchange Resin comes in two bags of a total of 1.5 cubic feet quantity. The two bags ensure that the product is easy to use and reaches its users safely. The packaging also includes a resin loading funnel that you can place in the water softener for convenient resin loading.
The resin works best with salts and replaces hardness-causing ions like magnesium and calcium with sodium ions, making the ion exchange process highly efficient.
Higher Cross-Link: LiquaGen has a higher cross-link, i.e. 10%. The higher cross-link aids in removing hardness from water that contains a high amount of calcium, magnesium, and iron content. Therefore, this resin works perfectly for the water softeners that have to deal with extremely hard water.
Pros
Higher Cross-Link 10%
Long Life & Funnel Included
Works with water having a high iron content
Cons
Some consumers felt the price is a bit high as compared to others
If you are facing a high level of water hardness, then LiquaGen Resin is the perfect choice for you. This resin ensures that your water is tasteful and free from limescale deposits.
What to Consider When Buying a Water Softener Resin?
In case you might be asking yourself, how to pick the best water softener resin 2021? Let me tell you, there are some key things you need to keep in mind when buying a resin for your water softener system.
Fine Mesh vs Standard Ion-Exchange: The Fine mesh resin has very fine beads that make it an ideal choice if you have high iron content in your water supply. If you have a water softener/filter system, you should go for fine mesh resin. Whereas, the standard ion exchange resin is what most of the standard water softeners use. It is perfect for salt-based water softeners since the sodium Ion on them makes ion exchanging accessible.
Cross-Link: Resins come in two types of cross-links, i.e. 8% and 10%. Resin has a high amount of either DVB or polystyrene. These two are essential in defining the quality of the resin and the softness of the water. High DVB or high cross-linked resin comes with small beads of resin and tends to be less vulnerable to factors like resin strength and oxidative stress. Whereas low cross-linked resin has the capacity to hold move water thus making it more efficient in removing hardness.
Life Expectancy: When considering buying a resin, its life expectancy matters a lot. Standard resin is said to have a life expectancy of an average of 13 years. The life expectancy of water resin depends highly on the level of hardness of the water. If you have a high level of hardness in your water supply, the life of resin will be slightly low because it will have to work up with more metal ions. Similarly, if the hardness level in water is medium, the resin can live up to 15 years.
Best Water Resins typically lasts 20 to 25 years, but mechanical failure or excessive mineral buildup in the water supply can shorten the lifespan of the resin considerably. So you have to keep checking your water softener to stay up to date regarding the replacement of resin.
2. Which are the best water softener resin of 2021?
Following are the best water softener resin for every softening unit as they improve the efficiency of the water:
Make sure that a water softener resin has got at least 10% cross-linking. Other than that, it must remove harmful contaminants from water and should increase the value of the water softener at the same time. Lastly, it should contain a resin loading funnel as well.
4. How much resin does a water softener need?
Depending on its size, the amount of resin should be anywhere from 0.64 to 2.00 cubic feet. When you get the amount right, you eliminate one potential source of water softener problem. So specific amount of resin is necessary.
5. Is water softener resin toxic?
A lot of people are want to know,” is water softener resin toxic?” Well, you’ll be happy to know that they are not. However, they do eventually clog up small appliances and fixture passages.
Resin is an integral part of any water softener. On one hand, it ensures that the water softener works perfectly while on the other hand, it aids in removing hard metal ions by replacing them with Na or K ions. After reviewing consumer reports, we picked these two best water softener resins in 2021 i.e. Purolite C100E and AFWFilters SOFRES1 Water Resin. Both these products have impressive results as they smoothly remove magnesium, calcium, and even iron from the water, making it soft. However, both are extremely simple to replace.
Moreover, the resins have a fantastic life expectancy and work perfectly well for home water softeners that have medium to high hardness levels of water. In short, both Purolite C100E and AFWFilters SOFRES1 have made every user extremely happy, and that is why they are top in our best water softener resin list.
Smith started as a journeyman plumber and then eventually became a master plumber and has continued to work in the plumbing industry learning all phases of plumbing from new construction to simple plumbing repairs.
Hard water is the biggest problem which we are facing either in the United States (USA), United Kingdom (UK), or Canada. The limescale deposits on showerheads or faucets, reduction in the leather of soap or detergents, all these headaches are due to hard water. How can you beat that? Buying a water softener is the perfect solution for the removal of hard water. And the best part is to add salt and resin to the water softener to work efficiently and to speed up the process. However, if you have a city water supply or well water, you must need the best water softener to improve the quality of water. Therefore, you need to buy the best quality water softener resin available in the market as well. So, sit back! Relax and read ahead to find the best rated water softener resin.
Efficient Regeneration
Efficient Regeneration
Water hardness level influences the life of the resin
Fine Mesh vs Standard Ion-Exchange: The Fine mesh resin has very fine beads that make it an ideal choice if you have high iron content in your water supply. If you have a water softener/filter system, you should go for fine mesh resin.
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