Guide to Water Softener Cleaning & Sanitizing:

This article provides an owner's guide to water softener cleaning, and sanitizing - two steps in keeping a water conditioner working properly. We discuss the use of various chemicals & cleaners to sanitize or clean out water softeners and their brine tanks, and we comment on the effect of such chemicals on septic systems.

We discuss the formation of salt crust in the brine tank, the accumulation of dirt & debris in the brine tank, & how to remove these problems & contaminants in a water conditioner

. We also discuss using iron removing products or other chemicals to clean & sanitize a water softener.

Water Softener Cleaning Using Manufacturer-Recommended Resins or Cleaning Compounds

Using a water softener cleaner or resin cleaner can improve water softener operation and keep parts working longer according to both manufacturers and independent experts. [19][20]

Sears Kenmore water softener instructions for some models point out that consumers can buy water softer salt that includes an iron removing additive, increasing the water softener's ability to remove iron content in the water supply along with minerals associated with hard water.

That manufacturer recommends using a special water softener cleaning resin provided by the manufacturer.

Some salts have an additive to help the softener handle iron in the water supply.

These salts may be used if your water supply has a high iron con tent. It is recommended to use Sears Water Softener Clean er (refer to the parts list in back of manual for part number) for periodic treatments to keep your resin bed clean.

Where to Buy Water Softener Cleaners & Sanitizers

The following products are sold and described as specifically designed for use in water softeners and water conditioners:

• Bleach (household bleach or sodium hypochlorite) solution: household bleach, typicallyi at 5.25% concentration of sodium hypochlorite, are sold at grocery stores, hardware stores etc. under brand names such as BoPeep, Clorox, Eagle Brand, and White Sail Bleach.
  
  Separately at SOFTENER RESIN TANK SANITIZE / DISINFECT at step 4 in that procedure we detail the proper quantity and use of bleach when disinfecting a water softener or similar equipment.
• BioSafe Systems LLC, Robert Larose, President/CEO, Mailing Address: 22 Meadow Street East Hartford, CT 06108, Toll-Free Phone: 1.888.273.3088 Email: info@biosafesystems.com
• Filter-Mate Water Softener Cleaner (from Summit Brands, available at Loews Building Supply Stores) "Removes dirt and organic compounds from a fouled smelling water softener " [summitbrands.com] Filter mate provides a liquid water softener cleaner sold in Menards stores and online.
• Nitto Denko, Hydronautics, Hydranautics 401 Jones Rd. Oceanside, CA 92058 Tel: (760) 901-2500 Fax: (760) 901-2664 e-mail: info@Hydranautics.com Technical Service Bulletin TSB107.20, July 2010, web search 08/29/11, original source: /www.membranes.com/docs/tsb/tsb107.pdf
  Quoting:
  This is a lower pH cleaning solution (natural pH is between pH 4 and 6. No pH adjustment is required) 1.0% (w) of Na2S2O4 (sodium hydrosulfite). It is useful in the removal of metal oxides and hydroxides (especially iron fouling), and to a lesser extent calcium sulfate, barium sulfate and strontium sulfate. Sodium hydrosulfite is strong reducing agent and is also known as sodium dithionite. The solution will have a very strong odor so proper ventilation is required.
• Iron Stains & Sediment Removal - How to Clean Iron (or other) Sediment out of a Water Softener - we moved this topic to WATER SOFTENER IRON & SEDIMENT REMOVAL
• Pro Softener Mate "Water Softener Cleaner,Function Chemically Removes Manganese, Limited Iron, Silt, Metal Particles and Organic Compounds, For Use With Water Softeners" (available at Amazon.com)
• Resin Rescue water softener cleaner .resinrescue.com/] "Recommended for use every 4 to 6 months as a water softener resin cleaner" Tel: 800-755-6541 or Email: mike@resinrescue.com
• Res Care® liquid resin cleaner for water softeners, "Pro Res Care is a specially formulated liquid resin cleaner designed to clean resin pores of iron, manganese, silt, metal particles and organic compounds that cause softener inefficiencies.
  
  Regular use of Res Care resin cleaner will restore the softener beads and control valve parts back to peak efficiency and maintain the life of the unit.
  
  For best results, use a Res Care Automatic Feeder or manually add during regeneration to prevent mineral build up." [proproducts.com]
• Sears Kenmore brand special water softener cleaning compound is available at your local Sears store and in 2013 retailed for abut $20. U.S. .  [19]

Take a look at Michele Hébert's

• WATER SOFTENERS ANNUAL MAINTENANCE [PDF] from the University of Fairbanks Cooperative Extension] for more detail about chemicals & processes used to clean water softeners.

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2020-11-24 by (mod) - expert sources say ok to use bleach to sanitize a water softener resin tank

Anon: thank you for the helpful discussion of "is it ok to use bleach to sanitize a water softener"

The short answer is yes, from the most-authoritative sources I've found so far.

Bottom line: I have not found an expert source nor scholarly research that supports the claim that chlorination will harm home water treatment equipment.

Furthermore water softener manufacturers, in the IO manuals for their equipment, often describe use of bleach as a proper substance when water softener disinfection is needed.

Here is an example:

... every water softener should be disinfected after installation, some will require periodic disinfection during their normal life. You have two choices for disinfection as follows:

A. SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE (household bleach)

5.25% SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE solutions are available under such trade names such as Clorox, Linco, Bo Peep, White Sail and Eagle Brand Bleach. If stronger solutions are used, such as those sold for commercial laundries, adjust the dosage accordingly.

1. Dosage:

a. Softening resin; 1.2 fluid ounce per cubic foot of resin.

2. Add the required amount of hypochlorite solution to the brine well of the brine tank.

a. Proceed with the normal regeneration. Press REGEN and allow the water softener to go through a normal regeneration.

B. EPA and NSF approved Sani-System by Pro Products.

This can be purchased from your water treatment provider or at: http://proproducts.com/products/sani-system.

- source: HELLENBRAND H151 HE WATER SOFTENER MANUAL [PDF]

Find the manual for your own water softener as a free PDF download

at WATER CONDITIONER / SOFTENER MANUALS

Watch out: you should of course follow the recommendations of the manufacturer of your specific water softener brand and model when cleaning or disinfecting the unit.

Beyond consulting your water softener maual, here are two additional sources that describe using bleach (propery means at proper concentration!) in water softeners as acceptable and appropriate:

• Expert source: Minnesota DOH, Does chlorine affect home water treatment, like water softening?
  
  Chlorination will not affect the operation of common home water treatment units, such as water softeners and pitchers.
  
  You should always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for installation, cleaning, and maintenance of a water treatment unit.
  
  Source: Minnesota Department of Health, Drinking Water Chlorination: Frequently Asked Questions, - retrieved 2020/11/24, original source: https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/factsheet/chlorination.html
• Un-verified source: Smartdealer Network: Controlling and Counteracting Bacterial, Fungal, and Viral Contamination in Water Treatment Equipment (2009) from Smart Dealer Network www.smartdealernetwork.com
  retrieved 2020/11/24 original source: https://www.superiorwatersofteners.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/SP-5000-Water-System-Disinfection-Protocol.pdf
  
  includes the following text:
  
  “Sodium hypochlorite (Bleach) is one of the most widely used chlorine containing disinfectants. (Commercial chlorine bleach contains 5.25% sodium hypochlorite in aqueous solution and 50,000 ppm available chlorine). Biocidal activity of chlorine solutions is determined by the amount of the available chlorine of the solution. Low concentrations (2 to 500 ppm) are active against vegetative bacteria, fungi and most viruses. “
  
  and in the same document in a table of products used as water softener disinfectants is listed:
  
  5.25% Sodium hypochlorite(NaOCl) (household bleach) - dilution 3% -
  
  also note that listed is
  
  Acetic acid 4-5% (Vinegar is a 4$ solution of acetic acid)
  
  We mark this source as "un-verified" because the reported source website www.smartdealernetwork.com could not be found on 2020/11/24 so may not exist. That makes it difficult to identify the authors and thus impossible to check credentials.

Also see

• U.S. EPA, WATER TREATMENT MANUAL: DISINFECTION [PDF] though this source does not explicitly discuss softener resin tanks
  
  

Research: on use of bleach in water softeners to sanitize the resin tank

Searching using Google Scholar on "water softener sanitization" procedures & recommendations does produce a product providing this claim: This is an excerpt from the website you found

Watch out: the statement below is questionable:

"The problem with bleach is that it reacts with plastics such as ion exchange resin and damages them. That’s bad, but what is worse is that the chemicals that are created in the reaction between bleach and ion exchange resins are poisonous, all either known or suspected carcinogens. Hydrogen peroxide and ozone are better than bleach, but not by much."

Really? Well maybe, but instruction manuals from water softener manufacturers do not agree with the statement above.

I researched this question further using Google Scholar searching for "water softener sanitization" and "bleach effect on water softener resin" - none of the results returned supported the italicized statement just above. If it's true in some situation that needs to be clarified and supported by an authoritative source. I did not find any scholarly research describing the softener resin and bleach effects that appear to be the opinon of the authors of the website you found. That's not to say that writer is absolutely wrong but it is to say it's not easy to find support for that opinion.

What this search procedure did find is research on the effects of bleaching agents on other resins such as dental resins used in dental work.

• "The Sani-System Clean & Sanitize Kit contains both Sani-System liquid sanitizer and Pro Res Care resin cleaning solution in handy single-use doses. Sani-System is the only EPA and NSF approved sanitizer for use in water softeners. It’s proven to kill 99.99% of harmful bacteria without the use of chlorine, oxidizers or acids that can harm system equipment, parts and resin. Pro Res Care restores softener beads and control valve parts to peak efficiency and maintains the life of the unit. "
  
  Here is the SANI-SYSTEM SANITIZER MSDS [PDF] that you might want to review
  
  Watch out: that MSDS includes this warning:
  
  "SAFE DISPOSAL: Do not discharge effluent containing this product to sewer systems without previously notifying the local sewage treatment plant authority."
  
  Notice: this does NOT mean that you should not or can not use Sani-System products in your water softener if the manufacturer agrees.
  

The use of chlorine bleach products in water softeners has a history dating back at least half a century and continuing into the present. Here are some examples:

• Grow AG. Writing guidelines to require disinfection. Rev. sci. tech. Off. int. Epiz. 1995:14(2);469-477.
  http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu
• Sánchez-Aldana, Daniela, Noe Ortega-Corral, Beatriz A. Rocha-Gutiérrez, Lourdes Ballinas-Casarrubias, Eneidy J. Pérez-Domínguez, Guadalupe Virginia Nevárez-Moorillon, Luis A. Soto-Salcido, Salvador Ortega-Hernández, Guadalupe Cardenas-Félix, and Guillermo González-Sánchez. "Hypochlorite Generation from a Water Softener Spent Brine." Water 10, no. 12 (2018): 1733.
  
  Excerpt:
  which are the most common disinfectants used to sanitize production areas … is to reuse the pretreated rejection brine produced in the water softening process
  
  
• Tamasi G. Testing disinfectants for efficacy. Rev. sci. tech. Off. int. Epiz. 1995:14(1):75-9.
• Knapp, Ian M., and David B. Morris. "Water treatment cartridge." U.S. Patent 6,872,303, issued March 29, 2005.
  
  Excerpt: The chlorine generator electrolytically generates chlorine to sanitize the water softener during a … The water treatment cartridge facilitates safe and easy chlorine dioxide treatment and sanitization
  
  
• Rak, Stanley F. "Chlorine generator for water softeners." U.S. Patent 3,627,133, issued December 14, 1971.
  
  

On 2020-11-24 by Anonymous - is bleach in the water softener going to give us cancer?

no sir, proud to say I’m not drinking bleach here.

Where I saw the info about bleach mixing with water softener beads making a resin that is carcinogenic was a website called water tech online.

I have no idea how accurate or inaccurate accurate that information is, but I wanted to ask. I’m going to try to add the link here if you wanted to take a look. watertechonline [dot] com/home/article/15530067/protect-the-resin

What I did was shock my well with chlorine bleach. I did not do anything with the water softener at all. I used more bleach than needed as it turned out and it took a good hour of running the water for the bleach smell to leave. I will do the manual regeneration of the water softener tank to be safe that all is flushed out of there as well.

(mod) said:

I will look at that like and do some research and report back here but I am not sure that we actually have an issue here. It's certainly common for water softener manufacturers to describe procedures for sanitizing the system using bleach

Anonymous said:

Thank you again for your time and expertise. I’ll check back to see if you find anything.

On 2020-11-23 - by (mod) -

I don't know where you read that Anon -
but

Watch out: certainly nobody (except the departing president of the United States) has ever recommended drinking bleach. DO NOT DRINK BLEACH in case we are not being clear.

Let's not confuse sanitizing a water softener - dicussed above, with shocking a well - whose link I'll give below.

I can't predict what you'll find when you've let a dose of bleach sit in a well for 5 weeks - a lot depends on what concentration of bleach was applied, how it was introduced into the well, and whether or not any water is being used from the well; but in general bleach in water will offgas and dissipate somewhat over time.

But when you sanitize a water softener with a dose of bleach as we describe in this article, running the system through a regen cycle ought to thoroughly rinse out any excess bleach from the system just as the regen also has to rinse out excess salt after the resin beads have been re-charged with salt.

After the process is complete you should not smell bleach at any plumbing fixtures. (There are also cheap tests for bleach in water if you want to be scientific about it. I used to use those to catch people cheating on water tests.)

If you smell bleach and the only bleach source were the softener, then you'd run an extra regen cycle.

But when you shock a well you may need to run more water to flush out the bleach. I SURE hope you did not use solid bleach tablets or you'll have a devil of a time flushing that out.

More details are at

WELL CHLORINATION & DISINFECTION - how to disinfect a well

On 2020-11-23 by Anonymous

Ok next time I’m at the house I will do manual regeneration. While reading about how to do this, I read that the mixture of bleach and water softener beads can be bad, perhaps a carcinogen. Is this correct?
I didn’t apply bleach directly into the brine tank or water softener tank. I put bleach into well to shock it.

To drain bleach out of system, I turned on outside garden hose spigot. I’m not sure how much bleach would have made it’s way into and then remained in water softener system with how I drained system of bleach.

I shocked well about 5 weeks ago and will do the regeneration this weekend so whatever amount of bleach in the water softener system would have been there about 6 weeks.
Can you let me know if I likely caused a problem to the system and how to fix? ( that is, if different from your previous advice) . Thank you!

On 2020-11-22 23 - by (mod) -

I would not rely on using water I'd run the flush cycle or if on your softener you can't easily skip to that cycle you may need simply to run a manual regen cycle.

On 2020-11-18 by Anonymous

Thank you again. Again, I’m really new to water softening and how it all works. The “ cycles” you mentioned that will flush out bleach used in well shocking occur automatically by the water softener system, correct?

If so, would a days worth of normal water usage likely flush it out? This is at a vacation home- we used the water normally the day after well shocking but then left. Thank you

On 2020-10-30 by (mod) - how to get the bleach out of the brine tank

I don't think so, Anon.

When I've dosed a salt tank with bleach I've taken care to put the bleach into the float chamber so that I know it's going right into water, not just wetting the upper salt with bleach; that way when the softener generates and then draws out brine it's using chlorinated water to do so, and after a cycle or two the tank is pretty-well flushed.

On 2020-10-28 by Anonymous

ok thank you for the info. Aside from running the water until no bleach can be smelled, anything special I’d need to do to flush the softener tank out?

On 2020-10-28 - by (mod) -

I really can't say with so little information where the water softener is damaged or not but chances are it's okay. It would be the use of a concentrated bleach solution left in contact with plastic or other components for prolonged. That would be more likely to cause damage. So what you should do is be sure that you have thoroughly flushed all of the chlorine and bleach from your system

On 2020-10-28 by Anonymous

I have recently shocked my well using bleach. As it turned out, I ended up using probably about 4X amount of bleach then was actually required for the size of my well.

I applied the bleach using buckets of water to dilute the bleach. I read afterwards that allowing any bleach to sit in water softener can damage it. I’m not sure how all of this works, but can you tell me if there’s reason to think I may have damaged the softener?

 

Question: how do I clean the Autotrol® Brand 255 Valve / 400 Serie water softener?

(Aug 31, 2014) Antoinette Jackson said:

We are NEW to this water softening system of life here in Palm Bay, Florida. Been trying to learn, learn, and learn some more.

We do not have hundreds of dollars to pay these companies to come out and do what we could do ourselves. Example we looked inside of the water bubbler holding tank (it is located outside) and were absolutely appalled at the filth, algae, rust, grime etc in the tank it had obviously not been cleaned in the 7 yrs this house has been here.

So PLEASE someone tell me where to start to try to clean this MESS out! I grosses me out I have been brushing my teeth with this water! I don't think the reverse osmosis filter I have under my kitchen sink can even help this mess!

Does ANYONE KNOW of a reliable/responsible person we can pay to come clean the tank out? We are 60 now and I am not in good health.

My only idea is a mop and gallons of bleach, but there are PVC pipes going across the inside near the top and two others coming INTO the tub on the left also. I need help!

Has anyone out there cleaned there own and can tell me how you did it? I'd really appreciate any help and tips. Thank you Antoinette Jackson islandantoinette AT yahoo is my e mail too. If you'd like to write me directly.

OH sorry if it matters I have the manual I found which says it is a GE then it says it is an Autotrol® Brand 255 Valve / 400 Series Controls. I looked it up and sure enough there is the same manual. Not that I can understand any of it.

But this page certainly looks like I can start here to begin to figure it all out IF SOMEONE CAN TELL ME HOW TO CLEAN THE HUGE OUTSIDE BUBBLER TANK THAT SEEMS TO HOLD THE WATER.

There is a VERY BIG valve on the bottom I can drain it. But to get those pipes out to tip it over to clean it, I'd have to use a hack saw and cut them then make sure I had more to re do it, with the PVC glue and if I do something wrong YIKEES! Has anyone cleaned theirs? Please give any advice Thank you! Antoinette Jackson

If I even could find someone to clean this big Plastic Holding Tank what would it cost me? And other than just bleach and a mop and LOTS and LOTS of HEAVY HEAVY scrubbing on ones hands and knees IF we can get it turned over to do it, any other way to do this?

It says on the side in big Red Letters R&S

Reply:

Antoinette

Most water treatment companies will be happy to send a trained service technician to inspect, clean, and also instruct you in the use of your water conditioner. They hope to sell you salt, service, etc.

See WATER SOFTENER CLEANING & SANITIZING for those instructions.

Question: Do I Need to Add Water to the Salt Tank After Cleaning it Out?

I had to take all of salt out because it was getting to hard and water was above the salt. When I put new salt in should I also add some water? - Brian

Reply: Yes, for some water softener brands/models

Brian

Water softener instructions such as those by American Aqua for the Hellenbrand H-100 water softener recommend adding about 6-inches of water to the brine tank after the tank has been completely-emptied and cleaned.

After the water softener has been returned to service, the water softener regen cycle and float control will automagically put the correct amount of water back into the salt tank.

Reader Comment:

If all the water is emptied out of brine tank upon cleaning, depending on model of softener, you might need to add water. All the Fleck valves need water added. Kinetico and possibly Culligan do not.

A. Carlin Water tech. - Jan 2012

Reply:

Thanks so much Carlin Water Tech. Contact us if you want to be listed and linked-to as an expert resource.

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Continue reading  at WATER SOFTENER CLEANING & SANITIZING or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• WATER CONDITIONER / SOFTENER MANUALS
• WATER SOFTENER CLEANING & SANITIZING
  • BRINE TANK BRIDGING or CRUSTING
  • DIRT & DEBRIS in BRINE TANK
  • SOFTENER BRINE TANK CLEAN & DISNIFECT
  • SOFTENER RESIN TANK SANITIZE / DISINFECT
  • SANITIZE NEW WATER SOFTENER
  • WATER SOFTENER IRON & SEDIMENT REMOVAL
  • WATER SOFTENER RESINS & CLEANING COMPOUNDS
  • WATER SOFTENER SANITIZER IMPACT on SEPTICS
• WATER SOFTENER OPERATING CYCLES
• WATER SOFTENER MANUAL REGENERATION
• WATER SOFTENING METHODS - OTHER
• WATER SOFTENER / TREATMENT TURN-ON - returning a water softener to service
• WATER STAINING CONTAMINANTS
• WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT DISINFECTION

Suggested citation for this web page

WATER SOFTENER RESINS & CLEANING COMPOUNDS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS

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