Having traced unusually low water pressure in the house to the water softener, this weekend we replaced the softener’s resin beads. Things learned:

• Emptying the old resin beads involves moving around a fairly lightweight water softener made very heavy loaded with water and old resin. It’s probably best done as a two-person job.
• There may be water pressure built up between the softener and the pipes. Be careful unhooking the unit!
• The top of the softener unit might be screwed on very tight. A large wrench may be helpful.
• Spilled resin beads make the floor / driveway surprisingly slippery. Try to avoid spills! Alternately, if you have to move a large, heavy object, sliding it along a trail of resin beads might be a plausible option…

I couldn’t find any local stores that sold resin beads, so I ordered both the resin beads and filter gravel online. With shipping charges, the total came to $200; a local plumber bid $350 to do the job for me. Not a huge savings, but if you feel up to the task, replacing resin beads can certainly be done yourself.