Water not soft. How do I know resin still good? Culligan Medalist.

[TSPORT]

Hi all. I have a Culligan Medalist softener that came with the house when we purchased it about 8 years ago. The system was new in 2005. I noticed lately that the water is no longer soft. Over the years I have only had to add salt and I cleaned out the salt tank a few times. I would prefer not to have to call Culligan for a service call as I am a DIYer. Did a bunch or reading up online, etc. I ran a bottle of Whirlpool softener cleaner through the other day and did a regen as it states. Water felt soft for part of one day and that was it. Now not soft again. The salt level is going down. There are no error codes on control panel. What would be the next logical thing to check? Should the resin be changed after 12-13 years (which is how old it is now)?
I am very handy, I just never got any experience messing with a softener because it just always worked and my old home did not have one.
I appreciate any input for logical sequence of things to check (and how) in layman's terms.
Thanks! - TSPORT

 

[Reach4]

What would be the next logical thing to check? Should the resin be changed after 12-13 years (which is how old it is now)?

Chlorine deteriorates resin. Chloramine probably does too.

If you change resin, go with 10% crosslinked resin, which is more chlorine-resistant.

Some people put a tank in front of the softener that removers chlorine or chloramines. It is not primarily put there to extend resin life, but it would do that.

You could find out if your town/company uses chlorine or chloramine, and attempt to measure if the levels are at the higher or lower part of the normal range by the time it gets to your house.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[TSPORT]

Still looking for some input on how I know if the resin is still good, etc..
Thanks in advance! - TSPORT