Stupid question had to ask

[G Santana]

Like most hobbyists here I have a RODI unit and every few months I swap out filters and the resin.
Now I looked into Recharging possibilities for the resin and saw an interesting vid on how it's done, although I have no clue where to get the acids nor have I looked into cost effectiveness.
With that said, I have been pouring the spent resin in a large zip lock bag and shelving it rather than tossing it.
Now when the resin is spent it's rather orange and it was orange when I placed it into the bag, the other day I had to replace the resin and I pulled the bag to add the spent resin, I was rather shocked to see that the spent resin in the bag was no longer solid orange and almost looked like the resin I had just placed in the RODI unit.
Now I know it's spent but why is it no longer solid orange and can almost be mistaken for new resin?

 

[KrisReef]

Sounds like spontaneous regeneration to me.

I have noticed that resin will change colors in storage:I have no reason for it.
I tried once to recharge resin and I was not successful myself. I don’t have a proper lab setup and I was afraid I would spill acid or base on myself and any savings would have been spent on medical expenses so I threw it out. If you get it working I will send you my spent di resin for recycling.

 

[WVNed]

This says you can get the stuff at Lowes or Home depot
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-09/nftt/index.php
Muriatic acid and lye. I use muriatic acid to clean pumps now. Lye is used as a drain cleaner for plumbing. Or to make soap.

Lye for Soap Making, Sodium Hydroxide for Soap Making, Caustic Soda, Drain Cleaner and Clog Remover​

Same stuff sold at Home depot 100% sodium hydroxide.

Doesnt look to difficult. Spent mixed bed resin even separates itself for you during the process.

Sorry I do way better with text than video because I can quickly scan back and reread it.

If only I didnt have a neurologic problem that made me spill everything. You could remove your skin.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Regeneration is cost effective, but tedious. I never bothered.

The color change is pH based. If exposed to CO2 it might change the pH enough to see a change, though the ions are still there.