Hard water issues.

B

Biggestmexi

New member
My house has hard water. It is terrible. I washed my car there once and I will not do it again until I get a water softner. (Also, which would you recommend?)



So what are my options of washing my car or any other vehicle?



Take it to a DIY car wash for the wash alone?



Hook up to the neighbours water and see what they got?



Buy gallons of water?



Is there somethine I can use in conjuction with hard water to not get terrible water spots?



I looked at the ONR and did not see anything about it helping with hard water.



:thx
 
If your water is hard, your neighbor's water will be hard (unless they have a water softener...or you are on well water and you have really different depths). The nature of how one uses ONR (wipe on, wipe off) significantly reduces the chances for spotting. Your other option is to use an ancillary water-treatment device, such as a CR Spotless or one of the less sophisticated in-line treatment options. A leaf blower or similar can help get water out of cracks at the time you are drying, rather than later when it could cause spots.



If you want to get a water softener, and are a DIY'er, Lowe's and Sears sell softeners made by the same company and you can get a small one for less than $400, I believe. A sale may make that more attractive. There is a not insignificant amount of plumbing to be done if the house hasn't previously been equipped with one, but if you're handy with sweating pipes it isn't that big a deal. If you want to have one installed, there are more options, we have members here who are in the industry that sometimes offer advice.
 
GatorJ said:
CR Spotless.







Costco - CR SPOTLESS De-ionized Water Filtration System
Click to expand...



I was looking for more of a multi-tasker. Like a water softner for the whole house if i were to spend that much.....which i plan on getting one of these days.



You know better dish cleaning, shower/baths, yadda yadda.



Setec Astronomy said:
If your water is hard, your neighbor's water will be hard (unless they have a water softener...or you are on well water and you have really different depths). The nature of how one uses ONR (wipe on, wipe off) significantly reduces the chances for spotting. Your other option is to use an ancillary water-treatment device, such as a CR Spotless or one of the less sophisticated in-line treatment options. A leaf blower or similar can help get water out of cracks at the time you are drying, rather than later when it could cause spots.



If you want to get a water softener, and are a DIY'er, Lowe's and Sears sell softeners made by the same company and you can get a small one for less than $400, I believe. A sale may make that more attractive. There is a not insignificant amount of plumbing to be done if the house hasn't previously been equipped with one, but if you're handy with sweating pipes it isn't that big a deal. If you want to have one installed, there are more options, we have members here who are in the industry that sometimes offer advice.
Click to expand...



Yeha i figure the city water is all hard, but maybe one of them has a water softener. lol.



Does anyone know about how many gallons of water it takes to wash a car by hand sans pressure washer? I am able to GET DI water but its at a distance is why i ask. But if DI water is the nees knees then i supposed i could figure something out?



I figure I SHOULD be able to get the softener in myself so when i get it, oh happy days.



And for some reason, I never thought of using my blower for drying the car off lol. I have a large backpack blower even. Der me.



Would it be wise to use ONR that way? Im sure it is but that seems to be a pain. But worth a try. I figure i could do little peices at a time and it should work the same?
 
ONR will bond to a lot of the minerals in the water, so you might have to add more then the regular amount of ONR
 
Biggestmexi said:
Would it be wise to use ONR that way? Im sure it is but that seems to be a pain. But worth a try. I figure i could do little peices at a time and it should work the same?
Click to expand...



That's the way you use ONR, a panel or section at a time.



If you're really planning on getting a water softener, just do it (if your finances allow) and make sure you have a way to get the soft water outside because typically outdoor faucets are not plumbed to the soft water for economic reasons and because the sodium is bad for plants.
 
HAHA, im a new guy, can't you tell, lol.



Thanks though for the help.



I planned on looking for a water softener that had a bypass vavle built in like my dads house had. It made it super easy to use. It was right where the water came into the house. So that way it would go everywhere, then you could switch it off and on for whatever you needed it for.



Hopefully they make them like that still though lol.



If not Ill have to make one my self.
 
The ones that are made by...um, that company that is owned by Whirlpool and makes the Whirlpool, Kenmore, and several other brands, comes standard with a sliding bypass valve.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
The ones that are made by...um, that company that is owned by Whirlpool and makes the Whirlpool, Kenmore, and several other brands, comes standard with a sliding bypass valve.
Click to expand...



Awesome, thanks for the help.



Not to look into them while my gf still works at sears.



discount!
 
I should mention that we have a member here who works for a competitor, and that those Kenmore and others are considered by those in the water conditioning industry to be crap compared to say, Kinetico, Fleck, and Clack. I would recommend some sort of whole house or inlet filter before the softener, to keep the grit out of the working parts.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I should mention that we have a member here who works for a competitor, and that those Kenmore and others are considered by those in the water conditioning industry to be crap compared to say, Kinetico, Fleck, and Clack. I would recommend some sort of whole house or inlet filter before the softener, to keep the grit out of the working parts.
Click to expand...



LOL.



CRAP.



I have one now, being it was a cheaper decision at the move in time than a softener, but helped, and its to far down the line to put BEFORE the softener.



But i guess 2 cant hurt.....



I dont have any dealers in my area for those.
 
Biggestmexi said:
I was looking for more of a multi-tasker. Like a water softner for the whole house if i were to spend that much.....which i plan on getting one of these days.



You know better dish cleaning, shower/baths, yadda yadda.







Yeha i figure the city water is all hard, but maybe one of them has a water softener. lol.



Does anyone know about how many gallons of water it takes to wash a car by hand sans pressure washer? I am able to GET DI water but its at a distance is why i ask. But if DI water is the nees knees then i supposed i could figure something out?



I figure I SHOULD be able to get the softener in myself so when i get it, oh happy days.



And for some reason, I never thought of using my blower for drying the car off lol. I have a large backpack blower even. Der me.



Would it be wise to use ONR that way? Im sure it is but that seems to be a pain. But worth a try. I figure i could do little peices at a time and it should work the same?
Click to expand...



I have a whole house water softener..a Kinetico, which is generally regarded as the best softener on the market. My exterior hoses are on the system, I have to bypass the softener to fill my pool. (My sprinkler system is not.) I am still going to get the CR Spotless. Softened water and de-ionized water are not the same thing. A water softener replaces the "bad" mineral ions with sodium (salt) or sometimes potassium..a de-ionizer removes all of them. You can still get water spots with softened water.
 
Biggestmexi said:
I dont have any dealers in my area for those.
Click to expand...



I'm not sure you will find any "Clack" or "Fleck" dealers, since, a "Fleck valve" or a "Clack valve" is used as a building block and configured with resin tanks by local soft water companies (kind of the way your local Honda dealer wouldn't be listed as a "Michelin dealer" even if they do buy and install a lot of Michelin tires).



GatorJ said:
I am still going to get the CR Spotless. Softened water and de-ionized water are not the same thing. A water softener replaces the "bad" mineral ions with sodium (salt) or sometimes potassium..a de-ionizer removes all of them. You can still get water spots with softened water.
Click to expand...



That's true, but for me, the easily-removed salt spots from softened water are a lot less hassle then dragging out the CR for every wash session, and the constant resin upkeep (and cost).
 
As odd as it sounds Kit car wash seems to do pretty well in hard water. You may want to wash the entire car and then rinse and then dry with some QD to reduce spotting.
 
Another must have addition to your arsenal is Duragloss Water Spot remover. It will remove spotting on glass that window cleaners won't touch.
 
I have really hard water and if I wash the car in the sun I can guarantee there will be spots before I can dry it. My solution, but not very convenient is to wash just as the sun is setting. I have about a 30 minute window where I can wash the car out of direct sunlight but still have enough light to see. without the direct sunlight I have enough time to dry the car without getting spots.
 
Soft water can really spot up a vehicle too, even if the deposits *do* clean off easily enough. IIRC, it's a matter of how hard the water was before conditioning..."ion exchange" and all that.



wannafbody- Seems like Kit Car Wash is getting a lot of attention these days! I haven't heard of any Kit stuff since the days of "The Batmobile needs waxing!" :chuckle:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top