Hard water solution?

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01svtL

New member
The water here has a lot of minerals in it. Im picking up a black DD next week and want to keep the water spots to a minimum. Are there filters or something that can be added to the hose nozzle?
 
The most popular option is Deionization and Reverse osmosis or combination of both



Most popular - CRSpotless.com - Wash, Rinse, and Walk Away



Alternatively you could opt for RO or DI system or the combo from the site below... This is the RO unit



Aquarium Water | Reverse Osmosis | RODI Water | ReefKeeper Water | 300 gpd



RO is generally more costly but easier to maintain....



DI is a hassle (costly in both money and effort) to maintain... easy on the startup cost..There are some ways you can make it a lot easier on the money if you are willing to give it more effort see this thread by SuperBee it's got all you need to know about DI



http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-de...p-replacement-crspotless.html?highlight=resin
 
Scottwax said:
You can wash with Optimum No Rinse and not have to worry about water spotting.
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But how does this stuff help if I'm mixing it with hard water? Are users buying gallons of water from the grocery store to use with this or something?
 
The ONR will sequester the hard water minerals, just as many other traditional washes with "water softening" additives do. But it's the process of ONR, which is minimal use of water, one panel at a time, combined with wiping dry right after application, which really prevents spotting.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
The ONR will sequester the hard water minerals, just as many other traditional washes with "water softening" additives do. But it's the process of ONR, which is minimal use of water, one panel at a time, combined with wiping dry right after application, which really prevents spotting.
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I see.



What have you guys been using to apply it with the best results? What about for the drying part?
 
There are about as many different methods as users on this forum. Scott and I (not that I'm lumping Scott and I together) like to use microfiber wash pads (I usually use an old one that the foam has broken up in), but a lot of members use MF towels, I think some use grout sponges, and I usually use WW towels for drying but others like to use terry MF's.



There's about a million threads on QEW/ONR which are the more appropriate place to look for info on rinseless washing, since you were really asking a different question. To get back on the original topic, I used to use a CRSpotless, but it got to be too much of a hassle moving it back and forth (and using up the resin fairly quickly), so I just switched to using my soft water from inside, which gives me minimal spotting and what spotting I get is easily removed (since it should be the exchanged ions rather than the hard mineral ones). Other members have pointed out that the amount of soft water spotting you get will depend on how hard your water is to begin with, so your mileage may vary. Also a blower of some sort to blow off the water before it dries will help a lot, as will washing in the shade/cool.
 
Thanks for your help Setec.



I have a blower that I used several times on my black 530i that I used to have. It seemed to leave streaks though. Maybe my paint just wasn't prepped well enough??
 
Maybe the car wasn't rinsed well enough? I find a lot of soaps will be streaky or leave some film no matter what you do with the water, etc. if they start to dry on the car. Tough if it's warm out and the car is black.



EDIT: The short answer is to get a deionizer. That removes most of the problem with spotting. You still need to get all the soap residues off and out of crevices, and you still may need to do a QD or spray wax wipedown to get off what's left, if anything. There is a whole lot that can go into washing for getting good results without marring the car (especially black), from techniques to equipment to chemicals. That's why some members call a black car "a part-time job". A guy I work with (not a car guy) bought a black car and he asked me what he should do for washing and maintenance, and I told him he didn't really want to know, that it was going to be more than he would want to do.
 
A water distiller is another option, and one I'm considering myself with the high cost of resin replacement. I first saw it over on Autogeek and the setup the member has is pretty slick! I researched it briefly but what I got out of it is that a water distiller is much better at removing minerals from the water. The OP on Autogeek said he picked his up used for $100 and it makes 8 gallons over a 24/hr period.



attachment.php




Here is a close up of a similar unit.

water-distiller-durastill-3020_4620.jpg










Cheers,

Rasky
 
Rasky--the problem with that still is the low output and the fact that you have to store the water (which will want to grow algae because it has no chlorine in it) and that it's not under pressure (unless you use a pressure washer). Lot of cons IMO to doing it that way, almost bad enough to pick up gallons of distilled water at the store for a buck each--gonna take a lot of energy to run that still, remember, you're boiling the water--and leaving behind all the minerals that are going to have to be cleaned up. Think how gunked up your humidifier gets with mineral crud.



If I'm not making myself clear, I would guess I use a good 5 gallons or more to give a car a good rinse--so what if I want to wash 2 cars in one day? Do I distill all week and somehow store 40 gallons of water?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Rasky--the problem with that still is the low output and the fact that you have to store the water (which will want to grow algae because it has no chlorine in it) and that it's not under pressure (unless you use a pressure washer). Lot of cons IMO to doing it that way, almost bad enough to pick up gallons of distilled water at the store for a buck each--gonna take a lot of energy to run that still, remember, you're boiling the water--and leaving behind all the minerals that are going to have to be cleaned up. Think how gunked up your humidifier gets with mineral crud.



If I'm not making myself clear, I would guess I use a good 5 gallons or more to give a car a good rinse--so what if I want to wash 2 cars in one day? Do I distill all week and somehow store 40 gallons of water?
Click to expand...



Hey Setec,



I appreciate the feedback as I'm trying to figure out what the best route is for a spotless system myself, especially in the long run. I simply listed the distiller as an option to the OP question, but I really don't know much about them. I haven't looked into the cost of running a distiller either and it's definitely a factor as well as the cleaning of it. I'm curious as to what would cause it to grow algae though? What keeps the bottles in the store from growing it?





Thanks,

Rasky
 
Sorry, you're right about the algae, that happens with DI water, because the DI process removes the chlorine but not the microorganisms. The distilling should kill anything that's going to grow, as long as you can keep new stuff from getting in there.



I don't think there's any free lunch if you want mineral-free water, RO might be the least maintenance-intensive, but it uses a lot of water, the distilling uses a lot of energy, and the DI is inconvenient, but really the only way to get large quantities of water in a short time.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Sorry, you're right about the algae, that happens with DI water, because the DI process removes the chlorine but not the microorganisms. The distilling should kill anything that's going to grow, as long as you can keep new stuff from getting in there.



I don't think there's any free lunch if you want mineral-free water, RO might be the least maintenance-intensive, but it uses a lot of water, the distilling uses a lot of energy, and the DI is inconvenient, but really the only way to get large quantities of water in a short time.
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I think I may just buy the CR for now and look into the distiller a little more later down the road. Costco does have a pretty good price too. ;)
 
harold97 said:
Large Garden Hose Filters for Higher Flow Rates – Pure Water Products, LLC



I have been using this for several months, and have been very happy with it. I only do one, or sometimes three cars at a time, and just recharge it in a brine bath between uses, and have never had spotting issues since using it. I have even washed a lighter colored car in direct mid-day sun without spotting.
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This i'm pretty interested in. Currently I use ONR, but every week I go to the store and purchase about 6-7 gallons of distilled water for it. The difference is night and day compared to using tap water. I can just wipe it lightly and walk away the remaining water doesn't leave any spots, except for glass of course. This has been the best option for me, but is only a short term solution because in the long run it's pretty costly. $10 a week isn't that cheap in the long run. Would one of these garden hose filters produce pretty much the same results for much cheaper over time? How many gallons can you get on one of these as well before replacing them?
 
Rx8 Fanatic said:
Would one of these garden hose filters produce pretty much the same results for much cheaper over time? How many gallons can you get on one of these as well before replacing them?
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I am assuming that it would be cheaper in the long run if you are paying $10 per week now. I have been using the same brine mix since I got my filter in late May, and have pretty much left my filter in there when I'm not using it. A 40lb bag of softener salt is really cheap at Home Depot, and I still have most of it left. I paid $120 for everything, and have used it more than twelve times already, so at that rate, you would have saved money.



I got the middle size...it is fatter than the standard one, but not long one that is at the bottom of the page. I run it off of a garden hose that is turned all the way on, and only have spotting issues on a black car when it is windy, and those are minor, superficial spots, that do not appear to be hard water related.



I don't know how many gallons it produces, but I can wash three cars at a time and never see the performance fall off. It could probably do more, but at that point, I am out of cars and time! I sometimes will not recharge after washing one car, just because I'm in a hurry putting my stuff away, but I never wash more that two or three cars between charges, although it appears I could do more. I also use it for the entire process, not just the final rinse.



I have the hard water filter only, not the sediment filter.
 
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