Hardwater - looking for a solution

[Darth_Emma]

I have VERY hard water at my house. I live in the country, about 3 miles out of town. We have a softener in the house, but not for the outside taps. So, I will have to fo the "wand" wash in town to wash my new car and then drive home to do the polishing and waxing.

 

However, I have seen a few products (none cheap) that claim to be able to soften water from the hose. I will put a few here:

 

http://www.pwgazette.com/gardenhosefilters.htm

 

http://www.bojifilters.com/

 

Do any of you have experience with any of these? If so, do they work? I'd love to be able to wash my car at home, but I do NOT want to deal with the white film and water spots from hard water. Any advice would be much appreciated.

[b_pappy]

What is the Mr. Clean gizmo?

 

Mr Clean Auto Dry Wash, they sell the kit, but basically is a hand held water softener.

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Clean-AutoDry-System-Starter/dp/B0006M56CE

You might go through the cartridges pretty fast, but maybe a short term solution. I've used mine with the Adam's Car wash and it works fine.

Not a full fledged endorsement for the unit, but might help you.

Bruce

[Darth_Emma]

I stopped by Walmart today and they had the Mr. Clean Carwash on clearance for $8. I bought one. One the snow melts, I'll give it a try with my home water.

 

In the meantime, I was going to stop by the self-serve, wand wash place today, but this is the first nice day in a looooooooong time and it's Saturday, so there was a line to get in to use it. I'll just leave the car covered for one more day and try again later this week. (I'm off work on Thursday).

[BRZN]

I had a dark Blue Grand Prix a few years ago and our water at the house is/was so hard: no product I tried helped. If the sun was out I didn't wash the car. If the sun dried the water before i did I was screwed, compound was needed to remove it.

 

We had a water softner installed a couple years ago after our toilets clogged with calcium: whole 'nother story. While the plumber was here I had him run a cold line from the softner to the outside faucet I use to wash the cars from. I also had a bypass valve put in so I could use only hard water if soft wasn't needed. Less than $250, problem solved forever! The softner isn't replacing calcium with salt. The salt is used during a back flush cycle to clean the calcium out of the resin that makes the water soft. Then amount of sodium left in the resin tank is negligible.

[Superdutytd]

The CR spotless one is the about the only thing thats going to get the HARD water down. I know what you mean about really minerally water as it in eastern washington literally one squirt on the hose will turn the side of your vehicles white. The Mr Clean helps but if you don't have really good water pressure it takes a while to rinse off your cars.

[Darth_Emma]

I think I'll start with the Mr. Clean Auto Dry Pack to see if that works. Then I'll move up the scale. My water is so hard that I would never let it touch the car without the water being treated in some way first. I will use detail spray when I dry the car though.

[IowaEmt1991]

Adam says DS will neutralize hard water during the drying process. I personally always mist down my car when I'm drying because it really does assist with the drying process. I dont know how it works, but it really works well.

 

Here's the video its around 6:20 into the video.

 

 

However make sure to buy a a gallon or even the 5 gallon casue you will use it very fast.

[SonicHD]

I use the Mr Clean gun. Have been for about 6+ years. I dont put soap in it, I just use it to filter the water, and thats it. I get about 8 washes or so out of the filters before I start to notice the white spots again. The gun is around $20, the filters are about $6-8.

[lawson4450]

phil from detailers domain has them he is a member of this site.

[Darth_Emma]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I have some reading to do.

[GXPaycheck]

Cheap but effective: Mr. Clean sprayer

Best but pricey: CR Spotless.

[Adam]

Hi Terri, nice talking with you today! CR Spotless makes a nice spot-free washing solution that we used for years at our shop in CA, which had extremely high mineral content.

 

We used to sell them, until Costco started selling them cheaper than we could buy them, so we just refer people there!

 

There is a meter which measures how hard the water in, and water out is rated. Once the resin is toast, and the in reading equals the out, you can get resin refills. The large filters on this unit will make for dozens and dozens of spot free car washes.

 

Cost, under $400.

 

 

 

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11201522&search=spotless&Mo=1&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=spotless&Ntt=spotless&No=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

 

[The Ryan]

Adam says DS will neutralize hard water during the drying process. I personally always mist down my car when I'm drying because it really does assist with the drying process. I dont know how it works, but it really works well.

 

Here's the video its around 6:20 into the video.

[Darth_Emma]

How hard would it be to add an outside spigot for the soft water? I did that when we put the softener in years ago, but to be honest I rarely use it. Remember, it replaces calcium with sodium, so not the same as washing with distilled water. I also had some luck with the Mr. Clean gizmo when washing my motorcycle and underhood, however since I switched to Adam's that too sits on the shelf.

Just a couple thoughts. PM if you have any questions.

Bruce

 

What is the Mr. Clean gizmo?

 

BTW, I understand the whole ion exchange principle of sodium for calcium in a softener. It still isn't "pure" water, but the sodium doesn't form a hard white film on my paint like calcium does.Thanks.

[Chris@Adams]

How hard would it be to add an outside spigot for the soft water? I did that when we put the softener in years ago, but to be honest I rarely use it. Remember, it replaces calcium with sodium, so not the same as washing with distilled water. I also had some luck with the Mr. Clean gizmo when washing my motorcycle and underhood, however since I switched to Adam's that too sits on the shelf.

Just a couple thoughts. PM if you have any questions.

Bruce

That is a good idea Bruce!

[Bunky]

Our whole house water softener includes the outside faucets. A simple plumbing job can fix it. Soaps suds more and clean better in softened (pH 7) water. Hard water spotting is dramatically reduced since the dissolved calcium is removed.

[b_pappy]

How hard would it be to add an outside spigot for the soft water? I did that when we put the softener in years ago, but to be honest I rarely use it. Remember, it replaces calcium with sodium, so not the same as washing with distilled water. I also had some luck with the Mr. Clean gizmo when washing my motorcycle and underhood, however since I switched to Adam's that too sits on the shelf.

Just a couple thoughts. PM if you have any questions.

Bruce

[Darth_Emma]

I have heard good things about water filters. I have well water as well and do not have any problems unless I do not dry the car. I do not have any filters yet.

 

 

P.S. you may want to delete your first link as links to competitors sites are not allowed.

 

Done. Thanks. (Since Adam's doesn't sell a competing product, I though it was ok.)

[whiterp199]

I have heard good things about water filters. I have well water as well and do not have any problems unless I do not dry the car. I do not have any filters yet.

 

 

P.S. you may want to delete your first link as links to competitors sites are not allowed.

[Darth_Emma]

The hardness is caused by dissolved calcium in the water. It is not a measure of pH.

 

I washed one vehicle once when we first bought this place: a blue chevy silverado. When I was done washing, my new truck was covered with a white film from the hard water. It was VERY hard to get off. I had to use rubbing compound to remove the film. I won't make that mistake again!

[garcmol]

I thought the Adam's Car Wash was pH 7 neutral. I've got hard water, but haven't had any spotting issues. I dunno