A washing trick that doesn't seem to get mentioned

[Zingledot]

1.)
I might have missed it... But:
I haven't read anywhere in your above stated processes where
you use any type of car-wash shampoos/soaps/synthetic detergents.

2.)
Also...
Who told you that you have to towel dry a vehicle?

Please advise. Thanks.



Bob

i just didnt go into any detail on the wash step because its irrelevant, no? i wash with a cleaning solution and then i rinse. Honestly sometimes you just need to rinse it off and here in utah you need to rinse dust off constantly, but it isnt really /dirty/ beyond that, so the point is saving time and money just being able to rinse and go, at home. but on that note, soap is known t work better without hard water, and doing the wash step with filtered water will ensure you dont miss any mineral deposits on the rinse - because you didnt put any there to begin with.

if you have hard water, you need to get the water off your car before it dries. so you have to towel dry. there might be some additive you can buy andd pit it in your rinse water, but i have heard of any that are 100% effective, so why not just rinse with clean water?

essentially, this is all hard water problems, and if you arent part of the 80% f the usa with hard water its all irrelevant.

cheers,
aa

 

[FUNX650]

i just didnt go into any detail on the wash step because its irrelevant, no?

I can't help it...But:
I personally don't think the wash step is irrelevant...
Whether it's with, or without, filtered water.

And IMO:
Just the rinsing-off-the-dust processes without using car-wash shampoos, as you allude to,
can have the ability to introduce unwanted 'marring' to a vehicle's finish.

In the long run:
Even if I'm not completely sold on your processes...
Isn't whatever wash-methods...that you've found to be satisfactory...all that really matters?




Bob

 

[Zingledot]

how r u rinsing using the ro water from a jug ? just pouring it over the vehicle ? u have a tank and pump to feed it to a pw ?

Not at the moment, but I have a miata, so it's really manageable. I just dump it from a bucket.

 

[Zingledot]

I can't help it...But:
I personally don't think the wash step is irrelevant...
Whether it's with, or without, filtered water.

And IMO:
Just the rinsing-off-the-dust processes without using car-wash shampoos, as you allude to,
can have the ability to introduce unwanted 'marring' to a vehicle's finish.

In the long run:
Even if I'm not completely sold on your processes...
Isn't whatever wash-methods...that you've found to be satisfactory...all that really matters?




Bob

I think you misunderstood the original post. I don't think I ever implied that if you use filtered water you suddenly don't need to /wash/ your car. I created this topic because in all of the reading I've done on washing how-tos, I've never seen mention of using filtered water to alleviate the troublesome issue of hard water - let alone just buying it from the store.

I'm definitely not trying to be 'right' or 'sell' people on anything. I just wanted to share something that worked for me and hasn't produced undesirable results in my experience, and isn't something I've seen anyone else talk about.

 

[Spiney]

How is this water sold in the stores? Is it the type where you bring your own jug and fill it, or is it sold in 1 gallon jugs? What exactly am I looking for in the store? I've been very disappointed in the suds I get from various types of car shampoos bought from AG and I'm sure my water is the culprit.

Thanks, Dave

 

[Shortspark]

Here you go: Pre-Fresh Spa & Pool Water Fill Filter

 

[Zingledot]

How is this water sold in the stores? Is it the type where you bring your own jug and fill it, or is it sold in 1 gallon jugs? What exactly am I looking for in the store? I've been very disappointed in the suds I get from various types of car shampoos bought from AG and I'm sure my water is the culprit.

Thanks, Dave

My place has a thing where you bring a jug and fill it, others have them already filled. Really it varies a lot.

 

[Zingledot]

Here you go: Pre-Fresh Spa & Pool Water Fill Filter

That doesn't seem too bad. I'd be curious for how long the $20 filter would last on it when it comes to filtering hard water. It might filter other things for a lot longer than it does the magnesium and calcium that primarily form hard water. Most water softeners are canisters because you need to flush and recharge them pretty often, but you can just recharge it with salt, which is pretty cheap. That said, the startup cost is cheap at $30, so if it lasts a couple months you're doing well.

 

[HardLineDetail]

Hmm $30 not bad? Would it work perfectly with a pressure washer?

Also, this will prevent any water spots?

 

[swanicyouth]

Not at the moment, but I have a miata, so it's really manageable. I just dump it from a bucket.

That may work on a Miata, but on a bigger car you would need to spray it through a pressure washer or something. Karcher says their washers can suck up water through a bucket, I've seen where people have tried it and say it doesn't work.

No $20 filter is giving you RO water in any useful quantity. The media costs more than that. Maybe it will filter out sediment, but that's it.

 

[vman]

I use a hand pump sprayer with ONR and spray down my entire vehicle with a fine mist of it to solve hard water problems. You still have to dry the car with air or a towel or itll streak but there are no worries about water spots since ONR is a water softening champ! Pretty cheap and easy for me.

 

[HardLineDetail]

Poo!

 

[HardLineDetail]

I use a hand pump sprayer with ONR and spray down my entire vehicle with a fine mist of it to solve hard water problems. You still have to dry the car with air or a towel or itll streak but there are no worries about water spots since ONR is a water softening champ! Pretty cheap and easy for me.

What do you mean?

 

[Lexi65]

What is this? Feed back please for those of us that really don't understand. No kidding!

 

[nissenc1337]

Can you not simply purchase a filter or is an entire system necessary?

 

[Zingledot]

its no RO for 20, but the company says it prevents water spots. that being said, can any of us say foor sure that it will work as described? not wthout trying it.

 

[Lexi65]

You can just skip the towel dry step if you wash/rinse with filtered water.

I've been using the car wash for maintenance washing to get big crap off, but frankly no amount of water pressure measures up to just taking your MF mitt and wiping it once. So that's great, but if you do it at home you then have to towel dry which is a) a pain in the ass b) nearly impossible in the desert where water dries instantly c) uses a ton of towels

I started looking up water filtration and additives to prevent hard water spots, and it's all complicated or expensive. Then I noticed my grocery store sells reverse osmosis water for 30 cents/gallon. Just buy 5 gallons for $1.80, which I can wash my car like 3 times for, and enjoy the air-dry lifestyle.

Ok... So what you're saying is that if I have decent protectant,
I can simply poor distilled water on my paint and there is no need to dry my car paint?? Feed back please

 

[Zingledot]

Ok... So what you're saying is that if I have decent protectant,
I can simply poor distilled water on my paint and there is no need to dry my car paint?? Feed back please

I'm just saying - and your mileage may vary, and I am not the world's expert on car care - that since I have a decent protectant on my car, my only day-to-day issue is random hard water and dust and that none of it will come off with water-pressure alone; I have found that I can use reverse osmosis water to wipe and rinse without chasing down water as its drying or putting hard water on as I'm washing. I personally save the /wash/ for my day off, but I get the crap off as needed in a minute or two.

 

[Lexi65]

What is this? Feed back please for those of us that really don't understand. No kidding!

BumpFeed back please

 

[davey g-force]

I'm just saying - and your mileage may vary, and I am not the world's expert on car care - that since I have a decent protectant on my car, my only day-to-day issue is random hard water and dust and that none of it will come off with water-pressure alone; I have found that I can use reverse osmosis water to wipe and rinse without chasing down water as its drying or putting hard water on as I'm washing. I personally save the /wash/ for my day off, but I get the crap off as needed in a minute or two.

Wait - so you use RO water without car wash soap?