Hard Water Advice

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rudedog830

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Having just purchased my first black car, I am becoming all too acquainted with the water spotting that comes from hard water. I'm in AZ and zerowater.com says that my TDS is 656 which is off the top of their scale! I clearly want to do something to prevent the water spots that I've already been dealing with. I'd like some advice on the best combination of de-mineralizing the water and ongoing cost.

I'd like some comments on the options I think I have:


  1. Hook a hose big to my current salt-based water softener. Will reduce, but not eliminate water spots and will reduce paint etching. Cost is minimal since I'm already buying salt.
  2. Buy a de-ionizer like the CR DIC-20. The initial cost is not cheap, but I'm more concerned about the ongoing cost of resin. I've heard people say that they only get 5-10 washes/rinses per resin load and I don't think they're water is as hard as mine. Clearly getting 2-3 washes from a resin load is not cost effective on a cost per wash basis.
  3. Rent a dionizer from a service like Culligan for $35/mo with the additional cost of regens. Not sure how much this is likely to cost since I don't know how often the regens will be needed.
 
Why not option #1 and the put an inline filter in your garage? I got a setup for about $50 at Home Depot and came with a filter. A 2 pack of filters are around $13. And I get around 3 months use on one during peak summer detailing.
 
I go about it an entirely different way. First I remove the nozzle from the hose to flush the water off of the car. Then I blow it off with a gas leaf blower and dab the remaining drops with a MF towel. Then I sit down and have a smoke. Yes, there are spots.....many spots. I then wipe the entire car and glass down with Aquawax, problem solved. Awesome glow which increases over time, no spots. The water is hard enough here that it comes out in chunks. Combine that with Arizona like temps and I do understand what you are up against. No matter the color this works every time.

You can also wipe down the wet car with Aquawax (which it is designed for) but I find my method uses only one MF towel vs many. Works for me and has for many moons.
 
I deal with this same issue (black car), although my TDS is only about 200 ppm. I bought a CR Spotless, it works very well. I only use it for the final rinse. It really does make a difference. But you still have to keep the car wet when it's hot and the sun is out.

Probably the easiest solution is to do rinseless washes with DI water. But, having a black car I wouldn't recommend that.
 
If it was me I would get one of those in line water filters from home depot or lowes to clean out my water use the flooding method once I am done washing the car use a electric blower to dry off my car, also make sure you are in a shaded, cool area
 
As good as using a water filter, also washing in the shade will help a little and there are also shampoo's (for example Dodo Juice Born to be Mild) which have water softners in them.
 
rudedog830 said:
Having just purchased my first black car, I am becoming all too acquainted with the water spotting that comes from hard water. I'm in AZ and zerowater.com says that my TDS is 656 which is off the top of their scale! I clearly want to do something to prevent the water spots that I've already been dealing with. I'd like some advice on the best combination of de-mineralizing the water and ongoing cost.

I'd like some comments on the options I think I have:


  1. Hook a hose big to my current salt-based water softener. Will reduce, but not eliminate water spots and will reduce paint etching. Cost is minimal since I'm already buying salt.
  2. Buy a de-ionizer like the CR DIC-20. The initial cost is not cheap, but I'm more concerned about the ongoing cost of resin. I've heard people say that they only get 5-10 washes/rinses per resin load and I don't think they're water is as hard as mine. Clearly getting 2-3 washes from a resin load is not cost effective on a cost per wash basis.
  3. Rent a dionizer from a service like Culligan for $35/mo with the additional cost of regens. Not sure how much this is likely to cost since I don't know how often the regens will be needed.
Click to expand...

I would buy Optimum No Rinse and you can do your washing in the garage. Clean the wheels and other dirty areas outside, rinse it off and then pull it in to perform the rinse less wash. I have some seriously happy clients now since I taught them how to do this.
 
RTexasF said:
I go about it an entirely different way. First I remove the nozzle from the hose to flush the water off of the car. Then I blow it off with a gas leaf blower and dab the remaining drops with a MF towel. Then I sit down and have a smoke. Yes, there are spots.....many spots. I then wipe the entire car and glass down with Aquawax, problem solved. Awesome glow which increases over time, no spots. The water is hard enough here that it comes out in chunks. Combine that with Arizona like temps and I do understand what you are up against. No matter the color this works every time.

You can also wipe down the wet car with Aquawax (which it is designed for) but I find my method uses only one MF towel vs many. Works for me and has for many moons.
Click to expand...

do not use gas blower, gas oil etc will settle on the paint
 
artofdetailing said:
I would buy Optimum No Rinse and you can do your washing in the garage. Clean the wheels and other dirty areas outside, rinse it off and then pull it in to perform the rinse less wash. I have some seriously happy clients now since I taught them how to do this.
Click to expand...

I think I'm going to try this route. Ultimately, it will be much cheaper and more convenient. My concern was with marring the finish, but apparently the polymers in the ONR help prevent that.
 
I’ve been using a CR spotless system and master blaster for several years now. I wouldn’t be without either, no way no how!! (CR for black vehicles and MB for all vehicles). I’ve been buying mixed bed resin in bulk from waterfilters.net. for several years and can recommend them highly! You can buy a cubic foot (which is enough for three complete changes of the large unit) for $156 shipped. Pair this with a low flow pressure washer and the cost becomes much more acceptable (especially for what you get)! IONPLUS MB-30 Mixed Bed DI Resin and IonPlus MB30 MixedBed Deionization Resin
 
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