New house - Hard water

Y2KSVT

Y2KSVT

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So we just sold our old house and bought a newer home just over two weeks ago. I washed my wife's car for the first time on Sunday since living there. I used the two bucket method with the hose attached off the spiggot on the back of the house. It is a local water company that supplies the water, but boy did it make a mess of water spots on her paint. I had to do a quick polish with D151 and a white LC flat pad just to remove most of the spots before applying a coat of Natty's Red Paste Wax.

My question is for you guys with hard water. Do any of you guys have a spiggot that T's off the water line coming from your water softener? My softener is right in the garage so it would work perfect. No way I can justify the CR system. I just thought I'd see what you guys with hard water were doing. The funny thing is, our previous house was on a well and that water left zero water spots!

Mark
 
Yeah, I'm about to get mine hooked in that way, tired of running the hose from inside.
 
I have hard water (according to the kit test, 'very hard'). I will get a water softener in my next house. For now washing out of the sun and drying quickly is the solution.
 
I would definately hook up to your water softener since you have one BUT you will still get water spots if the water drys, however, they will be MUCH easier to remove. A water softener does not remove but instead exchanges the calcium and magnesium ions for sodium ions (or Potassium ions if you use Potassium Chloride instead of Sodium Chloride in the softener). The calcium and magnesium in hard water is what causes the scaling that is so hard to remove. Here is a article that explains it. Spot-Free Car Wash – Pure Water Products, LLC

I have medium hard water and use one of those in line garden hose softeners. AG sells them. I put quick connects on it and put it between 2 sections of hose when washing cars. I just lay it on the driveway. It works great and the Potassium spots (don't like salt on my vehicles) wipe off easily once the drying towel gets a little damp.
 
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I not only have really hard water, it has a lot of iron and other minerals. So bad, I installed two filters BEFORE the water softener to protect IT. Installed a 30-micron filter followed by a 5-micron charcoal filter. The first filter only lasts like three weeks! The charcoal filter lasts a lot longer because the first filter takes the brunt of the load.

I then installed a Brass T-adapter with a faucet between the softener and the rest of the house and attached a 75-foot hose to that to wash my cars. Water softeners will leave salt spots on the vehicle if you let the water dry on it, but it's a lot better than calcium and iron. If you don't wait too long before drying this is never a problem though. The only way to get a spotless wash, and it's not perfect either, is to use a deionizing filter. They don't last long and are expensive to refill. Those are better for dealerships and such where they have a high volume of washes.

Best,

Jose
 
Jsuro said:
The only way to get a spotless wash, and it's not perfect either, is to use a deionizing filter. They don't last long and are expensive to refill.

Best,

Jose
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When the TDS meter of my CR spotless is reading 0.00, it is perfect. ;)
 
Something to keep in mind..soft water is bad for plants/grass/ect. If you plan on watering your yard, or plants around the house soft water will eventually kill them due to the salt in the water. BUT..it's great for washing cars!
 
If you have a dehumidifier you can simply save the water and use it for washing - it's functionally equivalent to distilled. I have very hard water and I won't use it for anything but blasting off winter crud. I wash using an NR and the "distilled" water from my dehumidifier. The best part is it's free.:xyxthumbs:
 
stebob said:
Something to keep in mind..soft water is bad for plants/grass/ect. If you plan on watering your yard, or plants around the house soft water will eventually kill them due to the salt in the water.

BUT..it's great for washing cars!
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Also great when showering/bathing/laundry/cooking!

Note: As is mine....Most of the newer water softeners/conditioners have a by-pass valve function so killing the grass/plants/vegetation should no longer be an issue. :)

Bob
 
Thanks, guys! Don't worry, I use either the spiggot in the front or the back of the house for watering the lawn and other plants. That water does not run through the softener. Just looking for a 3rd spiggot in the garage that does run through the softener, only to be used for car washes.

Mark
 
Y2KSVT said:
Thanks, guys! Don't worry, I use either the spiggot in the front or the back of the house for watering the lawn and other plants. That water does not run through the softener. Just looking for a 3rd spiggot in the garage that does run through the softener, only to be used for car washes.

Mark
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Just install a tee and a ball shut-off valve where needed. Or if you're unsure, call a licensed plumber. There also may be building codes to contend with.........Bob
 
That was the exact plan. I don't want to get too crazy and tear out drywall, just to have it look nice insde of the wall. I'll just 'T' into an existing line.

Building codes? What are those!?!? :laughing:

Mark
 
If run off from your drive into your yard in a problem with the salt you can use Potassium Chloride rocks instead of Sodium Chloride to recharge your softener but it is about 4 times as expensive and can be harder to find. Ace Hardware carrys it in my area.
 
stebob said:
Something to keep in mind..soft water is bad for plants/grass/ect. If you plan on watering your yard, or plants around the house soft water will eventually kill them due to the salt in the water. BUT..it's great for washing cars!
Click to expand...

I did not know it was bad for plants! Good to know, you can also go to walmart and find the inline water hose filters for $17 is what I paid. Look for it in the RV section, it's a filters for RV water but works great! Leaves water spots but they wipe right up!
 
$17 in line hose filter at walmart?? Perfect! Thanks for the tip, I will be picking one of these up for sure.
 
rolop6 said:
I did not know it was bad for plants! Good to know, you can also go to walmart and find the inline water hose filters for $17 is what I paid. Look for it in the RV section, it's a filters for RV water but works great! Leaves water spots but they wipe right up!
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If this is the Walmart filter you are talking about it is not going to do anything to soften your water. Walmart.com: Camco Water Filter with Hose: Automotive

It may be fine for removing sediment if that is what you want but for softening water you need a canister that holds a resin cartridge to exchange the calcium and magnesium ions for salt ions. The resin cartridge is recharged by soaking it in very salty water using sodium chloride (salt) pellets.

You can find more information here but remember AG sells the "filters" too. Garden Hose Filters – Pure Water Products, LLC
 
I have hard water and it will spot instantly if I wash in the direct sunlight. My work around is only to wash cars in late afternoon just before the sun sets. I give myself a 45 min window to get it done before it's dark. Once the sun is low in the sky it doesn't seem to leave water spots.
 
Im in Phoenix, we probably have some of the hardest water in the nation. I dont have a water softener, i use ONR. No spot problem at all.
 
I did and it was only $50.00 to do it. It was the best investment we ever made. My wife uses the pressure washer now on the deck and driveway patio and I can wash the cars and tractor with no water spots. The plummer said it is an easy job.
 
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