Washing at home with Hard Water

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wn1998

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Guys and gals,
I currently use the local spray and wash and have thought about washing at home but my hose water is extremely hard and if you don't dry immediately you get crazy water spots on the cars.

If I dry the car before it air dries is this ok? Is there anyway to combat this extremely hard water or should I keep washing at the spray and wash?
 
I have slightly hard water also. What I find helps alot is using the flooding method with the hose and having a good lsp base. The two together will reduce the water on the car to a few drops here and there. To finish up use a quick detailer as an aid to help dry faster and remove any water spotting.

The flooding method is taking off any hose attachment and reducing the water pressure so a slow steady steam. Here is an example of it:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6qHVZ4G5k4]YouTube - DODO Wax - Purple haze sheeting[/video]
 
Might be a stupid question, but how can I know if I have "hard water" ?
 
TheGLL said:
Might be a stupid question, but how can I know if I have "hard water" ?
Click to expand...

Don't hand dry your car and you will probably get some pretty bad white water spots on the paint that don't buff out with towel.
 
Usually when people talk about hard water what they mean is that their are minerals suspended in the water and if you don't remove the water from the finish then after the water evaporates off the finish the minerals will stay behind and leave a water spot.

The water Spot can be a Type I water spot or both a Type I and Type II water spot and on some paints it could potentially be a Type I, Type II and Type III water spot!

If you have minerals in your water supply you can either filter them out or wipe the water off before it can evaporate off.

This is why in my infamous car wash video I talked about washing early in the morning or late in the evening because at the time I lived in the Mojave Desert and the heat, sun and wind will tend to dry water off your car very quickly.


I'm working on an article on tis topic as I type...


Tracers Tracers - RIDS - Pigtails - Cobweb Swirls - Rotary Buffer Swirls - Holograms - Water Spots - Bird Drooping Etchings




:)
 
^^ Thanks Mike!

Too bad I can't test that until spring.
Big snow storm today. :(
 
Mike,I do not have the water hardness problem. I have a General Ionics System in my home. But,can't using ONR reduce some of the water spot problems. Since you wash a section at a time and dry it,the water does not evaporate causing the spots! Is this a correct assumption?
 
On warm days i first rinse the car totally,wash and rinse the top surfaces then wash the rest of the car,i re-rinse and chamois dry the vehicle,i then take all my time to wash tires and rims.
 
Lasthope05 said:
I have slightly hard water also. What I find helps alot is using the flooding method with the hose and having a good lsp base. The two together will reduce the water on the car to a few drops here and there. To finish up use a quick detailer as an aid to help dry faster and remove any water spotting.

The flooding method is taking off any hose attachment and reducing the water pressure so a slow steady steam. Here is an example of it:

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6qHVZ4G5k4] - DODO Wax - Purple haze sheeting[/URL]
Click to expand...

:iagree: i do the same thing it works great.
 
We have hard water here. It's important to cool the car by running water over it to cool it before starting to wash, even if you are in the shade. I haven't had any problem this way. I start with the top and then do sections and try to rinse the car all over after washing a section, even the parts I haven't washed yet. This doesn't allow any evaporation. I then flood rinse the entire car before drying. Try this and I think you'll find it works. I always use a QD or Aquawax afer each washing.
 
autogeek_2084_116638444


:dblthumb2:

CR Spotless Rolling De-ionized Water Filtration System, deionization system, water de-ionizer, purified water systems, cr-spotless, spot free rinse,
 
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Has anyone actually used those spotless systems and have an opinion on them? I have seen some good and bad reviews, but they are really appealing as an investment.
 
christian900se said:
Has anyone actually used those spotless systems and have an opinion on them? I have seen some good and bad reviews, but they are really appealing as an investment.
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I just got one a few weeks ago, but being the dead of winter here in Idaho I have not gotten to use it yet. I will post a review this spring when I can use it. (Sure looks cool though)!!!

autogeek_2084_116638444
 
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Showroom Shine said:
Mike,I do not have the water hardness problem. I have a General Ionics System in my home. But,can't using ONR reduce some of the water spot problems. Since you wash a section at a time and dry it,the water does not evaporate causing the spots! Is this a correct assumption?
Click to expand...

i believe using these would help, onr and dp rinseless wash. they have polymers in them that will attach to the iron and magnesium in the water and separate them. plus washing and drying one section at a time is always better.

unclestu said:
check the ph with a ph test kit. or call your water co. they will tell you your ph (water hardness)
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i don't think it's a ph test you want, that's for acid and such. you would need to know your iron and magnesium content. that test would cost some dough. you could take a glass of water and just set it overnight for a couple of days and then check to see how much 'stuff" settles to the bottom of the clear glass, this will give you a good idea of how much crap you have in your water.

like i said above it will just be easier to add a couple of cap fulls of dp rinseless wash to your bucket, this helps alot.
 
I have hard water. A few years ago we had a great system installed. I had the option of letting the system hook in where the water enters the house or have it also go to the hose outlets. Well, Skybaby was not here at the time and thinking that I use the hose to fill the pool I just decided not to soften water that is going to get re-chlorinated anyway. Well, you know where this is going. Now when I wash my car I have hard water. I do like some have mentioned. Keep all panels wet untill complete and then flood rinse. After that I have noticed if I blow before toweling I can easily get spots. I have to get on that towel quick! I could have them reset the system but its quite costly. I will be looking into that further but recently I have thought of a few other options.

1.-Hook a seperate hose into my washer sink in the garage. When final rinse time comes rinse with that water. (That sink hasn't been used in forever so I need to do a little work there)
2.-For some people with no water softener you could have a 1 gallon of 89 cent distilled water and when you're done pour it over the panels you end up toweling last to give yourself the time to get there.

Have a good evening-
 
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