Soft Water

S

Saleenman607

Member
I was just reading a thread about the Mr. Clean system and was wondereing how many Autopians actually have soft water? I know it makes a HUGE difference over "regular" water. My daughter bought the Mr. Clean system for me last year and I didn't have the heart to tell her I would never use it. Soft water and the 2 bucket method combined with proper toweling to dry your vehicle = a usually swirl/mar free experiance. :cool:

Regards........
 
we have well water and it's absolutly awful no matter what we do to it. I just the mr. clean thing just for the rinse process since it has that water filter... the flow sucks, but i really don't have much other options where i live.
 
Yep, well water is awfull. You can condition the water with a filtration system from Culligan or some other company, but usually they'll tell you there's 2 types of water, working and drinking, and each one has a different remedy.

Sometimes I'll be short on time and bathe my car in the middle of the day and the water sometimes dries, yet I'll have no spotting due to soft water.
 
I use tap water and a triple layer cannister filter (pebbles, resin crystals and coarse sand) hooked up to the inlet of my Karcher pressure washer.



I have a friend who uses a reverse osmosis filter to filter tap water overnight into a 100 liter fiberglass tank and uses that with a syphon for his Karcher. His results are spectacular ! He has only one problem where the shampoo would not rinse easy because too soft water does not rinse all that well...



This weirdo also plans to actually set up some sort of heavy duty distiller to distill water to wash his cars. (He has a black 1934 Citroen and I could understand him easily.)
 
Besides double filters, I run softeners for both the house and garage water. Works great for me, it was money well-spent.
 
Accumulator said:
Besides double filters, I run softeners for both the house and garage water. Works great for me, it was money well-spent.
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Calgonite cartridge softeners ? I mean chemical softeners or filtering ?? I would fear chemical softeners since they may leave residue on the surfaces... :think:
 
Sorry I wasn't more clear. I have a softener for the house and another one for the garage-the kind you put "softener salt" into. I use potassium chloride for the garage one and I haven't had any problems, not with residue on the cars that's for sure. Far less trouble with spotting, etc. than I had at my previous shop where I used "hard" water. I also run two 5-micron filters before each softener as my (municipal) water is really crappy- I'm at the end of the street, downstream from the nearest flush-out point.
 
I run soft water throughout my house. It makes a big difference in the shower, washing machine, kitchen, and of course when washing the cars. I have had mine 8 years and would not be without one. No water spots in the last 8 years for me.
 
Yes I have a soft water system in the house, I put four litres of it into the body shampoo bucket before filling with warm water

Really helps to keep the paint slick when using a gentle shampoo
 
Accumulator said:
Sorry I wasn't more clear. I have a softener for the house and another one for the garage-the kind you put "softener salt" into. I use potassium chloride for the garage one and I haven't had any problems, not with residue on the cars that's for sure. Far less trouble with spotting, etc. than I had at my previous shop where I used "hard" water. I also run two 5-micron filters before each softener as my (municipal) water is really crappy- I'm at the end of the street, downstream from the nearest flush-out point.
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The filter's I think you are referring too based on your old posts dealing with deionized water, I just purchased them about 10 minutes ago. I got the double filter unit along with two water softener cartridges. I would've just purchased the more expensive CR spotless, etc., but I figured I would give the more inexpensive setup a go first. :)
 
ajbarnes- After seeing some of the stuff that gets caught in my filters, I sure wouldn't want to be without them! Take a look at yours after they've done their job for a while, it might be pretty scary.
 
Accumulator said:
ajbarnes- After seeing some of the stuff that gets caught in my filters, I sure wouldn't want to be without them! Take a look at yours after they've done their job for a while, it might be pretty scary.
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Will do. I know Philly water is pretty harsh, so it should be interesting to see the difference. Also, do you or anyone know where I can buy a water tester locally (home depot, lowes, etc.)?
 
I can;t see how softened water is a help to washing cars as the minerals taht cause the spotting are still present.



I invested in a CR Spotless system about a year ago, and cannot imagine being without it now. I wash my vehicles....and let 'em dry....and then apply Z8.



I feel that I avoid lots of marring that is caued by towelling. My dark blue Excursion shows no cobwebbing, etc.
 
Matt M said:
I can;t see how softened water is a help to washing cars as the minerals taht cause the spotting are still present..
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The difference between washing with "hard" and "soft" water was dramatic, no way to miss noticing it. Just *so* much less trouble with mineral deposits (on the faucets/fixtures too). And the shampoo seems to work better too. Even laundering the shop towels has been a night/day difference.



There are some threads here that go into great detail on how "softeners"/conditioners work, with posts by people who know far more about this than I do. But just going by the readily apparent empirical evidence, the softeners work great.



Marring by toweling dry just depends on the drying media. Use something that's functionally nonabrasive on automotive paint (like the softest of the WWMFs on the market) and you won't get any marring from that anyhow. IMO all wash/dry media oughta be CD-tested just so that potential danger can be eliminated.
 
Not sure I understand your question, however the city water here is naturally soft and mineral-free, it's almost as good as distilled water with the exception of the chlorine. Regardless it dries without any spotting at all. Artificially-softened water isn't actually soft, it just replaces one mineral with another that makes it feel soft. You shouldn't be drinking artificially softened water, and I wouldn't leave it on a just-washed car too long either.
 
I'm just trying to figure out if I have soft water or hard water. The link I posted is to a water system report for my town.
 
lex89 said:
I'm just trying to figure out if I have soft water or hard water. The link I posted is to a water system report for my town.
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There's nothing there to answer your question. You need to know "grains of hardness" which is a measure of the dissolved minerals, principally calcium. Call your water supplier. They should be able to tell you. You can probably Google for more information on degrees of hardness.



FWIW, I wouldn't drink that water they're serving up to you. That report doesn't look all that great.
 
I know what ya guys mean. I open and clean the filter cannisters every 10-12 washes and oh boy ! I can find anything but myself trapped in those !! Especially rust (how ??? :think: )

But the result is quite OK since I get fewer spos than before. I was told that I could also use a fiber-screen type additional cannister but it slows down the flow seriously and I may end up with a burnt pump with the Karcher...



Anyhow, So far so good... will do get it if I find a furthered design filter...
 
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