Clean/Soft Water Options?

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Hi there,
First off let me say i live in Arizona, where we have VERY hard water and they dump a ton of chlorine into the water (especially in the summer) to kill bacteria.
With that said, I was wondering what water softening options I have...preferably portable (something i can hook up to a hose bib?)
Ive seen a couple things but they were up around the $300 range...im not sure if its worth it or not? How long do these filters usually last, can you 'refill' them or do you have to buy a whole new set up when they're shot?
Also, can someone explain teh difference to me between de-ionized water and water that has been thru a reverse osmosis (like something at a Water n Ice for 25c a gallon). Just wondering because I use the R.O water for all my product mixtures (apc, hyperdressing etc) but was wondering if theres a difference between it and de-ionized water?
Sooo hopefully someone can help me out....or tell me if its even worth worrying about that much, as I'm pretty good at making sure i dry the car 100% and wash/dry in the shade.
Thanks for the assistance

[cobalt9123]

This is a method that I have not tried yet, but saw on another detailing website. When washing, with a PH Neutral soap, wash the WHOLE CAR before rinsing any part of it off. Since the soap is PH neutral it "will not leave water spots on your car". Also, after rinsing the whole car off with the hard water, spray a good spray detailer onto the hard water and microfiber dry. (I would dry a majority with a blower, then get the rest with a spray detailer/ waffle weave microfiber.) Alternatively, there are these options here:
The more expensive
CR Spotless Water Systems, deionization system, water de-ionizer, purified water systems, cr-spotless, spot free rinse, spot free car washing (http://www.autogeek.net/cr-spotless-water-systems.html)
The less expensive (around $100)
Clear Inline Hose Filter Canister and Accessories (http://www.autogeek.net/clinhofianda.html)

[clm65]

I had the same problem with the water in my area. And I couldn't dry it fast enough to avoid water spots. I found a water softener tank, complete with over a cubic foot of resin, on Ebay for about $60 including shipping. I keep the tank in the garage with a short hose that I connect to the outside hose bib. I wash the car with the normal water, and rinse with the softened water. I don't know how long it will last, but so far it works great - no water spots when I just let it air dry.

[Bunky]

This is a method that I have not tried yet, but saw on another detailing website. When washing, with a PH Neutral soap, wash the WHOLE CAR before rinsing any part of it off. Since the soap is PH neutral it "will not leave water spots on your car".

I have partially started this but not because of hard water.

I wanted to speed up the wash time and use less water. I started rinsing 4 times max: all top sections, each side, front, rear. I do not wash in the sun so the soap is not baking in the sun and have seen no issues rinsing or drying any worse than water.

I do wheels after I dry the paint since I like to use the same soap mixture. With the 2BM method, it is still always very clean and sudsy.

[Bags]

We have kind of the same problem here in Florida, I have well water that has a lot of solids in it. So far the cheapest method I have found is an inline water filter that attaches to the hose of an RV. It blue and can be found at Wally world for under 30 bucks.

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

We have kind of the same problem here in Florida, I have well water that has a lot of solids in it. So far the cheapest method I have found is an inline water filter that attaches to the hose of an RV. It blue and can be found at Wally world for under 30 bucks.

Do you happen to know the name of it or what section in wally world ya found it? Does it work good enough to 'rinse and let air dry' with no towel drying or does it just help make towel drying easier?

[cobalt9123]

I have partially started this but not because of hard water.

I wanted to speed up the wash time and use less water. I started rinsing 4 times max: all top sections, each side, front, rear. I do not wash in the sun so the soap is not baking in the sun and have seen no issues rinsing or drying any worse than water.

I do wheels after I dry the paint since I like to use the same soap mixture. With the 2BM method, it is still always very clean and sudsy.

well it's a method I saw in one of Adam's videos. I'm not sure if I agree with it yet because I haven't tried it..but I may try it this week and report back how it does.