I hate water... Water Softeners?

**courtdale** · 09-19-2011, 08:45 PM

I water soooo much, I actually avoid washing (something I would prefer to look forward to). I avoid it so much I try to QD every day to keep maintaining.

I've researched water additives in the hopes of even filling up 10 gallons or so in buckets to pour during a rinse. Yes, I know, if proper drying techniques are used, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, but the majority of time, my schedule forces me to detail during hot times of the day, and i can always bet that after drying one end of the car, at leastg some of the other end dries on its own.

I've found that some use sodium and/or potassium tablets for this purpose, but while they do "soften" the water to an extent, they dont take care of the mineral deposits/ions.

So I started looking at portable systems. I saw one in a post here not too long ago. The first one i came across though advertised using "simple table salt". Long question short - if I were to buy SOMETHING in this area, what would my best bet be? No I am not open to putting a full fledged system into my house. Already looked into it.

Pet theory - I use white vinegar to get the water/mineral stains out of my bathrooms. Could a weak acid mix in rinse water help here??

**Setec Astronomy** · 09-19-2011, 08:52 PM

Why don't you use ONR? And mix it with distilled water from the supermarket if you really want to get down.

**poweraid** · 09-19-2011, 08:52 PM

does rinseless washes give u problems also.

**courtdale** · 09-19-2011, 09:09 PM

Was kind of looking for a way to make the traditional wash work. Ill look further into the rinsless as an option, but the distilled water suggestion gave me an idea. Our Chem. dept. at work maybe able to help me in making my own en mass. I know my chem dept back in college used to do it. If I can make 5-10 gallons every other week, that wouldn't be bad, IF i can do it cheap.

**Setec Astronomy** · 09-19-2011, 09:17 PM

Distilled water is like a dollar a gallon at the supermarket.

There's really only two answers to your problem. The first is to do some sort of ion exchange or deionization. Either get a water softener, which will exchange the hard water mineral ions for salt ions (which may leave some salt deposits, depending how hard the incoming water is, but that cleans off easily), or use a device like a CRSpotless to completely remove the minerals.

The other way is to use a rinseless or waterless wash. With these approaches, you will be wiping dry as you wash, so there is no chance for spotting to form. In addition, these products have buffers, etc, to help with spotting.

IMO your solution of doing a conventional wash with a DI rinse being poured on the car...is not going to be too effective in the Florida sun, especially with that black car in your avatar.

**courtdale** · 09-20-2011, 07:22 AM

Like the look of the CR units, but not the price. For a few dollars more, I could have a household unit installed. Yeah, I don't think the "pour on" plan is very practical either. The rinseless wash seems to be the way to go in my current situation. Luckily the weather break is right around the corner and I should have some cooler days ahead.

**FUNX650** · 09-20-2011, 07:34 AM

Originally Posted by courtdale

Like the look of the CR units, but not the price. For a few dollars more, I could have a household unit installed.

If the price of a household unit is a current drawback, maybe you could check on the cost of leasing one for a while to see how you like it...

Bob

**courtdale** · 09-20-2011, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by FUNX725

If the price of a household unit is a current drawback, maybe you could check on the cost of leasing one for a while to see how you like it...

Bob

Not the price on the household unit, more the fact that I will more than likely be moving in less than a year. It was the price on the portables that I had an issue with, can't believe they're that close in price to the households.

**Setec Astronomy** · 09-20-2011, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by courtdale

It was the price on the portables that I had an issue with, can't believe they're that close in price to the households.

But they aren't the same things. The household units are ion-exchange, they are exchanging the hardness ions for salt ions. With these the TDS (total dissolved solids) is the same before as after, it's just the solids (salt) are easier to clean off. The "portable" units like CRSpotless are deionizers, giving you 0 TDS.

**FUNX650** · 09-20-2011, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by courtdale

Not the price on the household unit, more the fact that I will more than likely be moving in less than a year. It was the price on the portables that I had an issue with, can't believe they're that close in price to the households.

Didn't know you were moving so soon.

Even with a whole-house water conditioner/softener, I still use an in-line water filter to the refrigerator and kitchen sink.
Here's some portable water softeners/DI units my father-in-law uses that resemble those in-line filters....starting at $70 bucks:

watersticks.com

Bob