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  1. #1
    Tc99m's Avatar
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    Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    Anyone use their Zero Water(ZW) filter instead of buying Distilled Water(DI)?

    Now, I`m just a hobbyist. So a CR system is more money than I want to spend at the moment. We use ZW at home for our drinking water. Here in Newnan Georgia our water is slightly hard. From the tap we get on average 50-60 ppm. From the filtered water from the Fridge 26ppm. And you guessed it 0ppm from ZW filter.

    Had the idea last night after I used my last gallon of DI. Just curious if anyone else has tried this?


    I know DI is cheap per gallon. Just being lazy and don`t want to drive to store.

  2. #2
    LEDetailng's Avatar
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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    Test ZW by putting it out to dry/evaporate on a flat object that would traditionally see water spots. No water spots and your good

  3. #3
    Tc99m's Avatar
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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    Quote Originally Posted by LEDetailng View Post
    Test ZW by putting it out to dry/evaporate on a flat object that would traditionally see water spots. No water spots and your good
    Great idea and so simple. Thank you.
    Likes LEDetailng liked this post

  4. #4
    rlmccarty2000's Avatar
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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    Let us know how it turns out.

  5. #5

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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    Some people are confusing distilled water with de-ionized water.
    Distilled water is water that is turned into steam (or vapor) and then condensed back into liquid form, but without most of (but not all) of the minerals, chemicals, and contaminants that may have been found in the original water source. Multiple distillations will produce an almost pure, mineral-free water.
    Deionized water is deeply demineralized, ultrapure water used in microelectronics, printed circuit boards, instrument manufacture, pharmacy, washing liquids, etc. In order to obtain the high quality, pure de-ionized water a multi-stage water purification process can be used. After pre-cleaning, the water is supplied to the reverse osmosis membrane, and then the water is filtered through a special deionization medium, which removes the rest of the ions in the water. The purity of deionized water can exceed the purity of distilled water. I think that`s the type of water a CR-Spotless water filter system produces, although not to clean-room or laboratory specifications, but mineral-free enough for car washing, so that when used a rinsing solution, it will not leave mineral-spots if left to dry (evaporate) on its own without the aid or use of some type of drying medium (air blow-off or chamois or microfiber waffle-weave drying towel). Those of you who have to use hard water know the pain this can cause when washing a car with the traditional 2-bucket method. It`s also the reason so many of you have changed over to rinse-less washes like Optimum Polymer Technologies No-Rinse (or ONR, as it`s know here) and use distilled or deionized water for this expressed reason.

    I would think that the water filtration system to produce Zero Water is similar to a Brita filter to produce clean, healthy tap drinking water. One other thing that a Brita filter does is to filter out cryptosporidium (amoeba) that can cause serious health issues. This is especially true in areas that have ground water contamination from farm-waste (manure) run-off. (like the Dairy State of Wisconsin, with its fractured karst limestone bedrock). I have no idea how much heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, radium) are eliminated because they do not use a reverse-osmosis process or distillation process, but it must be enough to meet current EPA drinking water guidelines and standards.
    GB detailer
    Likes RaydiantDetail, 512detail liked this post

  6. #6
    Tc99m's Avatar
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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    Quote Originally Posted by Lonnie View Post
    Some people are confusing distilled water with de-ionized water.
    Distilled water is water that is turned into steam (or vapor) and then condensed back into liquid form, but without most of (but not all) of the minerals, chemicals, and contaminants that may have been found in the original water source. Multiple distillations will produce an almost pure, mineral-free water.
    Deionized water is deeply demineralized, ultrapure water used in microelectronics, printed circuit boards, instrument manufacture, pharmacy, washing liquids, etc. In order to obtain the high quality, pure de-ionized water a multi-stage water purification process can be used. After pre-cleaning, the water is supplied to the reverse osmosis membrane, and then the water is filtered through a special deionization medium, which removes the rest of the ions in the water. The purity of deionized water can exceed the purity of distilled water. I think that`s the type of water a CR-Spotless water filter system produces, although not to clean-room or laboratory specifications, but mineral-free enough for car washing, so that when used a rinsing solution, it will not leave mineral-spots if left to dry (evaporate) on its own without the aid or use of some type of drying medium (air blow-off or chamois or microfiber waffle-weave drying towel). Those of you who have to use hard water know the pain this can cause when washing a car with the traditional 2-bucket method. It`s also the reason so many of you have changed over to rinse-less washes like Optimum Polymer Technologies No-Rinse (or ONR, as it`s know here) and use distilled or deionized water for this expressed reason.

    I would think that the water filtration system to produce Zero Water is similar to a Brita filter to produce clean, healthy tap drinking water. One other thing that a Brita filter does is to filter out cryptosporidium (amoeba) that can cause serious health issues. This is especially true in areas that have ground water contamination from farm-waste (manure) run-off. (like the Dairy State of Wisconsin, with its fractured karst limestone bedrock). I have no idea how much heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, radium) are eliminated because they do not use a reverse-osmosis process or distillation process, but it must be enough to meet current EPA drinking water guidelines and standards.
    Sorry for the Distilled Water as (DI). My goof! I was comparing the filter for ZERO water to my Reverse Osmosis System for my aquarium. The Zero filter is a five-stage water filter system, putting the water through sediment, carbon, and De-Ionizing (DI) resin. So in my mind it functions sort of like a mini Reverse Osmosis (RO)/DI water system. Thank you all for your input. I`ll starting an evaporation side by side tonight. Love all the knowledge this forum has to offer. Thank you all.

  7. #7

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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    I used to buy Distilled water from WalMart. At about 90 cents per gallon it was not that bad. I used it to do rinsless wash.
    I later started investigating the CR system and other systems of DI water.
    I ended up buying a On The Go Spotless Portable Dual Bed Deionizer. It was pricey as I am like you a hobbyist.
    Buying gallons of DI or Distilled water was much cheaper.
    But oh well I have a bit of OCD.

    It has lasted for months with minimum appreciable change of ppm. I think it started at 0 and now it is around 1or 2.
    I used it for rinsless wash and final rinse of for regular wash. Yes I was impressed that the car dried out in the sun with no water spots.
    i am not sure of the economies of scale with the zero filter pitcher. If you use a few gallons for your rinsless wash how often you have to replace the filter how much does it cost? if you use 30 gallons of water per one filter and the filter is costing $10 then it is cheaper than buying individual Distilled gallons from waly mart as it would cost me around $25,

    if you want to wash your car normally and at least rinse it with DI water then I am not sure you can do that with Zero filter pitcher.

    Regards

    Nick
    Likes rlmccarty2000 liked this post

  8. #8

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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    Nick:
    At lease you understand the concept of "economies of scale" when comparing the cost in buying individual gallons of distilled or deionized water versus the cost of a DI water system and having to maintain it for car washing purposes.

    There is a play-on-words when I say "economies of scale" and referencing "hard-water scale" that was unintended, but then no one caught that but me.
    GB detailer
    Likes Tc99m liked this post

  9. #9
    Tc99m's Avatar
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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    Yeah cost for distilled is cheap per gallon. I`m curious for those few times I run out. It`s a 45min drive roundtrip for a $1 gallon of Distilled water.

    Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    Migue's Avatar
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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    sometimes I buy distilled water, most times I fill up my RW mixtures and steamer with my RO system water. No complaints/issues yet. To be safe I`ll probably buy the refill RO water this summer for washing since my system might need a filter replacement(or not, haven`t bothered checking).

  11. #11
    Tc99m's Avatar
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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    Here are the results from a quick test. Zero water on left and tap on right. Zero water measured 0 ppm and tap measured 68 ppm. Will repeat after I get some more Distilled water.

    Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

  12. #12
    hammer71's Avatar
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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    The drinking water fill station at Walmart or any grocery store is RO DI water. Best part is it`s really cheap and you can get a 5 gallon jug. I used to get it when I had sal````er fish. Now I have an RO DI filter for that.

    I am in WI, the water is very hard. But it tastes great!!! Lol.

  13. #13
    hammer71's Avatar
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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    No liquid manure pollution by me yet.

  14. #14

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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    I know this is off-topic, but water quality "problems" associated with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), or large-scale dairy farms, is one of BIG concern in Northeast Wisconsin, especially with its underground karst limestone (AKA, the Niagara Escarpment). I cannot diss the corporate dairy farms in this area as they produce something I think all Autopian detailers like and need:food, or more specifically milk to make cheese (unless you are lactose-intolerant or do not like pizza!). However, if these corporate farms are, indeed, polluting the ground water used as a drinking water source for their rural neighbors, then it becomes a "problem" for everyone. Water quality and CAFO -induced pollution is a huge issue for both parties involved that has no easy economic answers. It is being closely followed by many, considering the national attention given to the lead problems in the water supply in Flint, Michigan. We all need to eat and we all need to drink clean water. Let`s hope we can continue to do both within economic reason.
    GB detailer

  15. #15

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    Re: Zero Water vs Distilled Water

    Quote Originally Posted by Tc99m View Post
    Here are the results from a quick test. Zero water on left and tap on right. Zero water measured 0 ppm and tap measured 68 ppm. Will repeat after I get some more Distilled water.

    Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

    My DI system came with a PPM meter. my tap water is like 80 ppm. Out my DI system is 0 up to 5 after months of using it.
    I will measure this weekend one more time and see what it shows.

    Regards


    Nick
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