Craftsmen 2200psi + Foam Cannon + Soft Water = ?

[d2mini]

So I went to Sears today to pick this up for $259 and they are all out! All the Sears in Houston! So it`s on order. Almost 3 weeks.

Craftsman 2200 psi Pressure Washer Torque Rating 5.0 (158cc) Briggs & Stratton™ Engine - Model 20311 at Sears.com (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_07175204000P?vName=Lawn+%26+Garden&cName=Pressure+Washers&keyword=pressure+washer)



And sadly my foam cannon will be here in a couple days...

Cam Spray 527100 - Foamer Attachment - Cam Spray 527100 - Every Pressure Washer - Great Selection of Electric Pressure Washers, Gas Pressure Washers, Hot Water Pressure Washers, Cold Water Pressure Washers, & Much More! (http://www.everypressurewasher.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=CAM1243)





Meanwhile, I`m wondering about how to mix the correct solution of soap/water.

I have a water softener hooked up to the main water line of the house.

Hague Quality Water | The Right Solution-City Water (http://www.haguewaterne.com/the_right_solution-city_water.html)



Any idea how this will effect my foaming action?



I have a brand new bottle of Ultima car wash soap. Should I use that? Any idea at what ratio?



Looking forward to using this setup... in 3 mf`ing weeks! Thanks!

[d2mini]

Got the foam cannon today. Pretty cool looking. Can`t wait to use it.



So should I assume that soft water won`t make much difference?

[chml17l]

Soft water will definitely suds more than hard.

[phamkl]

And DavidB has said that since Ultima car wash doesn`t contain any detergents in it, it won`t be able to clean from contact.



I bet though if the car isn`t really really dirty then it`d fine...

[BlackElantraGT]

You`re gonna have crazy foam :)



If anything, the soft water should help your soaps to work and foam better. I personally would not use the Ultima soap in a foam cannon. It`s cool to try out, but I bet you it will get expensive REALLY fast. You go through a lot of soap using the foam cannon. Costco was selling a gallon of their Turtle Wax Ice car wash for a little over $5 and that`s what I`ve been using lately in my foam cannon. Foams pretty nice for $5 a gal. It`s actually better in the foam cannon than NXT.

[Ralliart16]

while we`re on the subject, what kind of psi is safe to use? In other words, what kind of water pressure (PSI) does it take to damage the paint?



I am looking into a pressure washer to ease washing my cars and am just curious.

[SuperBee364]

Very good choice on the pressure washer. I can see from the picture on the Sears web site that it has the correct end on the gun to attach the cam spray foam cannon.



I`ve done alot of reading on soft water. When water is softened by traditional softening methods, the "hardness" (calcium and some other minerals) are not *actually* removed; they are *replaced* by sodium. Hence the need for water softeners to use salt. Typically, after the softening filters have removed alot of calcium (and given off alot of sodium in return), they must be replenished by being soaked in very salty water. This swaps the calcium in the softening medium out for sodium again, and allows the cartridge to "soften" water again. The problem with this is that the amount of salt in the water goes up proportionately to the amount of "hardness" removed from your water. In other words, if you have really hard water, the water will be quite salty after being softened. This additional salt has been rather hard on my pressure washer; several parts are already showing signs of rust. Additionally, it hasn`t really improved the water spots I get on my car, either. Now instead of getting calcium water spots, I get sodium water spots. They are easier to remove, but a PITA, none the less. I don`t use my water softening filters for car washing anymore because of these issues. If you really want spot free water, you`ll need to go to "de-ionized" water. Water of this type truly has the minerals *removed* and not just replaced with another chemical. Unfortunately, DI water is more expensive to get. I occasionally use the Mr. Clean cartridge de-ionizer when I don`t think I`ll be able to get my car totally dry before it starts getting spotted.



There are many, many types of car washing soaps out there. Part of the fun of a new foam cannon is trying them all. :)



Have fun!

[d2mini]

Cool, thanks for replies!

I`ll keep the ultima for the bucket and pre-soak with something cheaper.



SuperBee, would you say that the water should have a salty taste if it`s leaving salt spots?

I haven`t noticed that during normal washings and the water is definitely tasteless.



And can someone recommend a good soap to start with as well as a ratio of soap/water to start with? I know I`ll have to experiment but I need a jumping off point. ;)

I can check my costco for that turtlewax stuff...



Thanks!

[BlackElantraGT]

You`re probably not going to find the Turtle Wax Ice car wash at Costco. It`s that time of year where they`re switching out a lot of their summer inventory to their winter inventory. If you see it, pick up a jug because it`s decent price for a gallon of car wash that foams well enough for what you`re paying. But I wouldn`t go searching around for it.



I`m a cheapskate so you might not want to listen to me :) I have DG`s car wash soap, which is my favorite, but I save that for my washes. At $25 a gallon, it`s cheaper than a lot of the other soaps, but still too expensive (for me) to use as a pre-soak with the foam cannon. I keep hearing good things about DP`s foaming capability, but that thing is $40 a gallon. I can`t justify that cost yet.

[SuperBee364]

Cool, thanks for replies!

I`ll keep the ultima for the bucket and pre-soak with something cheaper.



SuperBee, would you say that the water should have a salty taste if it`s leaving salt spots?

I haven`t noticed that during normal washings and the water is definitely tasteless.



And can someone recommend a good soap to start with as well as a ratio of soap/water to start with? I know I`ll have to experiment but I need a jumping off point. ;)

I can check my costco for that turtlewax stuff...



Thanks!



No, the amount of calcium removed (hence the total amount of sodium added), is not enough to change the flavor of the water. The total calcium content of even very hard water is still a very low percentage of the total water volume. Soft water always has an odd taste to it. That`s the salt, as well as the loss of the calcium. Large enough of a change to be noticeable, but not enough to qualifty the taste as "salty".



I have a 32 oz container that I bought at Target on my foam cannon. You can get a longer pickup tube at Home Depot for the larger bottle. I use 3 oz of Chemical Guy`s Citrus Wash & Gloss, 1 oz of Zaino Z7, and 28 ounces of water. Then I set the foam cannon for max pickup. Great foam that cleans like crazy.

[quantim0]

No, the amount of calcium removed (hence the total amount of sodium added), is not enough to change the flavor of the water. The total calcium content of even very hard water is still a very low percentage of the total water volume. Soft water always has an odd taste to it. That`s the salt, as well as the loss of the calcium. Large enough of a change to be noticeable, but not enough to qualifty the taste as "salty".



This also depends upon what type of water conditioner/softener you have. I have a RainSoft water conditioner on my house and it doesn`t add sodium to the water to remove hardness. The DI resins remove everything from the water and then sodium salt is used to break the ionic bond that the resin has formed with the impurities. Then it gets taken out of the system and dumped into the ground.



I don`t know of any others that do this, but RainSoft has the patents on that particular ion exchange resin. It`s a much better process then your typical water softener, however my system cost $8k, while the standard ones cost $2-3k. But this one is guarenteed for life and doesn`t spot up my car.

[SuperBee364]

This also depends upon what type of water conditioner/softener you have. I have a RainSoft water conditioner on my house and it doesn`t add sodium to the water to remove hardness. The DI resins remove everything from the water and then sodium salt is used to break the ionic bond that the resin has formed with the impurities. Then it gets taken out of the system and dumped into the ground.



I don`t know of any others that do this, but RainSoft has the patents on that particular ion exchange resin. It`s a much better process then your typical water softener, however my system cost $8k, while the standard ones cost $2-3k. But this one is guarenteed for life and doesn`t spot up my car.



I was afraid we`d eventually get into the chemistry of this. Oh well, here we go...



The first bolded text, "DI Resins" stand for "De-ionization". The process of removing the calcium ions from the water. Yes, there are resins that can do this to a certain degree. They are expensive, and they are not recharageable by any salt or any other chemical. They are used once and then thrown away.



The second bolded text, the "ion exchange" is the exact process I talked about in my first post; calcium ions are exchanged for sodium ions for a net gain of zero. One is exchanged for the other. This process can be replenished by using salt or another chemical that slips my mind right now. This other chemical doesn`t use sodium, but is still *exchanged* with the calcium in the water.



There is also a second way to "soften" water to the De-ionized state, and that is reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis produces the most softened water possible. Most all solubles are removed to very minute amounts.



If the process you have requires any sort of process-refreshening chemcial (such as salt or any thing else), you have an ion-exchange process, and the calcium *is* being exchanged for whatever ion you use to replenish the system. So whatever that is, it`s going to end up on your car.



The important difference that needs to be made here are the two bolded statements above. They are two totally different processes. One *removes* ions from the water entirely (De-ionization), the other process (ion exchange) does exactly what it says: exchanges an ion (of some type. Usually sodium but it can be several other things) for a calcium ion.



You do not have de-ionized water unless you are using either: DI cartridges that must be thrown away after they are worn out, or a reverse osmosis system.



Edit: I just read up on RainSoft systems, and hate to tell you this, but they are a very typical ion exchange system. So unfortunately, it *does* add sodium as it removes calcium. They do have an under the sink RO system, too, but I doubt you have that system hooked up to a car wash.



Water softening - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_softening) has a great article about softening water. They also have a great reverse osmosis article as well.