Well water?? Hard water?? Bad or good for cars?

**superwhitem3** · 03-06-2005, 11:57 PM

my entire house uses well water, we have a filtration system but we also have hard water and use a salt treatment. When i wash my car I get these nasty water stains that won`t go away unless i wax...so what do you recommend i do? thanks

**scottabir** · 03-07-2005, 01:45 AM

dry the car faster

I have the same problem we have well water through out the house as well. I personally use QEW for washes during the week and a hose wash about once a month or so. I have been trying to only spray the part of the car I am working on and dry it as I go. Using sheeting water to rinse the surface stops it from spraying all over the parts I just dried off.

I have also been using a QD to spray onto the panel after rinsing but before drying. That seems to help greatly.

Hope this helps you out a little bit.

Scott

**superwhitem3** · 03-07-2005, 10:58 AM

thanks for the help man...but i`m new to the forum and what does QD and QEW stand for?

**zzyyzx** · 03-07-2005, 11:08 AM

QD - Quick Detailer, like Meguiars & other companies make. A spray product.

QEW - Quick Easy Wash, great for washing cars in the winter or without a running water supply.

Check out:

http://www.autopia.org/display.php?f....htm&s=&menu=8

for other strange letters you`ll come across often.

Welcome!!!

**Accumulator** · 03-07-2005, 11:57 AM

Superwhitem3- Welcome to Autopia!

FWIW I use potassium chloride (instead of sodium chloride, AKA "regular softener salt") in the softener for our garage. Between that and the two 5-micron filters I don`t have trouble with water spots or anything else and our (municipal) water is pretty awful (you should see the [stuff] that our filters catch). Check that your softener`s working right, especially the rinse cycle.

**superwhitem3** · 03-07-2005, 07:59 PM

thanks for the warm welcome...but do you think there is some kind of device that i can attach to the hose that acts like a filter.... thanks again

**Accumulator** · 03-07-2005, 08:08 PM

I dunno about the filter that fits on the hose, but it`s been discussed here before...I just don`t remember what conclusions anybody came to, sorry.

If you don`t already have one, a filter (or two) that would take the worst out of your water before it gets to the softener might be worth a try. It sure was for us.

**ExplorerXLT95** · 03-08-2005, 07:38 AM

Originally posted by superwhitem3

thanks for the warm welcome...but do you think there is some kind of device that i can attach to the hose that acts like a filter.... thanks again

I would have posted this last night when I first saw the thread, but we lost internet from our cable last night for some reason. Still hasn`t been restored yet. Anyways....

I have well water (hard water) at my house and I was having the same problem you are. I`d always get nasty white spots on the car when they dried, no matter how fast I dried it.

Now the problem with that is, let`s say you do get all the water dried off before it turns into that chalky white spot. You`re still leaving hard minerals on the surface of your paint, right before you polish/seal/wax. Not the best situation at all. So basically, I did a LOT of seaching (both here and on the internet) and found something that looked like it would work perfectly.

I wanted an in-line hose filter that I could quickly connect and disconnect from the hose. Well, I found it:

Pure Water Gazette`s In-Line Hose Filters (ask for Gene Franks; great guy)

It basically works just like your in-home water filtration system (if you have well water). It can be re-charged (by submerging the filter in a vat of solar salt with a little water for 24 hours) when necessary (they claim after 90 gallons, though mine is still working like a champ).

It works very, very well and I have NEVER seen any white, chalky residue left over after washing and drying. I would buy it again in a heartbeat and I really think that it`s one of the best investments I`ve made yet for my detailing.

Let me know what you think and I hope this helps!! :xyxthumbs

**Accumulator** · 03-08-2005, 12:16 PM

ExplorerXLT95- That`s a great find! Interesting about being able to "recondition" the filter. It looks a lot like my plumbed-in ones for the house only with hose-fittings and a different filter element.

Lots of Autopians should find that useful :xyxthumbs

**Bill D** · 03-08-2005, 12:33 PM

Any feedback on the kinds offered by TOL?

http://www.topoftheline.com/spotfree1000.html

**ExplorerXLT95** · 03-08-2005, 12:40 PM

Originally posted by Accumulator

ExplorerXLT95- That`s a great find! Interesting about being able to "recondition" the filter. It looks a lot like my plumbed-in ones for the house only with hose-fittings and a different filter element.

Lots of Autopians should find that useful :xyxthumbs

Yup, it looks (both in size and shape) very similar to the in-home water filter units. As far as I can tell, it pretty much is the same thing.

As far as the 90 gallon capacity they claim on the page, I have washed my mom`s Expedition, my dad`s CTS, my Explorer and my Cobra NUMEROUS times and it`s still working like a champ.

I hope it helps a bunch of people out. It was EXACTLY what I was looking for. It`s also quite a bit cheaper than the one mentioned from TOL. And, as I said before, it works VERY, very well. :xyxthumbs

**superwhitem3** · 03-09-2005, 11:02 PM

explorer...which model did u get? the double filter or the basic one? Also does it come with a filter or do i need to order that too? Thanks for the find and i can`t wait to get one!!

**Bill D** · 04-03-2005, 09:51 PM

Does any one have any more information on these filters? The ones originally linked by ExplorerXLT95 sure look attractive especially when any one of the prices of the model are compared to the one TOL offers.

I can see how invaluable of a device this can be and indefinite recharging sounds terrific!

Ah, the thrill of an absolutely spot free drying process!

I`m picturing having a short piece of hose with the proper connecting caps on either side hooked onto the hose bib, the filter connected to the other end and the main hose connected to the other end of the filter. Does this sound right?

I hope the one ExplorerXLT95 has is ideal.

**ExplorerXLT95** · 04-03-2005, 10:07 PM

Originally posted by superwhitem3

explorer...which model did u get? the double filter or the basic one? Also does it come with a filter or do i need to order that too? Thanks for the find and i can`t wait to get one!!

superwitem3 - I got the basic clear version. I am pretty sure it`s the one on the site labeled as such "HF-2 Basic Clear Garden Hose Filter - $34". Yes, you do need a cartridge because the filter housing does not come with a filter. Thus, I also bought a cartridge from them specifically for hard water. I bought the cartridge labeled as such: "PW-SOF - $16".

I absolutely love the thing and it works like a charm on our extremely hard well water :xyxthumbs

Let me know how it works out for ya man!!

Originally posted by Bill D

Does any one have any more information on these filters? The ones originally linked by ExplorerXLT95 sure look attractive especially when any one of the prices of the model are compared to the one TOL offers.

I can see how invaluable of a device this can be and indefinite recharging sounds terrific! Ah, the thrill of an absolutely spot free drying process!

I`m picturing having a short piece of hose with the proper connecting caps on either side hooked onto the hose bib, the filter connected to the other end and the main hose connected to the other end of the filter. Does this sound right?

I hope the one ExplorerXLT95 has is ideal.

Bill D - As I said before, I absolutely love mine and I still think that it`s one of, if not THE, best investments I`ve made to date in my detailing endeavours. I really, really suggest you try it.

As far as connection is concerned, here`s how I have mine set-up. I have a typical green-with-white-longitudinal-stripe hose from the fawcett to the filter, then a coil-hose with my multiple-type spray nozzle attached to the end opposite the filter. It gives me plenty of extra hose to move around the driveway and it works perfectly for me. However, you could just have a very small piece of hose attached from the fawcett to the filter and then your normal hose attached to the other end of the filter and it would work just as well.

Give it a try man, you won`t be disappointed. Not to mention that it`s more than 7 times less than the TOL one :xyxthumbs

**Mochamanz1** · 04-04-2005, 12:08 AM

Truthfully, get a leaf blower and get that water off your car fast. I have a cousin who lives in an area that has very hard water,and the only way to avoid spotting issues is to get the water off fast. An electric leaf blower is about $50.00 and is a great way to remove water....:xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs