Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    NW Iowa
    Posts
    92
    Post Thanks / Like

    need help figuring out how hard my water is????

    I normally don`t try to wash my vehicles in my driveway. The local coin op with my bucket prefilled with my Mitt is how I have been doing them for the last couple years. This last weekend the wife`s ride was just dusty and I thought, "hmm, lets just quick wash that in the driveway" so I did.

    WATER SPOTS EVERYWHERE

    OK...

    I dug into our town`s website and found the following

    What is "hard" water?Hardness is drinking water is mainly the result of the presence of two minerals; calcium and magnesium. If either of these minerals are present in your water in large amounts, the water is said to be "hard" because making a lather or suds for washing is difficult (hard) to do. Water containing little calcium or magnesium is referred to as "soft" water. Our water is 38-40 grains per gallon.

    Does this mean I actually have good water? is that 38-40 PPM or grains per gallon different?

    I really need to figure something out for filtering the water a little bit or maybe getting a hose plugged into a soft water line? I am not sure, Is that even safe?

    Any help would be great.

    TIA

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    NE Ohio
    Posts
    86,975
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: need help figuring out how hard my water is????

    IMO the "good water" thing gets subjective (and I don`t mean that in a bad way).

    Noting that I can`t remember what my TDS levels are...I have the same water as my neighbors and some other friends. I`m the *only* person who thinks it needs softened beyond what the water company does. IMO it`s "good" if it`s what *you* want it to be.

    My softened water still leaves some slight spotting/etc., that`s why I have the CRS deionizer for times when I won`t be drying thoroughly.

    Eh, the above isn`t of much use, huh?

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Posts
    22
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: need help figuring out how hard my water is????

    I have a boat at a marina which is on well water. The water is crazy hard and waterspots were unavoidable. I purchased this Soft Wet Spot | The Original Portable Water Softening System which made all the difference. This thing is basically a crude water softener. If you have a water softener in your house, I would pipe into that for washing cars. I am on city water at home but the water is not very hard. Me and people in my neighborhood do not have water softeners so I use one of these to wash cars also. I`ve been doing it for years with no problems.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    NE Ohio
    Posts
    86,975
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: need help figuring out how hard my water is????

    Quote Originally Posted by DanHen View Post
    . If you have a water softener in your house, I would pipe into that for washing cars.
    Sounds like your home`s water is kinda like my situation. I ended up having a dedicated softener for the garage, i regenerates on a different schedule from the one that serves the house.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    NW Iowa
    Posts
    92
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: need help figuring out how hard my water is????

    So if I plumb a soft water line up to my garage(the utility room is in the basement on the wall of the attached garage) I can use that to wash with and not have any adverse effects? If so, that seems like a decent option going forward. Installing a spigot for a hose should be pretty straight forward being as the water softener is not far and I bet I can get a line there pretty easy.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    13,224
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: need help figuring out how hard my water is????

    Yeah, I gave up on my CR Spotless and re-piped my driveway faucet to the soft water. As Accumulator says, it leaves spots, but they are nothing like hard water spots, and of course all the soaps work better.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    NW Iowa
    Posts
    92
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: need help figuring out how hard my water is????

    Sweet. I am out of town this weekend but I bet I can get this knocked out "somewhat" easy. If it is in fact, "easy", I will be pretty upset with myself for not doing it sooner. My biggest decision will be if I do HOT water or cold water, or both. Hmm.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Posts
    22
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: need help figuring out how hard my water is????

    I would go with both hot and cold. Also, a mixing valve or a tee setup in the hose. You wouldn`t want extremely hot water but very warm is good. I wash cars in the winter at my shop with very warm water and it seems to clean the dirt much easier.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    NE Ohio
    Posts
    86,975
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: need help figuring out how hard my water is????

    screeby- Yeah, I too think you oughta add the hot water line. Since you`re doing a bit of a job anyhow...

    FWIW, I *always* wash/rinse with warm (i.e., hot + cold) water, infinitely better than with just cold (and no, it doesn`t compromise LSP). And hot water is great for lots of jobs, it simply cleans better than cold.

 

 

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. hard hard water
    By Ronkh in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 05-27-2013, 04:46 PM
  2. Hard water (well) WATER SPOTS
    By rwh in forum Car Detailing
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 03-12-2008, 09:36 PM
  3. Prtable water filter to avoid hard water spots?
    By danforz in forum Car Detailing Product Discussion
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 05-27-2007, 07:31 PM
  4. Well water?? Hard water?? Bad or good for cars?
    By superwhitem3 in forum Car Detailing
    Replies: 51
    Last Post: 10-01-2006, 04:09 PM
  5. City water=hard water?
    By Redcar GUY in forum Car Detailing
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 02-05-2002, 07:17 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •