Hard water treatment?

[GPWS2000]

I`ve done a little searching but I cannot seem to find the correct threads or am not using the right search words but here is what I am dealing with.

In my area we have a HUGE amount of calcium and lime in the water systems. We have one car wash in the area that can treat the water for contamination, but they have open bays and don`t allow prolonged washes (buckets, waxes, et cetera). The two bucket method works wonders to clean as we all know, but when rinsing is where I have my issue. What steps can I take to negate the calcium or lime bonding or drying in the paint after rinsing? Are there additives or procedures that will help me out?

Thanks!

[TroyScherer]

It kinda sounds like you should look into the CR Spotless system. It would be used as your final rinse before drying and would aid in minimizing any kind of mineral despotism and spotting. I am seriously considering getting one as well to make my drying easier.


Link: CR Spotless Water Deionization Systems

[GPWS2000]

That looks like a good solution. Not the cheapest but if it is used for only the final rinse it shouldn`t be too bad. Are there any negatives to adding a diluted amount of vinegar (say, in a large, plastic tank) to react with the minerals? Will that also react with the paint of the vehicle?

[chet31]

I have very hard water from my outside taps, which makes conventional washes more time-consuming because you have to keep your car wet, then dry the car very fast, especially when it`s hot outside. It is one reason I have gone to doing mostly Optimum No-Rinse (ONR) washes. When doing the latter, I use soft water (water softeners remove most of the calcium) from my inside taps. Do you have access to soft water?

[GPWS2000]

Unfortunately no. There are no public access points with soft water and I have no system at home.

[chet31]

^ In that case, you could buy distilled water, put it in a garden sprayer. After your final rinse w/ hard water, spray the car down with distilled water, then dry. Not perfect, but greatly diminishes hard water issues. You`ll have to determine what`s more expensive and what`s a bigger PITA, buying jugs of distilled water, or using something like the CR Spotless system Troy recommended.

[Todd@RUPES]

That looks like a good solution. Not the cheapest but if it is used for only the final rinse it shouldn`t be too bad. Are there any negatives to adding a diluted amount of vinegar (say, in a large, plastic tank) to react with the minerals? Will that also react with the paint of the vehicle?

I don`t know about adding vinegar to water although the alkalinity of it could reduce any wax or sealant on the surface.

[Van G]

Our city water (Toronto) is pretty good but has dissolved solids in it. For home detailers, are there any suggestions for whole home filtration that will make a difference for garden hose and showers?


Cheers,

Van G