Garden hose hard water solution

Interesting you mention a Brita. I did some testing because this got me curious. I first measured the resistance of some regular tap water, and it was about 12K ohms. I then rinsed the same cup out with Brita water, then filled it up from the Brita. The resistance was about 19K ohms. However, it had also been sitting in the pitcher, so some things like chlorine will evaporate out. I emptied the Brita pitcher and filtered some new water, and the resistance went down to about 14K ohms.



It occurs to me that maybe how far apart the electrodes were is playing a difference, and I really didn't make any attempt to be consistent except that I had a tendancy to hold them in the water in a similar fashion each time.



However, there are also many different types of filters, and the Brita is certainly not intended to create water with no dissolved solids, but rather to remove some particular ones that are harmful, as well as odor- and taste-affecting things.



I have some distilled water and I'll try the test on that to see. I believe pure water has a resistance somewhere around 20M ohms (though my little multi-meter only works up to about 200K ohms), and big-time deionizers can get pretty close to that (saw some stuff on the web about deionizers reaching 18M ohms).



BW, that's why I was wondering if those regular Home Depot-type filters were cutting it as far as water spots are concerned. I mean, they are whole-house type things and mainly intended to get out bigger particles, not to make spot-free water.
 
Aurora40 said:
BW, that's why I was wondering if those regular Home Depot-type filters were cutting it as far as water spots are concerned. I mean, they are whole-house type things and mainly intended to get out bigger particles, not to make spot-free water.
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Exactly. I'm thinking if the Brita can filter small particulates and make drinking water safer, yet not stop spotting, why would a whole-house thing work any better?



Originally posted by Speedwagon

Speedwagon Boiling the water would only make the contaminants more concentrated, as the 'pure' water steams away. All of the salt, chlorine and whatnot are heavier than water, and stay behind.
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Yes, I know. I boiled the water to reduce bacteria (for drinking), as Brita recommends in the manual.
 
BW said:
Exactly. I'm thinking if the Brita can filter small particulates and make drinking water safer, yet not stop spotting, why would a whole-house thing work any better?
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Just what I was thinking. That's why I'd like to hear if the people who tried this noticed reduced spotting, or no more spotting.



That site that Speedwagon mentioned has a whole bunch of filters. This one in particular was eye-catching:



Mixed Bed Deionizing Cartridge. Removes virtually all mineral content (total dissolved solids) from water. Useful as an RO polisher for those who want 0 TDS water or for laboratory purposes. Lifespan depends on the dissolved solids content of the water.



I'm wondering if it's worth the extra money since this sounds more likely to really address water spotting. It would be about the cost of 2 Mr. Clean things, but probably last a lot longer (I'd only hook it to my hose, not my water main)...
 
I use the whole house filter and noticed a major difference in water spotting and the white residue left behind. But yes, it isn't a cure all, there still is spots after, they are and 80% less then th unfiltered water. This makes it much easier to deal with.
 
Anyone have any more updates on this? Just wondering if those of you that are using it have had a chance to take pictures, or what you have found out about water spots.
 
Houston has insanely hard water. I bought GE system & #1 filters yesterday. All the filters they had on the shelf indicated they removed mainly particulate matter, with the less expensive filter removing only solids of different sizes while the move expensive ones removed chlorine, etc. No filter addressed the water softening issue (removal of dissolved minerals).



When I used it, there was slight pressure reduction, but not enough to matter. I still got water spots but it appeared as if there was less "crud" composing them (measured by the seat-o-the-pants-meter).



The only way to get rid of water spotting is to use RO water or distilled water, but even that will wash dust and such out of crevices around mouldings so there will still be spots.



Its kinda like the 3 laws of thermodynamics:

1) You cannot win

2) You cannot break even

3) You cannot get out of the game
 
Quote: H2O Filter





~One man’s opinion~

I use this (there was also a recent post on an RV filter)

Gard'n Gro, H2oFilters.Com



A product that eliminates the harsh, toxic effects of chlorine in your garden.

Chlorine is designed to kill living organisms such as fungi and bacteria that can contaminate your water source. It does such a great job of killing these organisms that it can be harmful to your plants, because your plants rely on some of the fungi and bacteria to survive.

A healthy soil is made up of beneficial bacteria, moulds and various forms of fungi (the very things that chlorine was designed to kill). Organic farmers and gardeners have known for years that the safest way to protect their plants and the environment from insects, disease, and pests is through the use of beneficial bacteria. Highly chlorinated water can kill microorganisms in the soil that are there to protect the plant and its food source. As a rule, commercial farmers and horticulturists do not use chlorinated municipal city water to irrigate their crops.



Reduce Toxic Chlorine

Enhance Plant Growth

Protect your soil's beneficial bacteria

Protect ladybugs and other good garden insects

Unique hose saver included for hose protection and back washing

Easy installation

Great for organic gardeners

Promotes healthy plant nutrition and growth by returning the natural balance to your soil

Enhances the effectiveness of the non-chemical pest control methods, and protects ladybugs, lacewings, and beneficial nematodes

Removes over 85% of the chlorine from garden hose water

Converts free chlorine to a harmless chloride

Rainshow'r Gard'n Gro is completely non-toxic

The Gard'n Gro will process a minimum of 20,000 gallons of water and Replacement Cartridges are available

The Gard'n Gro is also a healthy alternative for bathing your pets, whose coats can become brittle and their skin dry and flaky when exposed to chlorine

Automobile enthusiasts will find their carnauba wax jobs last far longer when cars are washed with dechlorinated water

The Gard'n Gro is specially designed for the garden, NOT AS A DRINKING WATER FILTER. Its filtration media effectively removes chlorine from your garden water, but it is not designed to remove particulate matter or other water contaminants.



The Specifications



10" long, 2-3/4" Diameter - ABS plastic housing and PVC

Weight - 2 pounds, 12 oz. (20 oz. KDF, 2 oz. crystalline quartz)

Maximum pressure - 100 psi

Chlorine Removal - 85% or more at 65 to 70 degrees

Maximum water temperature - 110F (43C)

Minimum water temperature - 40F (05C)

Estimated life - 20,000 to 30,000 gallons of flow through based on water conditions and maintenance.

Made in the U.S.A.

1 Full Year Warranty!



Gardngro $49.99



Gard'n Gro replacement cartridge the ‘redox" media will remain effective for hundreds of usages. The Rainshow'r Gard'n Gro will process a minimum of 20,000 gallons of water, which can be more than doubled by following simple maintenance instructions. The Gard'n Gro effectively removes over 85% of the chlorine from garden hose water Ggrc$29.99, 1-877-760-3773









>Hope this helps<





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
chpsk8 said:
Anyone have any more updates on this? Just wondering if those of you that are using it have had a chance to take pictures, or what you have found out about water spots.
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Not from me. I haven't bought it yet. The more I thought about it, the more I want to try something first. It sounds like you have to flow water very slowly for the DI filter to work. 1/2 a gallon per minute is not much water. It probably won't spray very well through a 5/8" hose.



So, I think I will give my garden sprayer full of distilled water one more go. I can get distilled water for $.66 per gallon. But I am going to try it differently. I will try hosing the car off, washing a panel, and then rinsing the panel with the distilled water to remove the soap. Then any dirty panels that need to be re-wet, I'll just sheet water on them with the garden hose so as not to get spotty water on cleaned parts. Then I'll do a final rinse with the distilled water just to be sure.



In the past I only did the final rinse so as not to use too much of the stuff. But that didn't really work, and I doubt a DI final rinse would work any better as they are basically the same. So I'll see how that goes first. Also, the garden sprayer will probably spray better with limited water flow since it is a narrower hose and nozzle and such. If only it would warm up...
 
The biggest thing I think we are all tryong to get rid of is the calcium. That causes the white spots. Deionized water containes no calcium. I went up to my local water guy (culligan) and poked around for answers. Their solution was either a dionizer or softened water. Both expensive in my situation. THey did say that a 2 micron water filter might take out most of the calcium. Calcium in it's disolved state is about 2 microns. My thought is to make a two stage filter with a 10 micron and a 2 micron in it. Too cold to work on it right now, just need to keep the brain juices flowing.
 
bump!

Im still interested. The resin filters look promising, but how long htye would last? and what would be the new water preasure? I woudlnt like to waste walmarts galons of water in rinsing, but I really have no choice
 
I have the same GE filter that you have and I use the charcoal based filters.



Why not hook it up to your whole house? I have had one on my last two houses, one house with crawl-space and one without. They're really easy to hook up. Just turn off the water at the street, cut your pipe going into the house, and then use some hose/screw-clamps to attach. Done!



The water not only tastes better, but we use less soap and less crap getting into the water heater.
 
Over here in the UK - the QVC UK shopping channel sells a hose attachment with a built-in de-ioniser chamber - they call it the "Spot Free Rinse System". Sells for about £25GBP plus shipping. Often thought about buying it. Any of you US Autopians seen this product on QVC USA?
 
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