TDS Readings

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imported_DetailDan

New member
Took some TDS readings, thought some might find this interesting.



Tap water- 214ppm

Sprinkler water- 204ppm

Hose water- 198ppm

Bottled water- 20ppm

Filtered tap water- 18ppm

Rain- 16ppm

CR Spotless- 000ppm :rockon:
 
Gotta love 0ppm from the CRS! :)



I'm surprise the tap water and hose water are that different.
 
My tap water is right in the 250ppm range. My RO'd drinking water is in the 18-20 range. Need to check out the rainwater!
 
Great info. I thought rain would have more? I wonder at what level is it safe to assume that spoting won't occur from the water source?
 
David Fermani said:
Great info. I thought rain would have more? I wonder at what level is it safe to assume that spoting won't occur from the water source?
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The folks at CRS told me to change the resin at 20 but if it's observed that spotting occurs from rain water at 16, maybe 20 is just wishful thinking? :confused:
 
Good point Bill. I know out on the west coast they have dispenseries for RO water. Detailers basically roll up with their truck, put in a few quarters and a large volume of water fills up their tank in a matter of minutes. Neat concept. I wonder what % they go by before changing filters?
 
Bill D said:
The folks at CRS told me to change the resin at 20 but if it's observed that spotting occurs from rain water at 16, maybe 20 is just wishful thinking? :confused:
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It may depend on what exactly the 16-20ppm is made up of, too.... I would think there are a lot of environmental factors that could determine what TDS level is acceptable before spotting occurs.
 
David Fermani said:
Great info. I thought rain would have more? I wonder at what level is it safe to assume that spoting won't occur from the water source?
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Isn't rainwater essentially distilled?
 
I believe other factors include what is on the paint when the water dries, temperature of the paint, angle of the panel (horizontal or vertical) and what other contaminants are in the water that the TDS meter does not read.



Im sure the rainwater we get in VA is not the same as what you'll find in NY, FL, etc.
 
Interesting subject Dan. The rain water reading makes sense now. When it rains in Athens (not the one in Georgia :) ) and the car stays under the sun afterwards there are no water spots. However, leaving the car with the hose water on even for 15 mins is a recipe for disaster.



Collecting rain water for washing the car sounds interesting...
 
Ch96067 said:
Collecting rain water for washing the car sounds interesting...
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I have considered it but there are issues with storing the water long term, and algae is a huge one of them.
 
they have some chemicals you can add to kill the algae not sure how it would affect the paint. Purogene is a water treatment for long term storage of drinking water.
 
D&D Auto Detail said:
I believe other factors include what is on the paint when the water dries, temperature of the paint, angle of the panel (horizontal or vertical) and what other contaminants are in the water that the TDS meter does not read.



I'm sure the rainwater we get in VA is not the same as what you'll find in NY, FL, etc.
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Water Supply Classifications (Water Quality Research Council)



For those of you who are wondering how hard the water in your area is, here's a general map you can use –



What Is My Water Hardness? - United States Water Hardness Map, What is my water hardness?



• Soft Water- 0 to 1 grains per gallon

• Slightly Hard Water- 1 to 3½ grains per gallon

• Moderately Hard Water- 3½ to 7 grains per gallon

• Hard Water - 7 to 10½ grains per gallon

• Very Hard Water - over 10½ grains per gallon



Hard Water



Hard water has high concentrations of Ca2+and Mg2+ common calcium-containing minerals are calcite and gypsum. A common magnesium mineral is dolomite (which also contains calcium). With hard water, soap solutions form a white precipitate (soap scum) instead of producing lather. This effect arises because the 2+ ions destroy the surfactant properties of the soap by forming a solid precipitate (the soap scum). A major component of such scum is calcium stearate, which arises from sodium stearate, the main component of soap:



Milligrams per litre (mg/l) or Parts per million (ppm)



A reading of ~ 0 - 15 will avoid 'water spotting'



Soft: 0–60 mg/l

Moderately hard: 61–120 mg/l

Hard: 121–180 mg/l

Very hard: ≥181 mg/l

 
yakky and wascallyrabbit - your right I was writing an article on water filtration and had a senior moment.





Clean rain and 'as pure as driven snow are both things from a non-industrialized past, before (acid rain, hydrazine (airports)and industrial fallout (IFO) Emissions from power generation, manufacturing plants and combustion engines emit Sulphuric acid from their exhaust stacks etc, vehicular catalytic converters emit carbon compounds that mixed with ozone (an oxidizer) and water becomes Sulphuric acid. Nitric oxide is an additional IFO component especially around Paper Mills.



The pH of rain varies in accordance to its origin; the east coast (Atlantic Ocean) rain is typically recorded with a pH of ~5.0; rain that comes across the continental from the west is typically recorded at a pH of 3.5-5.0
 
I'm pretty certain we have soft water here on long island, but according to that map, we are right in the middle. Hmmm. Maybe I should get my water tested sometime. Will be good to know for cleaning cars and brewing beer (another hobby).
 
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