Hard water leaves marks after rinse, water filter?

[Scoob]

Hi all,

We have VERY hard water here, so much so that a perfectly cleaned then rinsed car HAS to be dried off with a chammy very quickly else the water marks make the cleaning pointless - tricky in the summer.

Pro places use an in-line water filter fitted to their power washers so the water does not leave marks. I can get a similar result by using the rain water collected in our water butt outside, as it's super soft, though it's far from ideal as it's a case of fill a bucket & rince the car that way.

So, what I'd like to find is a consumer level water filter that can be connected to a normal hose attachment and, in turn, feed whatever power washer I end up buying.

Going to be doing some googling on this at some point, but thought I'd ask if anyone was already using such a system.

Cheers,

Scoob.

 

[drmw]

Ask Developer (John) - he has such a device and rates it highly

 

[daveenty]

Was just going to mention Developer but my internet dropped out.

Do a search for DI Vessel. Both John and Steve (sjmaxwell) use them and have nothing but praise for them.

 

[star]

Get a water softener for the whole house, a bit costly to start but saves a lot of work and detergent etc. No more limescale in the house.

 

[television]

Or move down to the SW where we have lovely soft water and no scale ever forms.

 

[Scoob]

Thanks guys,

Found this one that looks like it'll go in-line with the hose. Customers seem very happy with it. Will do more reading.

Scoob.

 

[AMGeed]

Or move down to the SW where we have lovely soft water and no scale ever forms.

Wish I could say the same about East Dorset. The limescale is dreadful in the water supplied by Wessex Water.

 

[L John]

My brother got me one of these last Christmas.
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/cleaning-products/chamois-leather-car-sponges-cleaning-cloths/autoglym-hi-tech-flexi-water-blade

I'm amazed how good it is, it's very soft and bendy, it safely scrapes 99% of the water straight off after rinsing so spots don't get a chance to form.

The water is soft here and it works good, so even if you get a softener it's worth considering.

 

[Scoob]

Used to use something similar, prior to going over the car with a chammy. Point is though, you should be able to just rinse the car with the soft water and that's it. A properly clean car should see the water just run off & dry very quickly, when that water leaves marks it sorta ruins it.

My car has been treated to a rather expensive glass coat, but hard water spots can still form as it's effectively dirty water. With filtered water it should just dry its self without the marks. Using collected rain water has the same result, but it isn't a simple point hose and spray solution. I'm lazy, I don't want to have to effective clean a car I've just cleaned cos the water was dirty.

Got to clean my car ready for Saturday of course, we're all doing that...right?

Scoob.

 

[nokia]

My brother got me one of these last Christmas.
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/cleaning-products/chamois-leather-car-sponges-cleaning-cloths/autoglym-hi-tech-flexi-water-blade

I'm amazed how good it is, it's very soft and bendy, it safely scrapes 99% of the water straight off after rinsing so spots don't get a chance to form.

The water is soft here and it works good, so even if you get a softener it's worth considering.

Absolutely the worst thing you could do to your paintwork.

 

[L John]

Absolutely the worst thing you could do to your paintwork.

I've heard that before but I don't believe it as long as the car is clean and the blade isn't pushed into any crevices that could still have loose dirt.

There are a lot of things that people do that are bad for paint finishes.
To say the soft blade is absolutely the worst thing you can do to paintwork is a silly comment in my opinion.
Unless it's used incorrectly of course but that can be said for any product.

 

[Scoob]

As long as the car is 100% clean, the blade is 100% clean (and suitably soft) and appropriate (lack of) pressure is applied then I'd hope it'd be ok. Wouldn't use one myself any more, though used to use the "pop a wiper blade off" approach many years ago lol.

Personally I'd rather the car dried its self, as it does if the water is very pure & the surface is very clean - especially if it's treated like mine is.

I'm likely a bit more anal than most with regards to cleaning - I have dropped £1k on getting the car professionally detailed & treated so it stays nice for longer. Cleaning is much easier as a result - I did my car then my dads little Honda Jazz, his was MUCH more effort - however water quality is a real issue here, hence my post.

Might take a punt on the cheap filter listed, unless anyone says otherwise - wont do it just yet though, so car will only be moderately clean come Saturday lol.

Scoob.

 

[Mic]

I have an Aqua Gleam de-ioniser which does the job OK but it does have a limited life.

I still prefer to dry the car but I have long since abandoned a chamois leather......big top quality drying towels are much quicker and far more efficient.
The issue of drying hard water on the car is best addressed by using a slightly damp drying towel which is simply achieved by towelling the horizontal surfaces first while the water is still ''sitting''.......use compressed air to blow water out of the wheel nut recesses, seams and all those little nooks and crannies before towelling down or more importantly before using a follow up detail spray......prevents the applicators/buffing cloths from getting wet and losing efficiency.

Mic

 

[Frontstep]

A spot of white vinegar or dishwasher rinse aid .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9Zb59qO058

 

[Scoob]

Doesn't it have quite a high Ph value being fairly acidic though? Not sure if this would be good. Plus, if it strips the wax off a car and it needs re-applying each time as the guy says, then it seems like a lot of effort. Still, properly drying the car off quickly should eliminate much of the issue, though I'm usually a bit knackered by that stage so slowing down lol.

As an aside, I've seen first hand what cheap, alkaline (not Ph neutral) car wash does to a car if not rinsed off very quickly, it literally burns what look like water spots into the surface, but it's actual pitting! The "detailers" at the dealership where I bought my MB use cheap and nasty car wash - quite shocking really. The danger is when you see them trying to was several cars all at once, so some are left foamy for an extended period while others are washed, before they rinse all of them in a row. Very very bad for paint. I use an autoglym Ph-neutral car wash, so it's safe, but I still rinse each panel right after washing it.

I think I might try the filter approach - they suggest in the "how to..." bit to only use the filter for the final rinse stage, not the complete wash, which should preserve the life of the filter somewhat. To be honest, paying £50-60 a year for a new filter (if I was cleaning the car every other week in a very hard water area) sounds fine to me.

Scoob.

 

[Dave C250]

I've got a water softener and I still get water marks after washing.
My car is black though.

 

[denchen]

I wash the worse off with hose and brush then wash with waterless car wash and a yellow micro cloth. Yellow cloth I was told was the right cloth to use on paintwork. But then Im not too fussy.

 

[Developer]

DI vessels are my weapon of choice - there's loads of info on Detailing World.

You can leave the car wet and drive off.

It shouldn't work, but it does, and it removes another "contact" with the paintwork, as the drying cloth is eliminated.

 

[Scoob]

DI vessels are my weapon of choice - there's loads of info on Detailing World.

You can leave the car wet and drive off.

It shouldn't work, but it does, and it removes another "contact" with the paintwork, as the drying cloth is eliminated.

This is what I've been thinking. Sure I can wipe the car down with one of the many - actually quite good - absorbent cloths, but I'd rather just rinse it with clean water. It knackers me out enough just washing it properly - pre-rinse & two bucket approach etc. - and the car's been glass coated so shouldn't need polishing again.

I think I'll have a look at picking up a basic filter / DI Vessel in the new year...well, a few months into the new year. I'm happy just washing and rinsing it with unfiltered tap water at the moment, as more rain is always on the way at the moment.

Scoob.

 

[turbopete]

when time allows i always take a gentle drive to blow off the excess water. too quick and you get insects all over it (in summer) but it can be difficult keeping it clean doing this with the salt etc on the road