Water softener for cleaning your car?

[speed_racer]

So now that I have the Ceramic Pro on my car rain water and non-hard water just beads off of it.

My only issues ever with water spots are when washing with my hose at home, which is city water, and loaded with TDS (total dissolved solids), aka, its VERY hard water.

Does anyone know of a water softener system that can be used inline with a water hose? Or even of a simple water softening (without any other solvents, soaps, or additives) liquid that can be used with a sprayer for when I do the final rinse on my car?

I know the water softeners will need the activated carbon changed regularly, to help with this I can simply wash my car with the hard water but do the final rinse with the softened water.

Any and all info is much appreciated!

[Segaman2002]

So now that I have the Ceramic Pro on my car rain water and non-hard water just beads off of it.

My only issues ever with water spots are when washing with my hose at home, which is city water, and loaded with TDS (total dissolved solids), aka, its VERY hard water.

Does anyone know of a water softener system that can be used inline with a water hose? Or even of a simple water softening (without any other solvents, soaps, or additives) liquid that can be used with a sprayer for when I do the final rinse on my car?

I know the water softeners will need the activated carbon changed regularly, to help with this I can simply wash my car with the hard water but do the final rinse with the softened water.

Any and all info is much appreciated!

VERY interested in this info as well. Did a quick search a while ago but only found unpromising products.
I hate drying my car and for that reason, haven't done a wash at home for years.
If I can get something to attach to my house that will make my rinse water not leave spots, I can just scrub the car clean quickly and rinse without drying (I hope?).

I also have trouble with the parking lot at my office. The trees rain a fine pollen dust all over the vehicle and make any wash short-lived.
I wonder if I just take the hose to it with a softener, if the car will clean up well between washes.

[demonmk2]

there are different methods for drying a vehicle.

[RickFLS4]

I have a whole-house water filtration system and whole-house water softener. The water filter uses carbon and needs to be re-bed every 2 years or so, while the softener uses salt. They are in my garage and I am able to hook a hose up to get filtered and softened water for washing. I dry my car when I wash it but honestly am not so sure this water would be a guarantee of no spots if I didn't dry.

If you do go with a whole-house system, I'd recommend staying away from Culligan, who uses proprietary parts and charges for service calls to diagnose problems, even if the problem is covered by a warranty. The softener has been fine but I replaced their filter with a GE product as the Culligan filter had many problems and cost less to replace than continue to pay for service calls.

[LYKUNO]

After using the "spot-free" rinse options in the local DIY car washes over the winter, I'm very tempted to get one of the wall-mounted deionizers from this place: http://www.crspotless.com/de-ionizin...ed-system.html

It'd be easy to hook up to it with some quick connect hose couplers and would really help prevent water spots that are a PITA on hot summer days (or anytime). Anybody got one of these?



They also have a "mobile" option that might be worth considering ...

[speed_racer]

That kit looks interesting!!

To the above poster about different ways of drying, I paid good money to get the Ceramic Pro, which with soft water I am able to dry my car with a leaf blower better than any amount of towels could ever do.

Hard water just doesn't react the same...

[speed_racer]

I have a whole-house water filtration system and whole-house water softener. The water filter uses carbon and needs to be re-bed every 2 years or so, while the softener uses salt. They are in my garage and I am able to hook a hose up to get filtered and softened water for washing. I dry my car when I wash it but honestly am not so sure this water would be a guarantee of no spots if I didn't dry.

If you do go with a whole-house system, I'd recommend staying away from Culligan, who uses proprietary parts and charges for service calls to diagnose problems, even if the problem is covered by a warranty. The softener has been fine but I replaced their filter with a GE product as the Culligan filter had many problems and cost less to replace than continue to pay for service calls.

Actually, the salt is there to rinse the activated carbon so it can continue to pull out the solids. If the salt were used to actually treat your water than you'd have extremely high salt content in your tap water, which would cause corrosion, etc.

[LYKUNO]

That kit looks interesting!!

To the above poster about different ways of drying, I paid good money to get the Ceramic Pro, which with soft water I am able to dry my car with a leaf blower better than any amount of towels could ever do.

Hard water just doesn't react the same...

I used to use my Toro leaf blower to dry the car, but after a few close calls (getting tangled in the extension cord or nearly hitting the car's paint while juggling the blower), I stepped up to an Air Force Master Blaster. The warm and filtered air and ability to maneuver the nozzle are a big improvement over the leaf blower. It's also relatively quiet. If it's good enough for Wayne Carini, it's good enough for me LOL!



Oh yeah, and the Junkman thinks if you can afford it, the Master Blaster is better than a leaf blower, but it's 10 times the price!

[RickFLS4]

Actually, the salt is there to rinse the activated carbon so it can continue to pull out the solids. If the salt were used to actually treat your water than you'd have extremely high salt content in your tap water, which would cause corrosion, etc.

Agreed on salt being used to rinse during regeneration cycle but the system I have uses resin beads to remove particles. I am not aware of any carbon being used by the softener, only the filter. The salt is the only consumable that needs to be replenished on a regular basis. The beads last 7-10 years.

[windowguy]

I have been using this for years and can say this is amazing. You will need to replace the DI resin inside the blue tanks occasionally but that is not expensive or hard to do.

Rob.

After using the "spot-free" rinse options in the local DIY car washes over the winter, I'm very tempted to get one of the wall-mounted deionizers from this place: http://www.crspotless.com/de-ionizin...ed-system.html

It'd be easy to hook up to it with some quick connect hose couplers and would really help prevent water spots that are a PITA on hot summer days (or anytime). Anybody got one of these?



They also have a "mobile" option that might be worth considering ...

[esimp2k]

Agreed on salt being used to rinse during regeneration cycle but the system I have uses resin beads to remove particles. I am not aware of any carbon being used by the softener, only the filter. The salt is the only consumable that needs to be replenished on a regular basis. The beads last 7-10 years.

Actually the salt is used to create the brine solution and in turn regenerate the resin (beads) in the softener. And yes it has nothing to do with carbon filtration.

[ptper]

So now that I have the Ceramic Pro on my car rain water and non-hard water just beads off of it.

How do you like the Ceramic Pro so far?

[draekin13]

I had one of the Mr Clean car wash systems and I loved it. Sadly it was discontinued.

[cookinsolo]

I had one of the Mr Clean car wash systems and I loved it. Sadly it was discontinued.

plus uno

[s4buckeye]

I have been using this for years and can say this is amazing. You will need to replace the DI resin inside the blue tanks occasionally but that is not expensive or hard to do.

Rob.

i think I may get one as well.


http://www.amazon.com/DI-120-Cr-Spot...ct_top?ie=UTF8

[speed_racer]

How do you like the Ceramic Pro so far?

Absolutely couldn't be happier.

My matte wrapped areas loved to show water spots BAD!! Now the water beads off the car so quickly its hard to wash without a foamer!

[ptper]

Absolutely couldn't be happier.

My matte wrapped areas loved to show water spots BAD!! Now the water beads off the car so quickly its hard to wash without a foamer!

Pics!?! haha

[TrevorAcor]

Whats the price on the Ceramic Pro? Everywhere i look it's "Contact for more info".

[Stevejayclt]

I have used one for filtering out TDS from Drip Dry Spotless, www.DripDrySpotless.com, attaches directly to your garden hose.
A real value at $157, it includes a 50ft hose and soap gun....

[mmm def]

Griots sells a filter that attaches to the hose I think around $150

[13allroad]

I used two filter housings one with a sediment filter and the other with a rechargeable water softener cartridge. All you have to do is soak the cartridge in a bucket of water softener pellets and then ready to go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MrFunk]

I simply use a whole house water filtration system in line with my hose from Lowes.
Reminds me I should change the filter soon.



http://www.lowes.com/pd_89374-59019-...d=1201339&pl=1

[Whistle]

I have used one for filtering out TDS from Drip Dry Spotless, www.DripDrySpotless.com, attaches directly to your garden hose.
A real value at $157, it includes a 50ft hose and soap gun....

Thanks for the heads up on this system!

I had been comparing to just buying distilled water at the grocery store where I can get it for $.63/gal.

Although kinda goofy you could fill up a watering can with distilled water and rinse your car like that, would be slightly funny, but would work! :)