I have very hard water and have a water softener that creates very soft water. This is apparently a rare problem. The water is so "soft" that sodium water spots are created when I wash the car. My question is, what do I do to get rid of the sodium from the water (short of getting another reverse osmosis system just for car washing)? In the future, I'd like to use Meguiars QD or Griot's Spray on, or something like that, but I have some small sand on the car that I need to remove with water. Thank you for the input.
Car Washing with Softened Water
- Thread starter theviper
- Start date
vegas guy
Enthusiast
Same problem living in Las Vegas. Griots Garage has an in-line canister filter for hard water locations. I use that on the city water before it gets to the softener. Works well.
^^Will the in-line filter work for softened water? Again, the problem is that my water is softened so much, that there is a ton of sodium in it. My water is almost 10x harder than city water! So I'd be using a filter after it is softened. On the flip side, is there a filter for hard water that does not need to then go through a softener?
Newport Viper
Enthusiast
Martin
Enthusiast
I have really hard water, and I went the route of getting an extra reverse osmosis system from Costco ($135) and use it to fill a big garden sprayer. It's a pain in the butt, but what I do is wash the car, rinse the soap with regular water, blast the whole car with my backpack leaf blower, spray the car down with the 'distilled' water in the garden sprayer, and then blast it again with the blower. Where I save in time is that I don't need to use towels to dry the car - and that also keeps those annoying micro-scratches from occurring. If I'm really feeling ambitious, I'll go over the whole thing with the Zaino spray and a cloth diaper.
The nice thing about using a blower, by the way, is you don't get those annoying drips from water trapped in cracks and crevices. Those drive me crazy - I wash the car, then drive it into the garage, only to see that water dripped allover the place from the mirrors, taillight seams, doors, etc. The blower just blasts those away.
The nice thing about using a blower, by the way, is you don't get those annoying drips from water trapped in cracks and crevices. Those drive me crazy - I wash the car, then drive it into the garage, only to see that water dripped allover the place from the mirrors, taillight seams, doors, etc. The blower just blasts those away.
silverz06vette
Enthusiast
CR spotless system works wonders from what I understand.
Costco carries it too.
Costco carries it too.
A water softener exchanges sodium for calcium/magnensium. The more hardness your water has the more sodium your softeners resin will release as part of the ion exchange. The previously mentioned idea for put an in-line filter is reducing the hardness of the water prior to reaching the softener. This in turn reduces the amount of sodium the resin releases.
I would also cwant to check the salt usage setting for the softener and make sure you are getting an adequate brine rinse when the softener regenerates. It is possible that high levels of sodium are being left in the resin tank and being discharged when the softener goes back into service. (High levels of sodium are needed as part of the regeneration process)
Another useful piece of information would be what the grains of hardness or ppm total hardness in your water are.
SSGViper
Enthusiast
01sapphirebob
Enthusiast
Some of the best money I ever spent for washing a car. i love my in line water softner. Get one and you will love it too!!
Brian GTS
Enthusiast
CR Spotless all the way!!! You will be fixed!!! 
cash84
Viper Owner
well I see that no one ever mention the Mr. Clean spotfree sprayer...I got it at Fleet Farm for like $30 and just gotta refill the cartridge in it every so many wash. It worked great for me. Let it sit and dry but I don't wait to do it so I just use a squeegee and just do the final with a Micro towel. I have hard water.
I'm sure the CR will work, but I don't want to spent $400 on it as, if I'm lucky, I won't wash it too often. I used the Mr. Clean system. It did get rid of a lot of the sodium from the softened water. It barely lasted one wash! It did leave some spots that I had to detail out, but overall, not bad! So it cost me $20 for a wash. I'm hoping to use a detailing spray, microfiber cloths and a California duster from here on out. Is that what you guys do too?
Newport Viper
Enthusiast
This is what I do and never have any problems (swirl marks). When you use the duster, gently wave it across the finish, DO NOT try to buff stuff out with it.
My car will hardly ever see water.Here is another discussion about water filters... maybe this will help you.
Inline water filter. Need advice, which one, do they work? - Autopia.org
