No more hard water spots!

[chandler]

I was tired of dealing with hard water spots after washing so I purchased a pressure washer and distilled water (DW). Wow...how relaxing it is now to wash the car. No more stress over drying the car like a mad man to minimize spotting. I have used detail spray for post wash drying but I was seeing hard water scaling under the hood, under the trunk lid and in all of the little nooks and crannys. So I purchased the Karcher K3.740. It has a variable tip on the spray wand so you are not "pressure washing" your paint...very cool. The best part of this unit is that it has a self-priming pump so it will pull water from a standing water source...such as a bucket of DW. Most units require the 5-6 PSI water pressure from the water source. So I purchased a 6 gallon water jug and filled it with distilled water. I ran a short (6') garden hose from the washer to the jug and it works like a charm. I have my two wash buckets filled with tap water. I rinse off the whole car with DW...wash the top surfaces...rinse...wash one side...rinse...wash the other side...rinse...rear...rinse...nose...rinse...wheel s...rinse...then a quick overall rinse. It used every bit of six gallons so the water is just under a buck so six bucks for a wash. Obviously there was the initial cost of the pressure washer but I will have other uses for it so it is a win-win for me.

[redirish]

Great idea! I have been thinking about doing something like this as well. I work at a hospital and our Dialysis unit uses RO Water and I can get as much as I want for free. I have to see if my power washer will self prime.

[Fishdadddy]

They make inline filters for this. Used by the boating industry all the time.

[Ohten]

Hey Fishdaddy you care to elaborate on this.

[redirish]

Griots Garage and other's have filters that soften the water and they also sell RO machlnes. Costco has a RO machine also that I hear is very good. They will cost you though. Distilled water is $1 a gallon.

[oldfriend]

Can someone explain if the condensation water from an air condition is any good for this purpose ?

[Fishdadddy]

Basically what redirish said. It is a filter that hooks inline between the faucet and the hose to soften the water.

Made specifically for cars, boats, motorcycles, etc.

[toyboy1980]

Originally Posted by oldfriend

Can someone explain if the condensation water from an air condition is any good for this purpose ?

Theoretically, yes. Run off from an air conditioner is distilled. If you have a drain on the outside of your house, you should be able to gather it. I know it's great for tomato plants. :-)

[FL1CK]

Originally Posted by toyboy1980

Theoretically, yes. Run off from an air conditioner is distilled. If you have a drain on the outside of your house, you should be able to gather it. I know it's great for tomato plants. :-)

AC runoff is condenstation, not distilled. (Distilled = boil, condentate, collect... no impurities, still has minerals.)

Condensation is what you're getting from your AC, just like the water that drips from your car when you run the AC...(cold beer on a hot day, water that's on the outside) it's not pure H2O, it also has anything in it that is in the air around the AC system and minerals.

[toyboy1980]

Originally Posted by Road Rage

AC runoff is condenstation, not distilled. (Distilled = boil, condentate, collect... no impurities, still has minerals.)

Condensation is what you're getting from your AC, just like the water that drips from your car when you run the AC...(cold beer on a hot day, water that's on the outside) it's not pure H2O, it also has anything in it that is in the air around the AC system and minerals.

Well...we're both a little wrong. There are quite a lot of articles that compare A/C runoff to distilled water. I have heard that said for years. I had never really researched it until now.

http://www.allianceforwaterefficienc...roduction.aspx