Washing Tips - Hard Water

I have been using an auto car wash on my 14 but for obvious reasons do want to not use the auto car wash on my 15. The place I live at has a public area to wash cars at, just a garden hose with a nozzle. The pressure is so-so, but it is well water and it is super hard. Is it okay to use hard water to wash a car? I also thought about just going to the self service place and bringing two buckets and mitt, etc, but the place is run down and pretty far from where I am.

Thank you all for the advice!

Do you dry your car?

Yes I use a large microfiber cloth/towel.

You shouldn't have many problems if afterwards you...

1. clean the windows with window cleaner
2. touch the paint up with detailer spray

Just be sure to keep it in the shade and dry quickly

For detailer spray, I like dilluted ONR + distilled water. Can't get any cheaper than that.

Hard water isn't optimal, but it is okay if you work fast(er) when you're ready to dry.

First thing I would probably do is get my own spray nozzle for the hose. A good nozzle can make a big difference in the quality of the spray you get, even with lower pressure. I like the Bon-Aire type nozzles because they have lasted me 10+ years and are pretty cheap at $15-$25. Sears has one that is Craftsman branded and at least used to have a lifetime warranty:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-hose-nozzle/p-07169040000P



As others mentioned, using a detail spray, will help you out if any of the water started to dry on the car. I would recommend getting a good sealant on the car, or at the minimum frequently apply a spay on sealant regularly so the car will always have protection and most of the water will roll off before you even dry it. I personally like Carpro Reload best, followed by Carpro Hydro2 which is faster and probably easier if you don't have a good area to buff the car with more MF towels after application.

For a common wash area I might lean towards Hydro2, but if you go with Hydro2, just follow the directions for dillution and work small areas at a time (I do one panel before moving on). If it sits on the paint too long it will spot, and if applied too heavily it will smear and you'll be buffing it a lot with detail spray to remove the excess. One application of Hydro2 gave me about 3 months of really good beading and sheeting, probably could have gone a lot longer to be honest.

This video shows an application of Hydro2:

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It is that simple and it works on all surfaces.

Good luck!

Very interesting, will have to check that all out, thank you all for the info! I had never heard of Hydro2, will have to pick some up, along with some other goodies

Hard Water - Filter

Anybody try using a filter on their hose?

GTRacerX. said:

Anybody try using a filter on their hose?

Click to expand...

Whats this now?

Filter for Pressure Washers

Souldriver said:

Whats this now?

Click to expand...

Product Overview
The Power Care Garden Hose Inlet Filter features a durable construction for lasting performance. It is designed to filter the water coming out of the spigot into the garden hose to help prevent debris from damaging the pressure-washer pump.
California residents: see Proposition 65 information
Connects the water spigot and garden hose
Designed to filter the water coming out of the spigot into the garden hose to help prevent debris from damaging the pressure-washer pump
Suitable for use with most pressure washers
Durable construction
Maximum 80-PSI garden hose pressure

What I find works is keep the car wet as much as possible during wash then dry with towel. After that follow up with quick retailer. I like to use my leaf blower in between towel dry and quick detailer so I don't have water running down from all the gaps.

I use something like this...

With a water softener cartridge...when done, I put it back in the garage.

jasonstang said:

What I find works is keep the car wet as much as possible during wash then dry with towel. After that follow up with quick retailer. I like to use my leaf blower in between towel dry and quick detailer so I don't have water running down from all the gaps.

Click to expand...

Yep.....I've used a leaf blower for years now!! Works great, then usually one fibre towel to finish it off!! :cheers:

GTRacerX. said:

Product Overview
The Power Care Garden Hose Inlet Filter features a durable construction for lasting performance. It is designed to filter the water coming out of the spigot into the garden hose to help prevent debris from damaging the pressure-washer pump.
California residents: see Proposition 65 information
Connects the water spigot and garden hose
Designed to filter the water coming out of the spigot into the garden hose to help prevent debris from damaging the pressure-washer pump
Suitable for use with most pressure washers
Durable construction
Maximum 80-PSI garden hose pressure

Click to expand...

Hmm the way they make it sound its more for large debris and not the small soluable particles that cause spots. Sucks because i think everything for the particles are $100+ for a system.

^^^You are absolutely right...it's a mesh and that's it...that's only debris. You need to filter out much finer particulates that cause the spotting. Hence why I posted what I did. The cartridge I have is re-chargeable for lack of a better term. The medium inside the filter is a resin that grabs the stuff causing hard water. The re-charge happens by putting in a bath of salt tablets that are used in big softwater tanks. So after every use, I throw it in that bath till next use. After several uses, I replace the resin inside the filter cartridge. I also use the sheeting method for final rinse and also leaf blower then waffle weave/mf.