To Wash or Not To Wash with softened water...
06-25-2002, 04:15 PM
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To Wash or Not To Wash with softened water...
O' knowers' of all things Porsche,
Ahhh.. The joys of owning a Porsche. Nothing is every simple or easy or straightforward, even something as mundane as washing the car.... (
)
Here's the deal. I recently got a water softener installed at home and I am using a Potassium based salt to regenerate. I was planning on using the softened water to wash my car so that it leaves less water spots on the car after washing. (I know that if I dry it fast enough, there will be no water spots, but in this texas heat I'm just not fast enough
)
Based on what I know of how a water softener works (mind you, its not much), it exchanges the Calcium & Magnesium ions in the water for Sodium ions. But since the water already has chlorine in it, I am assuming that the some of the sodium and the chlorine combine to form salt.
Is this salt harmful to the paint or the body? Is it safe to wash the car with softened water or should I just stick to washing the car with the hard water that the MUD supplies? <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" />
Any insights from the great ones' on the list is greatly appreciated.
TIA
- Shirish 'Trying to keep the car clean' Reddy
Ahhh.. The joys of owning a Porsche. Nothing is every simple or easy or straightforward, even something as mundane as washing the car.... (
) Here's the deal. I recently got a water softener installed at home and I am using a Potassium based salt to regenerate. I was planning on using the softened water to wash my car so that it leaves less water spots on the car after washing. (I know that if I dry it fast enough, there will be no water spots, but in this texas heat I'm just not fast enough
)Based on what I know of how a water softener works (mind you, its not much), it exchanges the Calcium & Magnesium ions in the water for Sodium ions. But since the water already has chlorine in it, I am assuming that the some of the sodium and the chlorine combine to form salt.
Is this salt harmful to the paint or the body? Is it safe to wash the car with softened water or should I just stick to washing the car with the hard water that the MUD supplies? <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" />
Any insights from the great ones' on the list is greatly appreciated.
TIA
- Shirish 'Trying to keep the car clean' Reddy
06-25-2002, 05:43 PM
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Given the opportunity to use softened water, I would every time, but you will still need to keep an eye out for water spots. Living in TX if you let even softened water sit long enough in the sun, you will get spots. The darker the color of your car, the worse this will be.
Just make sure you keep a quality coat of wax and dry ASAP. I normally pull the car out in to the driveway to wash, and the pull it back in to dry. I'd rather have to clean up a little water on the garage floor than spend a few hours polishing out any new water spots!
Just make sure you keep a quality coat of wax and dry ASAP. I normally pull the car out in to the driveway to wash, and the pull it back in to dry. I'd rather have to clean up a little water on the garage floor than spend a few hours polishing out any new water spots!
06-25-2002, 06:18 PM
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It sounds like you wash your p-car in the sun...I thought this was a no-no. The hot surface would lead to water drying fast and leaving spots. I use Meguiars Pro Carwash Shampoo and Conditioner(sounds like a fancy hair salon) and wash in the shade. The water just sheets off the car with very little in the way to actually dry...no spotting at all. I don't have a water softener but our area has pretty good water.
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rcwelch
1995 993 Coupe
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rcwelch
1995 993 Coupe
06-25-2002, 06:34 PM
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Shirish,
I worked on high end fishing boats for 4 years a while ago and we always used water softners to wash the boats. It made drying much easier. You guys think its hard to dry your car, try drying an 82' Hatteras sportfish boat.
A little trick we used successfully can be carried over to car washing. If you have a good coat of wax or Zaino or other stuff, then as your very final rinse, take the nozzle off the hose and let the stream of water cover the car. This will promote sheating and make it much easier to dry. A better trick is to rig up a short (6-9 inches long) piece of hose and screw it on to the end of your gun shaped nozzle (I am pretty sure all nozzles have threads on the end). Then pull the trigger like normal and a steady stream will come from the end of the hose rather than a sharp stream.
This is how we used to wash most of the boat. It kept splashing down to a minimum. Imagaine you just spent 3 hours washing and drying your boat and the jackass next to you gets on top of his tower and starts spraying like crazy. Well, time to dry again... It really was an art.
Of course since the p car has 106k miles I dont do any of this stuff to it.
E. J.
I worked on high end fishing boats for 4 years a while ago and we always used water softners to wash the boats. It made drying much easier. You guys think its hard to dry your car, try drying an 82' Hatteras sportfish boat.
A little trick we used successfully can be carried over to car washing. If you have a good coat of wax or Zaino or other stuff, then as your very final rinse, take the nozzle off the hose and let the stream of water cover the car. This will promote sheating and make it much easier to dry. A better trick is to rig up a short (6-9 inches long) piece of hose and screw it on to the end of your gun shaped nozzle (I am pretty sure all nozzles have threads on the end). Then pull the trigger like normal and a steady stream will come from the end of the hose rather than a sharp stream.
This is how we used to wash most of the boat. It kept splashing down to a minimum. Imagaine you just spent 3 hours washing and drying your boat and the jackass next to you gets on top of his tower and starts spraying like crazy. Well, time to dry again... It really was an art.
Of course since the p car has 106k miles I dont do any of this stuff to it.
E. J.
06-25-2002, 07:36 PM
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I don't have soft water (don't really need it) but my wife has said that if she catches me using bottled water to wash or rinse the car I'd be in trouble. The sad part is I actually started to think it was a good idea when I was washing the cars on Sunday.
There are some sick people on this board that get their cars way too clean and take pictures of them to show us. This has led to confirmed cases of an electronic virus infecting people to produce the sydrome known as "cleanliness excessiveness".
The sad part is I actually started to think it was a good idea when I was washing the cars on Sunday.There are some sick people on this board that get their cars way too clean and take pictures of them to show us. This has led to confirmed cases of an electronic virus infecting people to produce the sydrome known as "cleanliness excessiveness".
06-25-2002, 08:05 PM
#7
Shirish -
I'm not sure you have the water softening process right. Here is how I understand the process works:
The softener is equipped with a positively charged resin (cat ion). When the hard water flows across the resin it attracts the negatively charged anions of Calcium & Magnesium and holds them, thereby softening the water (spot free rinse if working optimally).
The other half of the process is the regeneration process of the unit (this is where you potassium based salt comes in). The more positively charged salt-water mixture is flushed across the heavily loaded resin thereby removing/washing away the unwanted Calcium & Magnesium anion. Now you have a fresh set of resin to take on the water softening war all over again.
Bottom Line, soften water can only be good for your car washing pleasure. If you’re getting any water spots after rinsing you may need to increase the frequency of your water softener regeneration cycles.
I'm not sure you have the water softening process right. Here is how I understand the process works:
The softener is equipped with a positively charged resin (cat ion). When the hard water flows across the resin it attracts the negatively charged anions of Calcium & Magnesium and holds them, thereby softening the water (spot free rinse if working optimally).
The other half of the process is the regeneration process of the unit (this is where you potassium based salt comes in). The more positively charged salt-water mixture is flushed across the heavily loaded resin thereby removing/washing away the unwanted Calcium & Magnesium anion. Now you have a fresh set of resin to take on the water softening war all over again.
Bottom Line, soften water can only be good for your car washing pleasure. If you’re getting any water spots after rinsing you may need to increase the frequency of your water softener regeneration cycles.
