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Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have a 2011 Black Grand Sport. The problem is we have extremely hard water at our home. Do any of you have a portable water softner that you use to wash your vehicles? If so, which one and how does it work? Thanks for your help.
Here in Woodland, CA the water is insanely hard. Even with a water softener, there is still hard water spots throughout the house (shower doors, sinks, counter tops, etc). Because of that I will never wash my car at home. I have been taking my cars to those self-service/coin-op booths that use filtered water. I don’t use their brushes, of course, just their water and soap (and my wash mitt). The filtered water is so good that I actually don’t even have to hand dry it. It seems to dry almost spot free.
In the past, I have used Mr Clean Autodry which is basically an inline filter that is supposed to help with hard water. It worked pretty good in San Jose as the water was not as hard. Haven’t tried here in Woodland.
I highly suggest getting some Optimum No-Rinse and placing about 1 ounce in a bucket with your normal wash soap. It has a water softening agent build in and we have heard many praises from those that have tried it. Water is more lubricated also, but you may not have as much bubbles.
Although not an answer to your question perhaps I can help as we have hard water here as well as intense sun since we live at 7,000 feet.
As you wash, try to visualize how each section will be washed and in what order. Start with the roof and glass then dry it off. Move to either the front or back and do a fender and a door then dry off. There will be a lot of overlapping as it will be difficult to keep the water off an area you just rinsed but that cant be helped. But the faster you dry off each panel the less spotting you will encounter.
You might also want to consider using a blower or Master Blaster. Both should help remove any water from your finish before drying. You can also use the Optimum No Rinse as a light finishing spray to help with any spotting.
May be obvious, but try and not wash when the sun is directly shining on the vehicle. I wash just before sundown or before sunrise, and use a Master Blaster to dry the vehicle off.
What I do to assist minimize water spots regardless, is mix in half a cup of wax.
Yup. Makes the water even more slick and works like a charm.
Car Wash Soap and half a cup of your favorite wax. Mix it up real good and you will feel how slick the water becomes. Perhaps it will help make things easier.
Here in Woodland, CA the water is insanely hard. Even with a water softener, there is still hard water spots throughout the house (shower doors, sinks, counter tops, etc). Because of that I will never wash my car at home. I have been taking my cars to those self-service/coin-op booths that use filtered water. I don’t use their brushes, of course, just their water and soap (and my wash mitt). The filtered water is so good that I actually don’t even have to hand dry it. It seems to dry almost spot free.
In the past, I have used Mr Clean Autodry which is basically an inline filter that is supposed to help with hard water. It worked pretty good in San Jose as the water was not as hard. Haven’t tried here in Woodland.
Out here we have the same problem. Since Mr. Clean isn't make anymore, I've had to buy their filters on eBay. $23 for 10 drys is worth it and I just bought two of them. I use a 110 MPH leaf blower to blow off the water...never had any streaking.
I had a bad case of water spots after parking next to sprinklers. Even the glass was covered in them, I actually struggoled to get them off the glass before going on a trip. I drove in a storm on the way home and they are all gone.
* January, 2015: Someone creates this thread asking about what portable water softeners people are using. Then he never returns. Literally, his only post on Corvetteforum.
* 4.5 years later, someone else bumps the portable water softener thread just to tell us that a rain storm cleaned his windshield.
I once had a black and silver boat. After washing, the black part of the boat showed a lot of water spots. I then added some vinegar to the water, and no spots.
OUCH! Amazon listing for the product says its good for about 40 gallons (or less) of water. That may work for about 2 car washings for me. Some of the other systems seem to have a high cost as the filters need to be replaced VERY often. One $400 system has replacement filters for $191.00!!!
I try to wash my cars in the shade, and I always dry my car off. No water spots. But my other 2 cars... I fight to get rid of them. Would love a water solution that does not require me to replace it every few washes. My white C3 was the best at hiding water spots... But sold that baby just last Saturday. Prices were just too good.
Bad when I'm bitching about water spots in the world we live in today.
I plumbed soft water to my garage to wash on the driveway with this setup. I just hit the car with the blower and never have an issue with water spots.
Hard water?
