Anyone else use Rainwater to clean their car?

[Coupese]

Living in Peterborough, we have very hard water. To put into context of how hard our water is, water is classed as hard if the calcium carbonate levels are 100mg/l or above ......... Our official levels are 271mg/l.

A few years ago I installed a large decorative water butt at the side of our house and use it purely for car cleaning. I use half the volume of shampoo I used to and don't get lime residue issues after rinsing the car.

Am I a lone 'nutter' in using rainwater as its soft (plus the bonus of saving on my water bill)?

[CliveP]

Hi there, I know a good few detailers who use it - my water is medium to hard - I have kits to test it as I run a 7,000 gallon koi pond so it's something worth knowing.

If it works for you for my friend, go for it My only concern has been making sure no grit gets into the process....

Regards,
Clive.

[Coupese]

Seem to remember trying out a unit Flash brought out that neutralised the lime scale, but it only a couple of cleans due to the hardness of the water.

I am careful about grit, I'm quite fussy with my car cleaning

Local window cleaners have large machines that filter the water so they can clean windows without leaving lime marks. Not found a Reasonably priced DIY solution.

Just seen your post about Waxstock. I live 1/2 mile from the Arena and didnt realise the event was on lol. Have a good day!

[CliveP]

Yes indeed Flash did - but it neve rreally caught on - was expensive for the non-ethusiast and the enthusiast didn't think it was good enough / worth it....

I considered running reverse osmosis on my pond which would have given me a constant supply of the ideal water, but at £150 plus a month to run it on my already expensive pond running costs, and debate on whether R/O is the best for the fish, I have not so far.

You can get units that filter the water for your car wash, similar to the ones I used (in design) to filter my tap water for the pond.

If you're at a loss for something to do tomorrow, Waxstock was great last year, but I enjoy bumping into the people I've trained when I'm there...

Regards,
Clive.

[robbo51]

Why not get this?
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...r-filters.html
I know it costs more.....
But its a nice piece of kit for use in hard water areas

[cyclone]

I would recommend a ion exchange water softener. Just installed one for our house went from 339mg/l to 53mg/l. Wish I would have done it years ago.