Water de-ionizer

I have heard of these but never thought it would be worth the cash because they aren't cheap. Well now I'm a believer.

We had our Italia professionally detailed. Well worth it btw. He recommended the de-ionizer from Costco. It costs about $450 shipped.

We washed our black car in direct sunlight in the middle of the day. We rinsed it and didn't touch it with a drying towel. We stepped back and practically watched it dry . We checked on it later and much to my surprise, no water spots even on the glass.

As everyone here knows, washing and drying can lead to lots of scratches.

It's worth the money.

 

Very cool. Thanks for the tip. I'm a hobbiest detailer but I've not considered one because of the expense. As a cheapskate, I've been happy just using a leaf blower to dry the cars. But my water pretty hard so it's tough to avoid water spots in the real heat of the summer. What is your water like and what is the "operating cost" of the Costco filter?

 

I know nothing about the water quality or type. We live in south Florida.

We just got it and have used it once. Maybe someone else can chime in.

 

I use the $25 Mr. Clean's de ionizer (discontinued but still available online). Works good, cost about $25 off FLeabay and screws on the end of your hose.

 

Did you know you can get affordable de-de-ionisers for the humble garden hose? Look online e you'll find a model thats works for you

 

I never noticed much benefit from the Mr. Clean setup. Maybe my water is too hard. Or maybe that's why they're discontinued...

 

Mike, I hardly use the de-ionizer as (like you) I use a leaf blower to dry off the car. With paint sealant, the water REALLY beads off easily.

 

We're on a well, with a very high iron content. Even though we have an iron removal and softener system which is fine for household use, it isn't good enough for a dark red car. I use a deionizer called Waterstick. (www.watersticks.com) $180 and resin refills are $15. Comes with a test solution to indicate when you need to refill the resin. I get 10-12 washes per refill. I wash with house water, then rinse with the deionized then air dry with a blower. Has worked great so far.

Cheers, Andy

 

I used one on a beautiful bus (RV) I had a few years ago - a must - who wants to dry something 45' long - darn, tried to find a picture of it and none! My computer crashed last yr and lost lots of stuff - its hard when pics are gone forever - especially when its something you had so much fun with

 

I read about these setups from someone here and saved this bookmark for future reference. To me this is the way to go.

RV Water Filter Store: Standard Filter Canisters for Whole RV

Seems like you could creatively plumb to one of these from your regular hose bib that you would use for washing.

 

Aquarium supply companies are the best source for RO/DI units. Saltwater and Reef Aquarium Supplies - Bulk Reef Supply.

 

I have a RO/DI unit for my saltwater aquarium. It takes about 7 hours to produce 5 gallons. It would still work, but you would need to put the water in a garden sprayer to spray the car with the RO/DI water.

 

I used a CR spotless for a few years, and they are awesome.
Wash the car, rinse with normal water, then rise with DI.
No water spots at all.

However,

Store it in a warm area over the winter, or it may freeze solid and break in the winter if left in a garage.

 

cr spotless is awesome, got mine from costco shipped to the house..

 

Or just drain the cartridges, that's what I do.

I got the Costco one too. I have a black Cayenne and it leaves it spotless. Since I have divided lite windows I have lots of window panes in my house too (500 plus) so I just soap them up with a pole-mounted mitt and them rinse them with the Costco unit. Takes a less than an hour to do the whole house. It's not perfect but pretty good.

 

No need to use DI before or during the wash. Go about your business with whatever clean water you have then just rinse with store bought DI water by the gallon. I use 6-8 jugs (available at the food store) and just flow over the car after the last rinse and then use a high capacity air blower to scoot the water off. Not a spot to be seen and never a towel to touch the paint. At about $10/wash, much cheaper than a DI unit (especially over the life of the car) and nothing to store in the garage. Good luck.

 

I use a CR Spotless unit. Works extremely well, and I have very hard water. I can usually make it through about 25-30 rinses without changing the resin, but I avoid using the DI for cleanup and initial soaking. Store the resin in a heated area during the winter.

 

Ours still working great. We only use it to give a good rinse at the end of washing.

 

Read this thread... figured I needed one ... just arrived from Costco.... bonus, it was on sale for $369 (I buy anything that ends in or begins with "69" )

 

Looks like you have 6-8 gallon jugs to store or some multiple of that if you don't want to go grocery shopping every time you wash your car. Just saying.

Al

 

No worries when you are on a well and store bottled water for power outages. Wife always picks up a gallon or two and splits the purchase with DI for coffee and F12 rinses thus no need for funky chemistry sets. Just pop the lids and pour - do a couple gallons at once or pour from a bucket to get a good flow over the paint. However you choose to do it, DI really does leave the paint spotless after a wash. Get a good blower and you will never scratch the paint from a dry towel.

 

I just bought the Waterstik at $180 including one load in the tube and three replacements.
I used a high power portable leaf blower after the rinse and the result was fantastic. Very happy with it.

 

With the weakness of the British Pound you guys ought to look at refillable 0ppm water filters like this one, which I use on my 360 and my other cars, all of which are black or blue.

Cost will be about $150 I guess.

I can personally vouch that they work as well as the reviews say. No water spots, period, and no messing about with jugs of bought in water.

Refillable 0ppm Water Filter (7 litre) RG-Filter-7L