# Think i need a water filter!



## seanypeeps (Dec 15, 2010)

Hi guys i have recently moved house into the sticks and loved the idea of having the outside tap that i saw when we look at the place.:thumb: Well this seems to have a little premature as it seems the outside tap and the whole house in on bore hole water which i am so cheesed off about. Firstly it tastes like SH++ and most importantly it's doing my car washing no favours at all. If i don't practicaly run round the car to dry it in minutes i very quickly get white residue like a calcium or lime scale where the water is starting to dry. So thinking filter but which one? This is where i need help i don't want to go crazy money if poss as it's a rented property and need to sweet talk the landlord before i touch the pipes! It will be running a K3.56 if that matters. Cheers boys for any ideas.:detailer:


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## DesertDog (May 15, 2011)

We had the same problem when living in Nigeria. 

Do you have a header tank or a reservoir where the water is pumped from the borehole? If so, we treated the water in the reservoir with alum (a clarifier and natural filter additive) before it was circulated. This always solved the problem.


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

get an 11l DI resin Filter


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

DI resin filter for me also, we are on a bore hole also and the water is almost solid when it comes out of the taps!!


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## Crash7 (Jun 23, 2011)

Chaps,

I have a similar issue, where can I get a DI resin filter?

Cheers


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## mjparsons (Dec 16, 2010)

have a look at www.vyair.com, they do lots of filters etc, I have RO filters from them and they are helpfull


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

http://www.cleaningspot.co.uk/acatalog/De-Ionising_resin_and_water_softener_resin.html you want the 11 litre all prepped version its about £100


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

If you are using a DI resin system i would use it sparingly or just for a final rinse, if there is THAT much calcium in the water it will be expensive to replace the resin reqularly.


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

i get 333ppm from our bore hole water, is that really bad then? Thought it was just average hard water?


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

carlblakemore said:


> i get 333ppm from our bore hole water, is that really bad then? Thought it was just average hard water?


yikes i thought ours was bad at under 1/2 that!


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

Wont be expecting long life from my resin then no??!


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

why dont you lot just buy a water softener, you need never worry again :detailer: it will save keep messing around keep changing the resin.
You will also benefit in the house too, no more scale or scum.
If i can get enough people together i will do a group buy :thumb:

www.s-s-s.biz


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

If we didn't live in MOD housing then I would do!!!


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

you still would need the salt though and its not like you have to change the resin everytime so i am struggling to see the problem tbh.

DO not use the DI for anything but final rinse with values like that


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

carlblakemore said:


> i get 333ppm from our bore hole water, is that really bad then? Thought it was just average hard water?


Our mains isn't far off that!


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

my mains is around 260 ish and its DI vessel for me....


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## chopperRB320 (May 10, 2011)

I was just about to start a thread asking for hard water help. Logged on and saw this thread, so im not alone. I've just washed my car and now its filthy :wall:
I've use Aqua Gleam in-line filter 30ppm which is good but not brilliant. Trouble is living in Southampton these filters do not last due to the quality of the water here and at £55 a filter its expensive.
Would one of these help ?
http://www.waterimp.co.uk/waterimps.html


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## qwerty94 (Jan 19, 2010)

chopperRB320 said:


> I was just about to start a thread asking for hard water help. Logged on and saw this thread, so im not alone. I've just washed my car and now its filthy :wall:
> I've use Aqua Gleam in-line filter 30ppm which is good but not brilliant. Trouble is living in Southampton these filters do not last due to the quality of the water here and at £55 a filter its expensive.
> Would one of these help ?
> http://www.waterimp.co.uk/waterimps.html


One of those does not really work, your best bet is to get a Water Softener like ozzy suggested, they are great have had one at home for years.

www.s-s-s.biz


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## TOGWT (Oct 26, 2005)

*Hard Water*

Hard water has high concentrations of Ca2+and Mg2+ common calcium-containing minerals are calcite and gypsum. A common magnesium mineral is dolomite (which also contains calcium). With hard water, soap solutions form a white precipitate (soap scum) instead of producing lather. This effect arises because the 2+ ions destroy the surfactant properties of the soap by forming a solid precipitate (the soap scum). A major component of such scum is calcium stearate, which arises from sodium stearate, the main component of soap:

_Milligrams per Litre (mg/L) or Parts per million (ppm)_
Soft: 0-60 mg/L 
Moderately hard: 61-120 mg/L 
Hard: 121-180 mg/L 
Very hard: ≥181 mg/L

*Filtration Methods*

a) Distilled water - is actually boiled in a still and the condensate collected and distributed. Distillation removes both ionic and non-ionic organic contaminants.

b) Deionizer (DI) - is water that has been passed through a column or membrane to remove ions present. If it is of the type used in homes, it is not truly a de-ionizer, removing all ions, but rather an ion exchange column that exchanges polyvalent ions such as magnesium (Mg2+) ++ and calcium ( Ca2+) ++ for Na+ ions. A de-ionizing column will not remove non-ionic organic substances from the water.

c) Reverse Osmosis (RO) -is produced by forcing the solvent (water) through an ultra fine membrane (filter) under pressure (leaving the ion in the water behind) the water system inlet takes water to a pre-cleaner sediment filter, then it is passed through a membrane, which captures the minerals and has to be flushed constantly to wash the minerals from the membrane, and then on to the water outlet to drain. Chlorine will damage the membranes over time, and will eventually "by-pass" the membrane, producing a mildly acidic solution. It requires up to 10-15 gallons producing 1-gallon of pure water.

The RO system is slow and not very energy efficient due to its water requirements as opposed to its output of pure water (i.e. 1500 raw water to produce 100 gallons RO water)

d) Alkaline removal by anion exchange resins is accomplished by the exchange of chloride for bicarbonate and carbonate alkalinity, thus the finished water is enriched with chlorides. Exhausted resin is regenerated with sodium chloride, much like a water softener

e) If you are using tap water that contains high levels of minerals such as calcium hydroxide or silicates, some of the polymers will bond to these minerals and take them out of solution therefore more product might be necessary to compensate for this effect. Adding Optimum No Rinse (ONR) to a regular car wash soap will improves the results when using tap water (0.5 oz / gallon) always add it to the water to remove the minerals before adding your soap. This will maximize the benefits of using No Rinse in this manner.

f) Water Softener - salt does not directly soften water; salt is only used to regenerate water softeners. The salt creates brine, which flushes the resin bed in the water softener to restore the univalent sodium ions. 
The sodium, or potassium chloride does an ion exchange with the hardness metals (calcium, magnesium, etc), so basically the hardness metals are replaced with sodium.

The "harder" the water, the more hydrogen, sodium or potassium ions are released from the resin and into the water. The increase in sodium (salt) levels in the water can be significant, especially when treating very hard water; therefore a water softener would be somewhat of a compromise when it comes to vehicle washing


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## Crash7 (Jun 23, 2011)

In regards to filtration what is the highest grade I could fit to achieve a good compromise between life and water quality?

It has been commented that 30ppm did not last long in Southampton and I believe I live in a harder water area :-(


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## chopperRB320 (May 10, 2011)

Crash7 said:


> In regards to filtration what is the highest grade I could fit to achieve a good compromise between life and water quality?
> 
> It has been commented that 30ppm did not last long in Southampton and I believe I live in a harder water area :-(


Damn , where do you live? I didnt think anywhere would have harder water than me. I worked out using a 30ppm cost me about £2 per rince


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## Crash7 (Jun 23, 2011)

chopperRB320 said:


> Damn , where do you live? I didnt think anywhere would have harder water than me. I worked out using a 30ppm cost me about £2 per rince


Thames Water region - Their web-site informs me that my tap water is 370ppm!!!

http://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/corp/hs.xsl/899.htm


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## chopperRB320 (May 10, 2011)

Crash7 said:


> Thames Water region - Their web-site informs me that my tap water is 370ppm!!!
> 
> http://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/corp/hs.xsl/899.htm


damn thats bad.
Southern water says my average is 106 Ca mg/l. 265 CaCO3. not sure what these figues meen though?


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## Obsessed Merc (Apr 10, 2011)

Ninja59 said:


> http://www.cleaningspot.co.uk/acatalog/De-Ionising_resin_and_water_softener_resin.html you want the 11 litre all prepped version its about £100


Bought mine from here. Lasted 2 months on my pw. Pretty disappointed in having to change the resin so quickly.
When I contacted them, they sent me the calculation (buried in my emails somewhere). Essentially less than 500L of water thru an 11L chamber at my hardness level - 275ish.

Before you purchase, ask them for the calculation and how long it will last. May help you decide BEFORE you purchase..

Mark


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

See i was told not to run them through a pressure washer, its best to run it slowly through the resin!!


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

Obsessed Merc said:


> Bought mine from here. Lasted 2 months on my pw...... Essentially less than 500L of water thru an 11L chamber at my hardness level - 275ish.


Why not just use it as a final rinse? I dont see the benifit of using it for the whole wash process. It would probably last 20 washes if used for the final rinse.


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

chopperRB320 said:


> damn thats bad.
> Southern water says my average is *106 Ca mg/l*. 265 CaCO3. not sure what these figues meen though?


the amount in bold is the hardness level of calcium in milligrams and the figure in blue is hardness level Calcium Carbonate....i think...confusing...


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

Bero said:


> Why not just use it as a final rinse? I dont see the benifit of using it for the whole wash process. It would probably last 20 washes if used for the final rinse.


Thats the problem bit if you have high water hardness it will kill the resin stone dead when i checked mine ours comes to around 130 -150 so easily 1/2 of what some others have mentioned. 

i do sometimes and esp now run mine when hot weather with complete DI water even through PW (a great aid when the sun is still warm and your honkering to wash it! and end up getting distracted


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## OutLore (Jan 19, 2007)

carlblakemore said:


> i get 333ppm from our bore hole water, is that really bad then? Thought it was just average hard water?





Ninja59 said:


> yikes i thought ours was bad at under 1/2 that!


My mains tests at 500ppm


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

OutLore said:


> My mains tests at 500ppm


:doublesho jesus my jaw just dropped to the ground erm....


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

jesus that is hard water!!


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

did another test on mine today 121ppm :lol:


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

Well £100 spent on a DI 11L filter unit, 300L of water passed through it and its now only filtering to 3ppm!!!
How high can i let it go before it becomes useless as a spot free rinse?
Not very good value at this rate!


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

carlblakemore said:


> Well £100 spent on a DI 11L filter unit, 300L of water passed through it and its now only filtering to 3ppm!!!
> How high can i let it go before it becomes useless as a spot free rinse?
> Not very good value at this rate!


think most have gone to around 50 -60 iirc but ofc as the ppm increases so does the water spotting its kinda upto you 3 ppm is pretty good actually generally i mean mine was showing 1-2 mostly


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## Obsessed Merc (Apr 10, 2011)

carlblakemore said:


> Well £100 spent on a DI 11L filter unit, 300L of water passed through it and its now only filtering to 3ppm!!!
> How high can i let it go before it becomes useless as a spot free rinse?
> Not very good value at this rate!


Does the water smell fishy ? I noticed that mine worked fine until an odour appeared and then spotting was too much of a nuisance. Changed my resin at around 40ppm.

Hope that helps.


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

no smell of fish in my filter!!
Will monitor over the next few weeks!


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## planktom (Jun 15, 2011)

Obsessed Merc said:


> ....Changed my resin at around 40ppm....


if you take a look at an complete >>water softener<< for houses you´ll see that
these just uses salt for reconditioning the resin automatically...
so why do you change the resin instead of just washing it with a solution of salt and water ?:thumb:


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## qwerty94 (Jan 19, 2010)

planktom said:


> if you take a look at an complete >>water softener<< for houses you´ll see that
> these just uses salt for reconditioning the resin automatically...
> so why do you change the resin instead of just washing it with a solution of salt and water ?:thumb:


You could buy a Water Softener, which will then do all that for you all the time, and you will have soft water every where in the house, not just for your cars! :detailer:


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

As the resin used in these DI filters is a mixed resin is it possible to recondition with a salt solution? The way i understood it you could recharge only one type of resin not a mixed bed?


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

planktom said:


> if you take a look at an complete >>water softener<< for houses you´ll see that
> these just uses salt for reconditioning the resin automatically...
> so why do you change the resin instead of just washing it with a solution of salt and water ?:thumb:


^^ This is what i have been saying all along ^^ :detailer:


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

What sort of salt do you have to use, industrial stuff or a large bag from tesco!!


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

planktom said:


> if you take a look at an complete >>water softener<< for houses you´ll see that
> these just uses salt for reconditioning the resin automatically...
> so why do you change the resin instead of just washing it with a solution of salt and water ?:thumb:





carlblakemore said:


> What sort of salt do you have to use, industrial stuff or a large bag from tesco!!


You can use watersoftener salt comes in 10 or 25 kg bags or 4kg blocks.
like this....http://shop.sss-sussex.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=8


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

Is there a certain strength or kg per litre solution to use? How do you know when it's rinsed out? I must investigate!!


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

carlblakemore said:


> Is there a certain strength or kg per litre solution to use? How do you know when it's rinsed out? I must investigate!!


dissolve a good hand full in 2-3 L of water for a couple of days, it will make its own strength.


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## robq7653 (Jun 24, 2011)

How about uv filters, that's what a customer has and hi water is only feild surface water lol,


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

UV sterilisers are only good at killing organisms, germs and some pathogens. It won't soften the water.


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## TOGWT (Oct 26, 2005)

Water softening and diioization are very different process-

Water softener does not remove the minerals (calcium Ca and magnesium Mg) that are responsible for 'water spotting', softened water tends to strip wax by increasing the effectiveness of detergents; the softener doesn't get rid of all the minerals. The only way to get truly "clean" water is distilled or de-ionized

Deionization - All naturally-occurring water contains dissolved mineral salts. In solution, salts separate into positively-charged cations and negatively-charged anions. Deionization can reduce the amounts of these ions to very low levels through the process of ion exchange.

Two general types of anion resin are used for deionization: weak base resin and strong base resin. Weak base resin adsorbs strong acids, while strong base resin exchanges chloride, sulphate and alkaline anions for hydroxide ions (OH-). The hydrogen ions from the cation exchange process combine with the hydroxide ions from the anion exchange process to form water (HOH or H2O). Because the deionization process is so effective, the water quality is usually measured by the water's resistance to electric current (in OHM-cm). The end result is purified water that won't leave mineral deposits (the so-called 'water spots')


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

So is the salt flushing suitable for these small di units or just for larger household sized water softeners? I am confused!!


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

carlblakemore said:


> So is the salt flushing suitable for these small di units or just for larger household sized water softeners? I am confused!!


Yes your D1 is no bigger than a softener, here is how they work!.....

In brief, water softeners are designed to remove calcium and magnesium (the cause of scale and scum) from hard water. They are intended to treat the whole house, so are installed where the water supply enters the premises.

Ion Exchange
Water softening happens through a process called ion exchange, which uses an ion exchange resin. The resin comprises of tiny polymeric beads which are specially formulated so that they can be charged with certain ions. Calcium and magnesium, the causes of scale and scum from hard water, are referred to as ions, and as water passes through the resin, the calcium and magnesium ions swap places with the sodium ions on the resin. Sodium salts, unlike calcium and magnesium, are highly soluble so sodium does not cause scale or scum. When all the sodium ions have been exchanged for calcium or magnesium, the resin must be regenerated by recharging it with sodium ions. This is done by flushing the resin with salt solution (brine).

Our Machines
Our softeners have tanks to hold the resin which the water supply moves through in order to soften it. When required, salt is dissolved for the regenerating brine and one cylinder is regenerated while the other continues to serve softened water. This duplex parallel system is unique to Harvey water softeners. It makes regeneration even more efficient in terms of water usage since softened water is more ideal for the regeneration process (it does not contain calcium and magnesium ions that regeneration removes). There are various ways in which softeners determine when to regenerate - some are fitted with a timer and some regenerate after a pre-set volume of water has been treated.


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

I have found a youtube clip that i saw ages ago, the guy has a portable softener and this is how he washes it out, have a go with your units?


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## -Simon- (Oct 29, 2010)

I am interested in the water softener option, but am a little concerned of the effect of washing the car with sodium enriched water....Ozzy can you tell us how significant this effect is? I know you're not supposed to drink the stuff but us it def ok for the car?

Cheers 


Simon


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## Graham225 (Jul 18, 2011)

Your filter will have a very very short lifespan with those sort of water hardness readings, the water contaminants will kill your filter in no time.


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

simon town said:


> I am interested in the water softener option, but am a little concerned of the effect of washing the car with sodium enriched water....Ozzy can you tell us how significant this effect is? I know you're not supposed to drink the stuff but us it def ok for the car?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Simon


Hi simon, Sorry i missed this post, is this something you still know? or am i too late.


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

Just For the Record and im Sure Ozzy will agree you CANT Recharge Resin used in a DI Vessel with A salt solution.

I tried it after we spoke and it didnt work.

Shame too.

PaulN


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## mejinks (Nov 22, 2009)

So if you have some stupidly high readings, you soften the water by buying a large still and using the water from that?


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

a still?

i need something i have killed my filter in 3 months!!!


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

PaulN said:


> Just For the Record and im Sure Ozzy will agree you CANT Recharge Resin used in a DI Vessel with A salt solution.
> 
> I tried it after we spoke and it didnt work.
> 
> ...


Yes,l DI Resin can NOT be recharged, it has to be replaced.

Paul, and all you guys that use Di filter!!
I have text paul last night some info regarding these filters, and was waiting for some more info today. 
Well i now have this, but i do need to edit it as it does contain company names.
I will try and post it up tomorrow night, although i am home late. please watch this thread and don't shoot the messenger.


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

I am interested now!!! will keep a close eye on this!


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

Morning Everybody, I have thought about this all night, so here it is before I go to work.
As i have indicated on here, we run a small Water Softener company www.s-s-s.biz (NOTE TO MODS: THIS IS NOT IN NO WAY AN ADVERT TO PROMOTE OUR BUSINESS, IT IS FOR INFORMATION)
Having read things on the DI filters you use, (thinking is this something i should be selling) and posted the odd comment, i have asked questions at a well known British softener company on the difference between all of these.
Below is what i have been told ( and it opened my eyes, as i had no idea) so please read and i will do my best to answer any questions. :detailer:

Hi John

Thanks for your email. I would have replied sooner but needed to collate all the information you wanted - 5 attachments.

I'll try to explain this as best as I can in an email...

*The BEST thing a car enthusiast could do is wash the car in softened water and then spray a fine mist of DI water over the car. 
*
The differences in the types of water are:

*HARD WATER*- Hard water is not corrosive but leaves mineral marks on cars, windows, etc etc etc (don't we all know this!)

*NATURALLY SOFT WATER *- The PH of this water, such as is found in Scotland and Cornwall, is naturally aggressive and is also somewhat very mildly corrosive on certain metals. You could not put naturally softened water in to a boiler heating system as it would corrode the heat exchanger.

*ARTIFICIALLY ION EXCHANGE SOFT WATER* - This is what you get from a water softener. It is not aggressive or corrosive in any way. The PH does not change so therefore you can safely put it into a boiler heat exchanger and would not risk corroding the boiler. (Yes, I know, the boiler manufacturers say otherwise, but they haven't a clue about water treatment and are being guided by the inhibitor manufacturers whose best interests it is in to say you cannot put soft water in to boilers etc)

*RO WATER* - Reverse Osmosis water is 98% pure and as such is very aggressive and mildly corrosive - this is why it is excellent for cleaning, even without detergents. It is 'made' by passing ideally softened water through the RO system via a membrane. Most domestic RO systems, such as all the types sold by ** *** and ******** ****, etc etc etc will typically waste 12 litres of water for every litre of pure water they create. In the colder winter months (or anytime really where the temperature drops below 15 degrees), the water wasted will typically increase to nearly double the summer wastage. This is because the membrane shrinks in the winter cold water, and more water runs to drain. There are many good RO systems out there that waste far less, but they are very expensive. It is IMPORTANT to note that the RO water is as stated previously, only 98% pure. This means it is not pure enough to not streak, spot or water drop stain a car or window, etc. The ONLY way to get totally pure water is to make it 99.9% pure. This is done by passing the RO water through a DI vessel which will perform the final 'polish' of the water. A DI vessel fitted to a RO will last a long time and for people using LARGE volumes of water, this is the cheaper option to go. For MOST people using up to 12,000 litres of water a month, this is overkill and the next method, listed below, is best...

*DE-IONISED WATER (DI)* - DI Water is 99.9% pure and is also very aggressive and mildly corrosive. It is therefore, like RO, excellent for cleaning most surfaces without the use of detergents. Like RO, It is used in it's pure form at 99.9% pure to wash windows at height using long poles because the mildly aggressive nature of the water will remove dirt from glass and frames, and over repeated washes, the static on the glass will be broken and therefore dirt would be less attracted - there is also no need for the use of detergents on the glass (which actually recreate the static and mean you have to clean the windows more). DI water is achieved by filling a cylinder with DI resin and connected it to a mains hard supply. The DI resin will strip out all the minerals and impurities from the water leaving the water completely clean.

Di is a resin that can not be easily regenerated (nowhere in the UK does it), so it would need to be replaced when the TDS meter reads a maximum of 15 on the digital gauge. You could sell these - I bought these from (**************************) or the enthusiasts could buy them directly from ******** ****.

Heating pure water is a DEFINITE NO-NO. The companies in the industry who promote this (such as ******** ****), don't know the first thing about water treatment and are all jumping on the profitable band wagon of selling heating systems. This is DANGEROUS to do as for every degree you heat pure water, you DOUBLE the PH, making it eventually gently acidic. It will corrode metal MUCH quicker if heated. Great for cleaning windows with plastic frames, a bit of doubt about cleaning windows with wooden frames as the suggestion is it would, over time, swell the frames, but metal frames - I would sooner recommend washing the windows with a custard pie than hot DI / RO water.

So what does it actually do?

One of the sheets I will send you over is about Speedlining. We found that if a window cleaner had a tank of water in his van without a very strong rubberised coating, the pure water would eat through the metal, literally eating the base of the van. We saw this occur between 1-3 years. For the average car owner, like my dad, he has a water softener to wash the car (well, actually its for the house), and then I have supplied him with a small DI cylinder to fine mist spray the car afterwards - the car then drip dries and is beautifully clean without spots or marks. HOWEVER, this risk is the enthusiast will either be washing his car much more regularly than the average guy, and may even have a classic car which is made up of more exposed metals or perhaps with corrosion already evident. This is why I say a fine mist spray only. A final quick rinse.

Any questions, please let me know.

All the best,


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

Hi Ozzy,

Thanks for taking the time to post this up. Like i said on my text im a little unconvinced about the statement regarding DI water being very aggressive and mildly corrosive. But would love to trial anything your contact can suggest as a test?

Also as i said i dont think you can compare DI water against Winter salt and and grit.

Ive had my vessel for 2 years plus and have replaced the resin 3 times my cars have a wash with DI water at least once a week and as far as i can see there is no impact to using it (durabilty of the wax must be the main yard stick) also bear in mind we are not rubbing or using a brush with this, granted i do dry off the car but most cases i pat dry anyway.

One last thing, its worth bearing in mind IF DI water is mildly corrosive how does that compare to soft water which uses salt to soften it, isnt that worse for your car?

Thanks

PaulN


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## carlblakemore (Jun 30, 2006)

this concerns me about the corrosive propereties of DI water, might just seel on my vessel and not bother getting a refill then if its causing harm, and just use my hard tap water. undecided now!!!


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

PaulN said:


> Hi Ozzy,
> 
> One last thing, its worth bearing in mind IF DI water is mildly corrosive how does that compare to soft water which uses salt to soften it, isnt that worse for your car?
> 
> ...


ARTIFICIALLY ION EXCHANGE SOFT WATER - This is what you get from a water softener. It is not aggressive or corrosive in any way. The PH does not change so therefore you can safely put it into a boiler heat exchanger and would not risk corroding the boiler.

Paul, As the test you did with trying to wash your DI resin with a saline solution, a softener works the same way, salt in only used to wash the collected hardness from the resin.

A couple of facts for you off the net!

HOW MUCH SODIUM IS THERE IN SOFT WATER? 
A normal daily intake of sodium for an adult is approx. 2,400 mg.
Many natural and manufactured foods and drinks contribute to this daily intake. As a guide, you would need to drink 60 glasses of softened water to achieve your daily intake
Typical examples of sodium levels are: -

One glass of milk contains 160 mg 
One slice of bread contains 190 mg
One glass of softened water contains only 40 mg.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
There is 4 times the amount of sodium in a glass of milk than there is in a glass of soft water.

This book will give you an idea on how much salt is in soft water? i know it will be all about eating and drinking it, and not washing your car, but you will see it is small.
http://assets1.harveywatersofteners.co.uk/downloads/softened_drinking_water.pdf


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## ozzy (Jan 1, 2007)

carlblakemore said:


> this concerns me about the corrosive propereties of DI water, might just seel on my vessel and not bother getting a refill then if its causing harm, and just use my hard tap water. undecided now!!!


*The BEST thing a car enthusiast could do is wash the car in softened water and then spray a fine mist of DI water over the car. *

I would say FINE MIST is the answer,
By the sounds of it Di water was developed for the long pole window cleaning industry!


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