Deionized Water Vehicle Rinse System
 

Does anyone on the forum use a Deionized washing system when rinsing their vehicles? I am looking at the following but haven't pulled the trigger yet. It appears to be a far better choice than the more common "Spotless" system you can find on Amazon which is a cartridge based system and only lasts about 300 gallons.

https://dirinse.com/shop/

I am looking at either the Pro 100 or Pro 50. Looks to be a far better unit and can handle 2000 - 4000 gallons of rinse before the resin needs to be replaced. Anyone have a unit they are very happy with? It will be awesome to rinse off the car and let it air dry with ZERO spots:clap:

I have always wanted one of these, but the cost of a good quality unit didn't make sense to me when I could wipe it down with a few microfiber towels and get a spotless result. However I'll concede that I'm still childless and have the time to do these things, down the line I'd definitely look into it.

Someone recommended the unit below that I think I am going to pull the trigger on. To me, it is very affordable and worth the money to get a spotless finish and not have to wipe it down after a wash in the hot Florida sun.

https://www.griotsgarage.com/product...ortby=ourPicks

Ouch. The $600 DI Rinse system (the model 100) treats 4000 gallons. At 10 gallons per minute you'll get 400 minutes of water. That's about 6.66 hours of use. Refills cost $200 so that is one expensive car wash.

You may want to run the numbers before you buy. Aside from the initial purchase cost ($300), a refill will cost you $100.

In the Northern Virginia area, the TDS is about 190. According to the FAQ, that'll get you about 350 gallons of treated water at 4gpm (a typical 25ft garden hose flows about 24gpm, so very low pressure through the system) so you'll get 87 minutes or running the water - so a bit under an hour and a half.

You could hire somebody to dry your car for a fraction of the cost of one of these systems.

Just keep in mind that drops of ( relatively ) mineral-free water are still a magnet for whatever dust, pollen, or soot may waft their way before they dry.

@ceb ...you are way off base my friend and missing the products intent. You don't WASH your car with this water...you ONLY RINSE your car with it at the end of the wash cycle so water usage is very small...maybe a few gallons at most. I did run the math and know exactly how much a resin refill will cost. Overall, the cost isn't bad at all if you use the filtered water as designed.

Of course, but you also need to factor in that this tank is like a medium oxygen tank, so you either do a fixed install or buy a cart - both a huge PITA unless you are doing this on a professional level.

Me? I wash the car as normal and then use Optimum No Rinse as the final "rinse" and then towel it off.

Even though I have a garage full of car products (porter Cable polisher, Blackfire polishes and waxes, OptiCoat etc.), I just can't see myself lugging one of these out of the garage when I want to wash my car, hook it up for the 5 minute rinse and then unhook it and drag it back into the garage.

I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from buying one of these, but I do hope that people will consider the cost/benefit of this. Will it end up like the treadmill that just turns into a clothes hanger?

Let us know when/if you get it and provide a review! I was eyeing a system like this when they had it at Costco a few years ago but ultimately did not purchase. I ended up running a line from my water softener instead and will use that going forward for car washes :bitelip:

That's a great idea. I guess you could plumb in one of those DI systems using a diverter valve and electronic switch for your phone. You could plumb it in right after your water shut-off to your outside faucet. That would make it convenient and you don't have to drag the tank around.

Are you guys trying to get me to spend money?

:yes:

You guys are just plain evil.

Softened water will leave deposits as it dries; they are just a different flavor than those from unsoftened water.

The cation exchange resin in water softeners exchanges sodium ions ( Na+ ) for the divalent cations in "hard water" ( primarily Ca++ and Mg++ ). This has the benefit that sodium ions don't interfere with the action of soaps and detergents, unlike Ca++ and Mg++. The major downside is that softened water doesn't taste very good. ( The liquid rock from our well tastes great. Who needs expensive bottled "mineral water"? )

Eventually, the resin will become saturated with hard water ions, and it must be "recharged" or "regenerated" by flushing it with salt water containing a high concentration of Na+ ( and Cl- that doesn't interact with the resin ).

Deionized water is produced by passing water through a "mixed bed" of cation exchange and anion exchange resins that are "charged" with H+ and OH- ions, respectively. In principle, the H+ and OH- ions will combine to form neutral water, after they are exchanged for other ions in the water. But regenerating a mixed bed resin of this type isn't practical in a home environment. Once it is exhausted, it's done.

An alternate approach to preventing water spots is to apply a hydrophobic coating to the relevant surfaces, to encourage the water drops to slide off. Waxes have been used for this purpose for a very long time, and they have the added benefit of protecting the painted surface from abrasion and discouraging adhesion of bug guts, bird poop, and other crud.

Additives can also be mixed with the rinse water to disrupt surface tension and encourage the water to "sheet" evenly rather than bead up.

These methods may be more practical than installing a water purification facility. YMMV

I have a water softener that feeds my entire home including my hose bibs. As was mentioned above by @Wander , SOFT WATER coming from a softener will also leave spots so a water softener is NOT the solution. You must use DI water for non-spotting. It was suggested that using optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine might be a great option. I am going to try this first before making the purchase of a DI system.

@securityguy I've always wanted a legit DI system but alas, a combination of price, space and the fact that i live in a home with a 2 car garage, but no driveway makes it hard for me to leave the car outside long enough to rinse-wash-rinse-dry without blocking my neighbors path, so since the RDX purchase Oct '18 I have been using Optimum No Rinse (ONR) almost exclusively. (NOTE: I visit a friend who who has a power wash setup maybe once every couple months or after a long road trip to get all the extra gunk off the parts i do not touch w/ONR).

I do however use distilled water purchased from the regular grocery store - about 2.5 gallons per wash ($1.50 approx).

My process is spray the entire vehicle with one of those pump sprayers from Home Depot HomeDepot, then use a grit guard in a 5gal bucket w/2.5 gal distilled and the recommended dose of ONR. I also use the Optimum Big Red Sponge.

then when ready to dry i use one spray of Optimum per panel as a drying aid when i dry the car. So far so good, even washing a very filthy car with this method has yielded zero swirl marks or scratches. The only portion of the car that has swirl marks is the shiny black window trim and this was done by the stupid dealership when the car was in for service and they washed it despite my specific instruction not to.

Finally, after all is said and done, at least once per month, sometimes every week, i apply one layer of Bead maker which apparently doesnt last as long as other sealants, but it is so easy to apply and makes a clean, clayed car feel stupid smooth. So far so good, I have been doing this weekly for 8 months now with no regrets. I can do the entire car with out moving it from the garage in about an hour if im really hustling...give it a try, i highly recommend and have converted several friends to this method - some on new BLACK vehicles...

Thanks @knakane ...great write up and will give this shot. I suggest you try Hydrosilex as I have found this product to be great after washing the car.

www.hydrosilex.com

Oh yes, thanks @securityguy I actually have a bottle of HydroSilex in my garage now, just fell in love with the BeadMaker i never moved on haha... But appreciate the recommendation, i will definitely try that out soon as the car is due for a quick paint cleaning/clay session.... Cheers!

If you get one of those DI water systems, you will also need to get a new hose and nozzle that you will only use with the system. You will still get spotting if you don't as the DI water will pick up any minerals that have built up in your old hoses.

The unit has a bypass valve so that you can use the same hose all the time. I have a water softener so using that, in conjunction with the DI, would allow for a single hose application. Going to try the Optimum No Rinse process first (being delivered today) and look at using distilled water from the grocery store as my final rinse...as was mentioned above it's cheap and you don't need a lot of it. Choices...choices...

Have you had a chance to use the ONR yet?