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What is considered hard water and what are the degrees of hardness? Well very hard water would be 10.5 grains per gallon and 180 parts per million and above. But you need to understand that even moderately hard water of 3.5 to 7 grains per gallon and 60-120 parts per million will leave hard water stains. Slightly hard water, such as 1 to 3.5 grains per gallon and 17.1 to 60 parts per million, won’t leave noticeable hard water spots that you can’t fix with chamois. But really as a professional auto detailer you are really looking for soft water with less than 1 grain per gallon and 17 parts per million.
What makes water hard?
Hardness in water is caused by calcium and magnesium ions forming insoluble compounds; Sometimes iron and even aluminum. There are many ways to soften water. Some are more complex than others; aeration, de-ionization or ion-exchange, distillation, reverse osmosis or softening.
Softening using a water softener is the simplest concept used today; Water softeners replace hardness ions such as calcium and magnesium with sodium or non-scaling ions. The ion exchange resins used in this process are periodically recharged with salt extracted from a storage tank. Many water treatment experts agree and Lance Winslow agrees that softening can be most cost-effective when water has a hardness of one to five grains per gallon. Most mobile operators will be happy with a hardness of one to three grains per gallon and probably will not even buy a softening unit until the hardness is over five grains per gallon. His theory is well taken, because if the total soluble solids (TDS) are so low, there will be very little water stain on the cars anyway.
Even if your water is 5 GPG or less, one reason to install a water softener is if you want to prevent scalding in the coils of your steam cleaner or save your pressure washing pump on your auto detailing rig. On a cold water machine, this is not as important as 5 GPG or less will not ruin the pump. Over time there may be more than five.
The hardness also prevents the soap from doing its job. You may notice that your soap is not cleaning properly. That’s because they’re cleaning the water first and mixing it with the compounds in the water instead of the car’s dirt. You see, the hardness in the water tends to neutralize those cleaning compounds and you actually have to use more soap to offset the neutralizing effect of the hardness minerals.
With hard water, you’ll use more soap and the cars still won’t get as clean. I encourage you to speak with your soap vendors for helpful advice on water chemistry and treatment requirements. Your soaping strategy should be tailored to your city and the hardness of the water you put in your tank.
Most independent auto detailing professionals agree that areas with hard water will also form a film on cars that are washed using softener. They also agreed at the annual conference that softener purchase decisions should be based on actual water testing. You may want to contact a water treatment dealer such as: Rain Soft, Culligan, Apollo, Calgon, Rain Water Systems or Water Man in your area. They can help you get your local water tested or ask your city water authority for information about their supply. Once you’ve made the decision to buy a softener, selecting the proper equipment is easy. Softener sizing should be based on two factors: flow rate (GPM) and grains per gallon (GPG).
The flow rate with the hose at your residence will typically be six to eight GPM (gallons per minute). We recommend that you change your pressure regulator to 90-110 PSI (pounds per square inch). That will get you about ten GPM. So you need a water softener that is slightly larger than the original model.
Water softeners are basically like refrigerators; Lance Winslow, founder of Car Wash Guys says;
“They can last for two years or twenty years… and a lot depends on how much goes in and how often comes out.”
This is why you should monitor softening equipment. You can test the hardness with a test kit or just pay attention when washing the car. Steel softening tanks last for years. Fiberglass units also go well. Plastic units break. You may need to change the resin every couple of years.
Chances are you’ll choose to rent the softeners at $30 a month and let the exchange company recharge them for you. Be careful when hiring water softener vendors. Ask us for help. You may also be able to trade services for water softener rental and make money on the account as a lot of water softener rental companies have delivery trucks. In any case, consider these issues when considering a water softening strategy for your mobile car wash or auto detailing business.
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