Does Your Car Wash Need a Water Softener?

How to Get a Spot-Free Car Wash

Car wash businesses in areas with hard water may experience issues with spotting after washes or the over-consumption of soap.

Hard water contains more calcium and magnesium than standard filtered water. These minerals are typically picked up when water flows through the ground.

The extra ions don’t evaporate along with the rest of the water and that’s where residue and spotting can start to show up.

Luckily there are ways to fix hard water and stop it from flowing through your car wash. That way your customers drive away with a spot-free shine.

Your Water Softening Options

The most commonly used way to reduce the calcium and magnesium content of your fresh water is installing a traditional water softener.

Your water softener will use sodium to replace the other unwanted minerals. Water softeners are found in homes and businesses around the country.

With softer water you can worry less about your soap being ineffective, as soft water provides better suds and lather.

However, water softeners just replace the hard water minerals with a softer mineral. The leftover salt from evaporation is easier to remove but it isn’t the spot-free rinse many customers are looking for. You can take the next step towards better car wash results with reverse osmosis.

Rinsing Cars With Reverse Osmosis Filtered Water

Water treated using reverse osmosis will not contain the calcium, magnesium or sodium that leaves spots behind on cars. These filters process softened water to give you a supply free of most extra minerals.

This water works perfectly for rinsing cars after washing or waxing. Then the water dries without leaving significant spotting behind.

When you use a reverse osmosis filter after softening your water you can effectively deionize or remove the minerals from your water. With the possibility of up to 95% sodium reduction you can promise that spot-free shine.

How to Choose Your Water Softener and Reverse Osmosis Filter

When you’re shopping for a solution to your hard water there are certain things you need to consider, including:

• The size of equipment you need: Evaluate what your water usage is and how many gallons per minute of softened water that will flow through your car wash.
• Cleaning schedule: When you commit to purchasing a reverse osmosis filter or water softener you must ensure that you have the resources and knowledge for how to clean it properly.
• How hard is your water: Before picking your equipment, test your water to figure out exactly how hard it is. This will impact what capacity of softener you need.
• What kind of salt you plan to use: The better quality salt, the longer your water softener will use. Many car washes prefer a solar salt that evaporates well and leaves minimal marks behind.

Where Does Your Softened and Filtered Water Go?

Once your softened and filtered water is sprayed onto cars and used for cleaning, it drains into your car wash pits. As it drains it brings along dirt, oils and pollutants with it.

Together all these materials combine into a muddy sludge that builds up over time. Eventually your car wash pits will have so much sludge that you can no longer properly drain the water from each wash.

To avoid these backups, Pit Crew offers quick and efficient car wash pit cleanings for businesses on the East Coast and in the Midwest.

Reach out today to schedule a cleaning for your car wash pits.