Any special recomendations when using well water?

[gt3racerich]

Sorry. I know this does not belong here but the detailing forum does not get much action.
We are in the planning stage of building a new house and the property will have well water. I have never had that before and was wondering if anything needs to be done to the water or is it safe for washing the cars. I would like to have it set up ( the garage) when new rather then start changing things. Thanks in advance, any advice is appreciated.
Rich

[kodioneill]

It would depend on how hard the water is. I have a well and the water is so soft all I have to do is chamois the car after a wash.

[Porchcar guy]

Have a water test done to determine what it is !

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by kodioneill

It would depend on how hard the water is. I have a well and the water is so soft all I have to do is chamois the car after a wash.

+1

I had very hard water in upstate NY (calcium carbonate) that left white spots on everything; a water softener takes care of it. Hard water - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[SoCalSK8r]

A water softener is a good idea if you have really hard water....in general. My last place had hard water and it will stain glasses, start to accumulate in dish washer nozzels, etc.

In terms of washing the car, I would say as long as you don't let the water dry on your car you should be fine. Most people who care enough to ask such a question would be the type of person to not just let the water spots dry on the car.

[LakeCleElum]

My well water leaves terrible water spots if I park where the sprinkler system gets the car wet and then sits in the sun.......Very hard to get off the windows.......Depends on how "hard" your water is....Keep an eye out.....

[mepstein]

We have a water softener for our hard water. Lots of iron. But don't get one from a scam water softener company that charges $5K+. A good softener is less than 2K installed by a plumber.

[mystro]

I wouldn't worry about it until you are moved in. I have a well and it is very good water without a softener. If the soap doesn't suds up real well then you will want a softener for your entire house. Well water is still much safer and better quality than city water.

[Tidybuoy]

There's no problem using well water. However, water pumped out of the ground picks up traces of minerals and will leave spots. Therefore, never park where sprinklers will hit the car; even a short time of sprinklers can leave spots that are hard to remove. For your regular washing, use the water just like normal but it helps to use a detail spray when drying.

For me, I live in an area where the whole city is on well water (not individal home wells). After I wash the car, i spray with detail spray and then use my electric leaf blower to blow most of the water off. The I dry with a waffel/terry cloth towel. I use the detail spray again and I get that showroom finish every time. I also like to use a clay bar once in a while which really cleans the paint and brings out the shine.

Just my $0.02 worth......Vern

[Joe Bob]

Softened water isn't good to drink and don't hook up your irrigation lines to it. Your burn thru salt and kill the grass. Drinking water should have a reverse osmosis unit and hook the ice maker to it as well.

[Jerome74911S]

I have hard well water that will leave mineral spots if I am not careful to dry the car right away. However, I have not installed a water softener.

If you are in an area where a well is appropriate, then you might also have a septic system for waste water. Water softeners are flushed of the minerals they extract from the water by the use of a heavy amount of salt. All that salt will kill the microbial action in a septic tank and leach field (if you have one of these), and the whole system will be dysfunctional before long. The salt will build up in the ground around the septic system, too.

So, just carefully dry the car and you will be fine no matter what kind of well water you have.

[tazzieman]

Catch some rain water in a tank - use a watering can of this to rinse off after every wash and you will not get spots! Unless , maybe you live on a polluted planet - I don't!

[GaryR]

Try this -
http://crspotless.com/index.php?category_id=3&tpl=pgroup_descrip&pid=6&return=%3fcategory_id%3D3

[gt3racerich]

Thanks very much for all the info guys. I guess we will see about the water when the well is in and take it from there. Gary, I have seen the Spotless System. I know that some use it with city water and was not sure if it would cure the problems with well water.
Thanks again, Rich

[GaryR]

Rich - I have well water that is treated with filters and Salt tablets, will definitely leave spots if I do nothing. I used to use the "Mr. Clean" system and had very good results, but that is NLA. I believe the "Spotless System" is in essence the same thing. There are even bigger/better filtration systems out there (Griot may sell one), but you also need to take into account pressure loss as well water pressure and city water pressure (usually MUCH better!) are very different.

[CCM911]

Is that Spotless System the same as the one sold in Griots Garage? It is like a portable water treatment system on wheels that you hook your hose to.

But like everything in that catalog, it is priced as if made of gold. LOL.

[McLaren-TAG]

a bit off topic, but still important.
even though it has nothing to do with washing your car... having well water means that if you lose power to the house you'll also lose the ability to pump water, and an extended power outage will mean not being able to flush toilets

so if you're building that house, I'd highly consider some sort of home generator or at least some type back up plan. since you have well water, it's likely you also wont have sewer and gas in the house, so the generator will help to power things like sump pumps (if needed) and a furnace.

[kodioneill]

What do you guy's think about adding CLR (tiny bit) to the soapy water? Would it remove wax or hurt the paint? Just a thought.

[MetalDoc]

CLR, don't worry about the paint or the wax, just think of the metal below it.

[Dublinoh]

You can get a quick indication of hardness by placing a small amount of soap in a clean jar with your water. Shake it and you will see lots of suds if the water is soft....or soap scum and few suds if it is hard. Test kits should be cheap and available at your local hardware as well.