Soft water to wash and rinse my Vette??

[BoDuke]

I've read a lot of articles on washing, waxing, drying, detailing etc. The one piece of info I don't see any discussion on is the use of soft water.

I've been under the impression since day 1 that the 'spot free rinse' at the car wash is soft water, but recently I heard that it is iodized, and not softened.

I am considering getting a water softener as to wash and rinse my cars with, but I'm a bit concerned about any 'salt' content that may be in the water. I know that a softener uses salt to rinse the brine tank, and doesn't give you salty water...but I've also been told you cant water your yard or plants with soft water due to the 'salt'...

I need a good spot free rinse on my car. Regardless of the soaps and different towels I've used, I still get spots and streaks. Does anyone have any opinions on the subject of ...

...Is it safe to use soft water to wash and rinse my Vette?

[Huskerman]

Hi Aaron how is it going? Soft water won't hurt it. I think some car wash soap that you can buy may condition the water also. I never have a filthy muddy car but I use a car wash with the ionized or soft water to rinse it off and then shammy it off immidiately. I understand that my silver paint is easier to work with then your black. what is your impression of the car now that you have had it for awhile?

Hope the Huskers can beat Wisconsin........Marcus

[6 Shooter]

[catbert]

Shooter has it right. Hard or soft water won't have any impact except the volume of "soap bubbles." Hard water has dissolved solids, but as long as they are dissolved, not in suspension, it's OK, as long if the surface is dried thoroughly. Ionized water is great if you don't dry thoroughly, since it, in theory, has little or no mineral content to make spots.

[BigJimZ16]

Just to set things straight... you guys are talking about de-ionized water not ionized. All tap water is ionized... also, the salt in a water softener is used in ion exchange for the softeners resin which traps the ions from hard water hence making it soft... the purpose is to remove the calcium, magnesium, iron, etc. that are common in tap water and are the source of "water marks" on your finish. Creating boiler grade water is part of what we do in the Power Station I work at. Those same solids plate off inside a boiler and reek havoc on the heat exchange required of the equipment.

[Toms01]

Aaron, where we live here, we have to have water softeners or else we would be chewing our glass of water (even after softening we may have junk in it). Beings that we have a softener, I ran a line out into the garage just for washing the cars. If they don't get perfectly dried off, no water spots are left behind. I would highly recommend soft water for washing your car.