I live in a hard water area and get spotting/mineral deposits on the car if I rinse off with the hosepipe if I'm not pretty quick with the microfibre drying towel.
My window cleaner has got it cracked as he does a final rinse on my windows with filtered water and it dries off without leaving any spotting at all. Problem is he uses a
an expensive off-line filter system for the water he uses.

Does anyone know of a decent single or twin filter system that I can mount on the wall next to my hose reel that I can pass the mains water through?

Hey there pal,

Some time ago I looked into these. There is a manufacturer producing a product called Auto Gleam De-Ionising Water Filter. It works a treat from what I've heard.
Here is a link to the product from Demon Tweeks:
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/Pro...p;pcode=ZYMAG00

Here's another link:
http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/Store/C...anufacturerId=2

Also, instructions on how to use:
http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/Store/C...ionsForUse.aspx

All the best,
Jamie

Thanks Jamie, that's a great help.

Tango its funny you mention this. When i was down to the Bolton meet i used the Asda jet wash and it had a mineral water rinse in the top programme and all i did was used that and dried car off and there was no streaks whatsoever.If i do that up with me im left with streaks everywhere and it needs to be polished.If you decide to get a filter lets know how it works as i may too be interested in this.Cheers.

Don't think hard water would be a problem where you are mate.

maybe just the chemicals in the water?

In Peterhead your geology is mostly granite whereas in the Cotswolds it's limestone so I'd expect more minerals and sediment, but that's not to say you will not have enough to cause water spotting. The ionising filter on the Aqua Gleam site hasn't got enough flow for me as I would like to hook up my Karcher Pressure Washer (and Foam Lance). I've found another source that also sells test kits for evaluating how hard you water is so think I'll run a check and then probably get an industrial size filter from Calmag as it runs 40-60 litres a minute depending on how fine a filter you use.
http://www.heatandplumb.com/acatalog/Water_Conditioning.html

try aquagleam systems....they're fantastic mate

That's a lot of money to spend so you can wash the car out of the shade I get a similar problem but get round it by washing the car, when possible, in the early morning when it's cooler and in the shade. Still get spotting on the windows how ever hard I try but I do above the dorr line first ... then doors, bonnet and boot ... then bumpers and sills ... and can manage to get it dry. If time says I have to do it all in one go then I rinse all of it a number of times as I go along.

If you read my previous post you'll see I considered Aquagleam from Jamie's info then decided they hadn't enough flowby to run through my Karcher..

sorry mate, missed your comment on that.

hope you find something that suits....

rinse off with a watering can
just a gentle flow of water

surprising results

Daises or Geraniums?

Hi Tango

Have you tried the Flash car cleaning system from Halfords, it has a gun to fix on the end of the hose pipe that holds the Flash shampoo and a de-ioniser cartridge for the rinsing, the results are amazing. You don't even need to dry the car if you don't want to. costs around £20 i think. if you don't like the old fashioned way this product is fab.

Maybe I haven't explained very clearly. I have a Karcher foam lance (not the Halfords £14.99 Karcher lance) and I want a good enough flow to run an on-line filter through my Karcher pressure washer to supply soft water through the lance for better foaming AND for rinsing off afterwards without needing to dry off.

I'm trying to avoid the chances of marring the paintwork by not having to put a wash mitt or drying towel on the surface as far as is possible. Chances are that I'll have to double bucket wash with a decent shampoo after rinsing off the snow foam, but there should be be few contaminents left to scratch the paintwork.

Also have four cars to detail so also need to save time

I second the flash car wash - I have one and it's exactly what you want, it is an inline water filter.

Wash car normally (with whatever you want to use), then just use the flash car wash on autodry setting to rinse off car with filtered water.

Don't have to use it to wash the car if you don't want to, I don't!

Just leave to dry, and no white spots!

For £20 I'll give it a go...thanks

I still have a "Flash" thing in the garage. First time I tried to use it no soap came out. I was going to dismantle it but haven't got round to it. There is certainly plenty in there as it leaks out.

The Flash units were on offer around here for £4.00 last week so will try and hunt one down myself.

J

I am also fed up with water marks. The LS is a big car to wash as it is and as soon as i finished washing it if i dont dry it within 5-10 mins (even when not in direct sunlight) i get watermarks.

Should this water filter do the trick for using it to feed a Jetwash ?

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/20315/Plumbi...eduction-System

or which out of these would do the trick ?

http://www.screwfix.com/cats/101259/Plumbing/Water-Treatment

Thanks

Co-incidently the one I eventually selected was the 2 Stage Whole House Scale Reduction System from Screwfix with a fine filter in the second housing. Works really well (may also get one for the house ). The window cleaner I mentioned in the previous post uses a reverse osmosis system which filters near 100%, but it's an off-line system and I didn't fancy keeping a tankfull of water in the garage....

Thanks Tango. 2 stage system it is then. Did the filters come with it when you ordered it from screwfix ? or which filters did you order separately ? I like the idea of having a fine filter in the 2nd housing.

If this works well, I would get one for the house aswell. The water areas in the kitchen and bathroom accumulate a lot of limescale very quickly. And not to mention that the clothes after going through the washing machine should feel softer as they are not saturated with minerals...........

Filter cartridges should come with the housings. The two stage has a sediment cartridge (which is only £2.99 to replace) and a polyphosphate cartridge (£19.99) that removes anything greater than 10 microns in size.
The manufacturer (Culligan) also do a 1 stage unit with a filter cartridge that removes sediment down to 5 microns and the cartridge is cheaper than the polyphosphate one at £9.99. I think it's designed to be hooked up to a single drinking water tap so the flowrate may be a bit restricted, but this 5 micron cartridge also fits the housing for the polyphosphate one so I thought I may give it a try.
I don't expect to have to renew a cartridge for a couple of years or more in the two stage unit just using it for garage use.