So, I went from living at an apartment where I could not wash my car myself to a house and I was so excited because I could now wash my car by hand and do it right. But the water is so hard here that it leaves water spots no mater how fast i dry it. What do I do?

 

well you could invest in a in-line water softener...Kinda pricey though..

 

I got well water and its pretty bad. Do you park in the shade or do on a not so sunny day?

 

meguairs quick detailer works good on my car for that.

 

i pulled right int the garage but it was still too warm and i got spots. I used ice quick detailer but that is time consuming and expensive. I am thinking about using my old well water method of mr. clean auto wash but still drying the car. It used to work well but I have never used it on a black car. I am afraid I may have to get a whole house water-softener soon anyways.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006M56CE

 

Add Quick detailer into the bucket of solution or if you can, order Last Touch by meguiars and use that.

 

even getting a water softener still will leave spots, i have hard water too, you need to only wash your car in the shade about an hour before the sun goes down. **** happens.

 

Mr Clean filters/soap is cheaper than detail spray?

 

try the California jelly squeegee its geta a large amount of water off of your car fast and then invest in a leaf blower and just blow the rest of the water off.. no swirl marks, the grills in the back dont case problems and its fast

 

Check out grots detailing catalog . They sell a canister filter attachment that runs inline on your hose that removes all the sediment , calcium ect. from hard water , its basically filtering it down to distilled which does dry spot free . Its like 129 bux and the filter is replaceable . Or they sell and upright larger version on a stand that does the same thing priced in the mid 300's , again with a replaceable filter . Its pricey , but you would have nice clean water that wouldnt spot as it dries .

 

Welcome to my world of hard water, lol. When I wash my cars I have to keep hitting the entire car and keep it wet while I am washing it... never letting any part of the car dry. As soon as you are done with washing the last panel, you have to hurry and chamois the entire car, quickly, with a once over... and then you can start getting the rest of the water off.

I am moving to a new house with a water softener in like 3 weeks and I'm hoping that helps a bit.

 

im a huge fan of the mr clean auto dry car wash. i washed my car at my gf's house the other day and her water is incredibly hard and it left no watermarks what so ever

 

there are lots of solutions available in market to convert hard into soft water! try any of them! else change the apartment! lol

 

ive been using the mr. clean wash thing for probably 2 years, it always works great with me....too bad you dont live near allentown i could get you a good deal on a water softener. i spent a couple years helping a family friend install them, as long as you keep it in working order you'll notice a big difference in your water even when showering.

 

Quick detail. <3

 

keep the entire car wet at all times. right when you finish washing and are about to dry soak the entire car. then use two towels or chamois or whatever you use to dry. use one to get off the major water, like the big drops. and then the other to get whats left behind. you will end up with minimal water spots

 

i guess i will have to spent some money on mr. clean. new mexico water is hard as fuuuuuk.

 

you need to convert your bucket full of hard water into soft. pour some quantity of detergent before using it. it will do the. and after you will finish washing. wax the body

 

all your water problems will be gone

http://crspotless.com/pgroup_descrip/6/5/?mode=image

 

what i do, cuz i have the same situation

 

why? you can get a leaf blower for damn near the same price as the blade. thats dumb.

the water at my parent's house is pretty hard. i use the same drying system as usual and it works fine. rinse after washing, pull in garage, blow with leaf blower (dont worry about the tiny bits of water), go over each panel with a light misting of poorboys qd and a soft microfiber towel. do the whole car, then go back with a clean dry MF towel and wipe the whole car down.

 

I have an idea that works better than a leaf blower.... After washing the car, keep the entire car wet with one last soak and then (this is where it gets good) get it it, start it, put in drive and head to the highway - get going at least 120 km (72 mph) and watch the water bead and leave the car - it's like magic. Then bring it back and go over it once with a Microfiber cloth and your done. I usually then go over my Victory Red with a Lucas Oil spray and wax and am left with a mirror image. No hard water spots, no after drips from the mirrors or door handles - it all blew away on the highway plus a lot more fun then leaf blowing my car... my neighbors already think I am nuts for pressure washing the car almost daily - even in the winter!!! I think if I got a leaf blower out they would for sure call the guys in white coats to take me away

 

This is what I use for the cars I do!
http://www.autogeek.net/waterfilterkit2.html

 

You beat me to it 395 plus. I bought one of these kits when I moved back into my parents place from my apartment (yea I moved BACK home ).

We have a garden hose in the garage and drains in the floor, but the water was hard as hell. Black car... impossible to wash and make look clean. Mounted this kit on the wall right above the faucet we use to wash the cars and the problem was fixed. I replace the softer every spring and have yet to have a problem