1st use of Griots garage de-ionizer

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Sure improved this old man's life! Bought the TDS meter and de-ionizer together, a bit pricy but then Griots warranties his stuff and they handle problems directly. That's worth something to me.
Found out my water tests at 243 - 250 ppm tds. According to Griots I should get around 300 gallons of de-ionized water. My first concern was my house having 95 psi of water pressure. That didn't bother the de-ionizer one bit, zero leaks anywhere. The de-ionizer brought the tds to 0.

Washing: this thing rocks! Washing with demineralized water is different than with 240 ppm gunked up water. Untreated water lays flat whereas the clean water actually hangs off roof racks similar to dew. Water beads seem different.

My washing technique is different from the recommendations of: set machine for untreated water, wash and rinse then re-rinse with de-mineralized water. Things dry off too fast here with 5 - 10% humidity and switching from untreated to treated water in a 50 foot hose seemed like it could be wasteful. So I did one panel at a time de-ionized all the way, it's really quite easy to be frugal with the water. After going around the car I finished by blowing away what water didn't dry. Zero water spots!

Today I bought a Camco RV water filter which will prefilter the de-ionizers incoming water of fluoride, chlorine and other stuff before it gets to the de-ionizing media, hopefully extending its life. I also bought the Camco RV pressure regulator which should hold the water pressure at 40- 45. We'll see how that works but for now clean cars in half the time.

I know there are people that will say all this is too expensive but desert conditions mean you have to dry the car at the speed of light to avoid water spots and I don't have any speed of light left in me. I washed an Expedition and extended cab pickup today and wasn't bushed in the least. If I wind up buying 2 rounds of media every year but I'm no longer a dead from car washing, so be it.

So, are there any other bitogers doing the de-mineralized wash thing?
 
It sounds like you are the perfect candidate for this system. Griots is a great company and while they may be a bit more expensive, their products are top notch and they stand behind them if anything doesn't work to your satisfaction.

Do you use a drying towel? Griots has a good one of those as well in their PFM towel. A good drying towel speeds up that part of the job.
 
Originally Posted by double vanos
Sure improved this old man's life! Bought the TDS meter and de-ionizer together, a bit pricy but then Griots warranties his stuff and they handle problems directly. That's worth something to me.
Found out my water tests at 243 - 250 ppm tds. According to Griots I should get around 300 gallons of de-ionized water. My first concern was my house having 95 psi of water pressure. That didn't bother the de-ionizer one bit, zero leaks anywhere. The de-ionizer brought the tds to 0.

Washing: this thing rocks! Washing with demineralized water is different than with 240 ppm gunked up water. Untreated water lays flat whereas the clean water actually hangs off roof racks similar to dew. Water beads seem different.

My washing technique is different from the recommendations of: set machine for untreated water, wash and rinse then re-rinse with de-mineralized water. Things dry off too fast here with 5 - 10% humidity and switching from untreated to treated water in a 50 foot hose seemed like it could be wasteful. So I did one panel at a time de-ionized all the way, it's really quite easy to be frugal with the water. After going around the car I finished by blowing away what water didn't dry. Zero water spots!

Today I bought a Camco RV water filter which will prefilter the de-ionizers incoming water of fluoride, chlorine and other stuff before it gets to the de-ionizing media, hopefully extending its life. I also bought the Camco RV pressure regulator which should hold the water pressure at 40- 45. We'll see how that works but for now clean cars in half the time.

I know there are people that will say all this is too expensive but desert conditions mean you have to dry the car at the speed of light to avoid water spots and I don't have any speed of light left in me. I washed an Expedition and extended cab pickup today and wasn't bushed in the least. If I wind up buying 2 rounds of media every year but I'm no longer a dead from car washing, so be it.

So, are there any other bitogers doing the de-mineralized wash thing?



Have you tried it in conjunction with a "No-Rinse" wash product?

https://www.griotsgarage.com/product/rinseless+wash+wax.do

https://optimumcarcare.com/product/optimum-no-rinse-wash-shine1
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Do you use a drying towel? Griots has a good one of those as well in their PFM towel. A good drying towel speeds up that part of the job.


The main point of using this is you don't have to towel dry. Leave it to dry naturally and get no water spots. I've wanted one of these systems but after doing the math, it seems you're spending like $5 per car wash. More than I care to spend.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi


The main point of using this is you don't have to towel dry. Leave it to dry naturally and get no water spots. I've wanted one of these systems but after doing the math, it seems you're spending like $5 per car wash. More than I care to spend.


Yes, $5 sounds expensive but I guess if you compare it to decent touchless car washes, which run about $10, then it's a pretty good deal.

I use ONR and that ends up being about $1 per wash, then I use my leaf blower to dry. Works pretty well for me.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by PimTac
Do you use a drying towel? Griots has a good one of those as well in their PFM towel. A good drying towel speeds up that part of the job.


The main point of using this is you don't have to towel dry. Leave it to dry naturally and get no water spots. I've wanted one of these systems but after doing the math, it seems you're spending like $5 per car wash. More than I care to spend.




To be honest I have no experience with these systems so you may be correct. My thinking was based on his location. Washing a vehicle in a hot desert climate has its own unique challenges. Even if most of the minerals are removed there will still be some that may cause spotting.

I hope the op will update us in the future that will give us some long term insights in using the deionizer.
 
I have been using and will continue to do touch up washes with a no rinse product. So far I've used Griots (naturally) and DuraGloss both of which are excellent. However there are times when I want/need to do a total scrub down and that's where this de-ionizer comes in. We have wind and of course dust along with it, occasionally followed by rain which makes for a really crappy car. A full de-ionized wash job includes detailing the door jambs, when I use the rinseless wash not so much.

I live in a historic district and because the house never had a garage I can't have one built. Thinking of moving to the Sahaurita/ Green Valley area, into a house that's not 110 years old. It will have a garage, and once I'm there my 2 cars are gonna get a Chernobyl level scrub down to remove every square inch of sap, Cottonwood tree shards, Italian Cypress debris and Pecan tree seed pods. Then all will right with the world.

We looked at a house recently and when I checked water pressure and total dissolved solids the real estate agent was aghast! Hey, first things first......
 
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