Rinsing

[Larry L.]

Is it a art in rinsing,is there easier faster ways in rinsing.

I wash small fleets and wash mainly for appreciation in jobs will done.Rinsing is my biggest time eater,I use a rinse aid and a wax on the first rinse and will rinse again 2,3 or 4 times before my satisfaction kicks in.I wash alot of colored trucks and try to make sure they are no soap runs out of vents,mirrors,ect..I use a duel lance and apply the rinse aid and wax under high psi but for the final rinsing I turn the psi down on the duel lance and use more of a flood of water.

Is rinsing that important?

 

[melsmobile]

Hay Bigboy , i apply the soap with hot water , then hot water rinse , then a cold water rinse , if the truck and trailer is real bad.

If its in fare shape hot water with soap and the just a cold water rinse.

The maine thing is to get the soap off the top of the cab , any way I thank the rinse is 65% of a truck wash job!

Mel

melsmobile.com

 

[Gwas]

Are you using soft H2O ???? Rinses very well. The key to speed !!!

 

[HeavyChevy]

Soft water ROCKS!

 

[Larry L.]

I agree softwater works wonders but where does it have speed in rinsing?

 

[Scott Stone]

Soft water helps in rinsing because it gives something for the Soap and other stuff to adhere to. Typically things like to mix with water, but water can only take so much crap before it gets saturated with hardening agents. If you remove some of the things that ad to the hardness, it gives more for the minerals on the truck to adhere to, and thus it helps them to wash away more quickly. Also if you use Soft water while you are washign, you willnotice that the soap will go a lot farther because the soap is not using all of its' surfactants to softent he water, instead teh surfactants can be used to keep the soap wet on the surface of the truck, and to let the soap have enough dwell time to react with the contaminants on the surface of the truck. Soap is USUALLY at its most active when it is wet and hot.

When I rinse a truck, I do not reduce pressure. If I am using soft water, there is a better cleaning effect, and it rinses a lot faster. I just make sure that I rinse from the top down, and I know I spend an inordinate amount of time rinsing the tops areas of the truck. This does two things, it lets the soap off the top of the truck run off with the clear water, and it lets the soap on the lower portions get wetted, or rewetted if it is hot, and aids in the rinse process.

Scott Stone

 

[Larry L.]

Yes,I agree,softwater helps in everyday use,altho I like my last two rinse's to be a flood of water under low psi.Its like when taking a shower,the first rinse can be at a high psi but you'll rinse cleaner if the last rinse was a flood under low psi...soap free.I do use high psi on the first rinse with a rinse aid and a wax which helps carry the soap off the truck.The last two rinse's are at a low psi to flood instead of a high psi b/c I think rinsing under high psi will just push the soap farther back into the emblems,under rubber or any crack it can hide in.While I think rinsing under low psi with a flood of water will flush out the soap under emblems,ect..I try for a soap streak free wash which is hard to do when fleet washing,I rinse black 4 to 5 times.

 

[Scott Stone]

HEy Bigboy, who are you talking to? me?

Scott Stone

 

[Cody]

<font color=e87400>Where's a good place to shop for either a softner or RO system. I have a buddy that is a detailer & needs to set up for spot free rinse.

Any advice on which to send him. I always thought that for Spot Free rinsing you needed RO.

If softeners will work for spot free rinsing
1) Why do people say that they have RO systems for spot free (especially since, as far as I know, RO systems are usually more expensive)
2) Couldn't you just get a softener anywhere, like Sears or something.

Thanks
Cody

 

[Larry L.]

Cody,tell your friend to go by the local carwash and look at theirs.They may have a local place to buy from and he would get a good ideal how big of unit to buy.

P.S.

if he has bottleing plant in his area it may be cheaper on him to buy RO water from them.

 

[Cody]

<font color=e87400>Thanks, Bigboy.

Thing is here is that the guy only uses about 50 gallons a day. He carries a 50g tank & uses a Shurflo pump as his washer / rinser.

So comparing a Carwash setup to his is kinda like comparing brim to bass isn't it?

Thanks

 

[Larry L.]

More like perch and crappie,Sears sells a unit or did,they may have one to produce 50 gals a day.These things aren't cheap so its like buying a Bass lure and fishing for Bream.

What happen to the truckwash you where thinking about,land wasn't big enuff huh.

 

[B.E YOUNG Sr]

Is there a Culligan dealer in your area?

I I met a washer several weeks back that rents a DI unit from them.

I think he said it cost $150.00 a month and the cartridge exchange was $70.00. Cartridge last about six weeks for him.

Here is the real kicker though, he is only charging .79 per car!

I know another guy in our same city that is charging $1.29 a car with normal water. They do a lite shamey though.

 

[Gwas]

Culligan is big bucks. Try you local hardware store. I can get you a softner for $650.00 .... It cost me about $1.25 per charge. I charge about everday unless I am golfing and do not wash !!!!!

Big Boy,
What kind of soap do you use ?????? My truck soap requires intense rinsing. In the summer months I can delute my soap enough to clean and will allow me to rinse much easier !!!

 

[Larry L.]

I use a soap that is Ultra concentrated for a variety of cleaning applications and it rinses fairly easy.I can mix a fairly strong mix and still be fairly safe on polished,I rinse more than I should on all colored things but that what makes me better than the average guy,I take a extra step or two.

 

[the_GUNN_man]

Cody

A water softener will not give you the spot free rinse. I wash car lots around my town and I use a spot free rinse. I first started with a DI tank and then went to the RO system. I was paying $155 per exchange for my DI tanks. That is why I went with a RO system. The TDS levels in my area were 160 ppm for the city water. In order to be considered spot free you need to get that number to be less then 40 ppm. With a DI tank it will take that number to 0 ppm. I was getting about 1200 to 1400 gallons out of each tank before it needed to be exchanged. So that was about 11 to 13 cents a gallon. That is why I switched to the RO system. The RO would take the 160 ppm and knock it down to 10 ppm. I would then use a DI tank after that to take the 10 ppm and knock it down to 0 ppm. Then my DI tank would last times longer due to the fact it was taking it really good water and only having to take it from 10ppm to 0 and not 160 ppm to 0. Why put the DI tank on the end if I am already getting spot free water? Good question. I guess I was just a little picky and liked the fact to be able to say my water was ultra pure. BUT, I have since changed again. I found a new place doing DI tank exchanges for only $75. That would get me ultra pure water for 5.4 to 6.3 cents per gallon. My RO system was still under the 30 day cash back guarantee. So I took the RO back. I got my $3000 back. I figure I will pay twice as much for DI water as I do RO BUT, I like the fact the DI tanks are on demand type tanks. With an RO you lose a lot of water down the drain. It takes about three gallons of water to make one good gallon. Plus I had to store my RO water in my tanks at the shop and then pump it onto my rig when I needed it. That was a pain in the butt. So now I just a DI tank. With my RO system I got spot free water for 3 cents a gallon. I use less then 2 gallons per car for my final rinse. So I pay about .10 cents a car now. With the RO I was paying about 5 cents per car. To have the RO system pay for itself I would need to wash 60,000 cars before I broke even. That didn't even include buying replacement membranes and salt for the softener you need to put before the RO. So I think if you can get a good rate on DI exchange that is the way to go. I get about $2.50 a car on most of my lots so the extra 5 cents isn't so bad.
I do want to comment on what B.E. said about the DI tanks. They are not units. Unless it comes with it's own pump, hose , and wand or something. It looks like a small water softener tank. It is on the same principal that propane is on. You go exchange the whole tank. There isn't any cartages. You can't just say they last 6 weeks because that is what his friend gets out of them. That all matters on a couple things. How many gallons is he using and how bad is the water in his area. Like I said my TDS reading in my town are 160 ppm. That isn't too bad. 50 miles south of me the TDS readings for their city water is like 300 ppm. That means someone using a DI tank in that area would get about only half as many gallons out of it as me. The lower the TDS levels the longer your tank will last. Call up the city and ask them what the TDS reading was for last month and they will tell you. Then post back here and I could tell you if DI tanks would be a good idea. DO NOT use a DI tank for well water. In most cases you will be killing the DI tank to fast. You will get way less gallons per tank on well water. BUT, like I said that all matters on what area you are in and how bad the water is. Just for your information a water softener really doesn't help prolong a DI tank. A water softener will replace calcium and magnesium with sodium so the TDS levels stays the same. I have a TDS digital tester and it tells me how many ppm the water is. You do need a water softener in front of a RO system because the hardness in the water will plug up your membranes faster. I know quite a bit about RO's and DI tanks so if you have any questions ask away.

 

[B.E YOUNG Sr]

Steve,


I didn't say the tanks would last six weeks. I said they last that long for him.

I think anyone would assume life depends on gallons processed, minerals in the water ect.

Our water in this part of Texas is very good. Usually 8.0 gpm 65 psi.

You are correct in the fact that the tank is replaced as a unit not a cartridge.

I was using the terminology that the gentleman used when describing the system to me.

He has two tanks approximately five feet high and 10-12" in diameter.

His setup looks nothing like a conventional water softener. He has two prefilters to remove chlorine, lead, calcium, iron, arsenic ect prior to processing through the system.

He can also bypass the DI water and run straight from the tap or his tank if cleaning cement, houses ect. Thus saving on change out hours.

As far as price goes, I have never heard of anyone in this area getting more than $1.30 a car.

You must be making a very good living!

 

[the_GUNN_man]

It kind sounded like I offended you. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I apologize if you took it that way.
When saying they look like a water softener they are usually made of fiberglass and stand about 4' tall. A lot of water softeners are like 5' high and made of the same material. I have a light on mine that will go out once it reaches 20 ppm. I have a water meter on mine so I know exactly how much DI water I am using. I usually fill up my DI storage tank with how many ever cars I am doing that day times about 1.5 I can fill my DI storage tank on my rig to 275 gallons. That would let me rinse 180 cars. I rarely ever do 180 cars at a time though. I only do 30 - 35 cars per hour. Some people claim they do 50. We hand wash the cars with a light wash and wax soap. We then rinse it with soft water then do a final rinse with DI water. My lowest lot pays $2.50 a car and my highest pays $4.00 a car. We take more time then most on the cars but we get paid more too. I would never wash cars for under $2.50. We are usually over $80 an hour on car lots. We only do 180 cars per week. We spread them over two mornings. To hard to wash cars in the hot sun. We like to wash at night. You can soap 10 cars at a time at night. Never have to worry about them drying when the temp reaches close to the dew point.

 

[B.E YOUNG Sr]

Steve,

No offense taken.

I was just trying to give some insight. You obviusly have worked through the bugs and know what works.

I enjoyed reading your post. It was very imformative!

The boys down here would turn flips to get $2.50 a car.

 

[WashWagon]

I can get anyone a portable water softener. They do not produce DI water but they do make a BIG difference as compared to not having one. You recharge them weekly(or as needed) and it only costs a few cents and about 5 minutes of time per recharge. e-mail me for more info if you are interested.
thanks
John

washwagon@gbinetwork.com