CLEANING& DETAILING Archives - Automobile Squad

When it's about finding the best home car wash system, you must consider finding something that lets you do a touchless spot-free car washing and air drying. To achieve that, it's not about finding the kits for washing. It's all about setting up the top-rated deionization water filter system and using the filtered water to rinse the entire car. To get the best results, you should know what it takes to be the best spot-free car washing system, the steps to set up the system, etc. Good for you! In this write-up, I will review the 5 best home car wash systems. Along with the reviews, I will also cover the following sections - The essential parts of a whole spotless car wash system. Things to consider before buying a setup. The steps to set up the deionized water system for a car wash. Steps involved in spot-free car washing. Brief about replacement parts. I believe it will help you make an educated buying decision, install, and use it accurately. Without any further ado, let's get the ball rolling. Essential Parts of a Home Car Wash System Here is the list of parts you require to set up the home car wash system for spot-free car washing. A two-stage filter system. Sediment cartridge (for first-stage filtering). Deionization filter with resin bed (for second-stage filtering). A 5' garden hose. (You can buy 3', 5', 10', 25' depending on your requirement) Two retractable hose units (one for applying regular water, and the other one for attaching with a filter system). A garden hose splitter. A car washing foamaster gun. Pliers. 5 Best Home Car Wash System Reviews 1. CR Spotless DIC-20 Car Wash System Pros Setting up this system is a breeze and quick. Portable. Removes salts and minerals from water efficiently. Provides substantial capacity. Cons A bit pricey. A bit on the heavier side. Detailed Review CR Spotless DIC-20 car wash system is one of the finest solutions when you are looking for a spot-free washing regardless of the vehicle type. Generally, it offers around 300 gallons of purified water before you need to change the resin. With that said, I found people worrying about the effectiveness of this unit for 1030 TDS. Fortunately, this water filter system is equally useful for this level of TDS. However, you will be able to perform approximately 75 gallons of water before you have to change out the resin for 1030 TDS. You can use this system with a pressure washer with ease, keeping the GPM up to 2.5. Choose any of your favorite car wash soaps to use with this filter system. It accepts all. You are free to store it in a cold garage after draining the water out and dry to avoid water freezing. If you are interested in buying the pre-filled cartridges, here is the link to CR Spotless RC2-20 replacement cartridges for this DIC-20 unit. Or else you are interested in buying resin bags, here is the link. The cart is powder-coated, hence rust-free. Considering the whole unit's size, you can easily carry it and store it at your convenient place. It features a battery-operated water purity indicator (TDS monitor); the purchase includes two resin cartridges, a filter wrench, a spray nozzle, etc. Altogether, this particular portable home car wash filter system provides every bells and whistles for an effortless spot-free car washing at an affordable price. You won't regret trying it out. 2. AQUATICLIFE Spot-Free Car Wash System Review Pros Lightweight, well built, easy to assemble. Color changing resin bed lets you know when to replace it. It's quite inexpensive for what it offers. It comes with every accessory required to set up, including the resin cartridges. Cons A bit lower than usual water pressure. Detailed Review One of the most applauded aspects of this water filter system is its ability to filter the water. I haven't seen anyone complaining about Aquaticlife's excellence in providing a spot-free wash. It's easy to anchor to the wall and connect to the house water supply. More importantly, it comes with parts (including thread tape) required for smooth installation. To get a touchless spot-free final rinse, you can use this water filter system for any vehicle like car, motorcycle, RV, truck, etc. Each of the cartridges removes approximately 1800-2000 TDS. So, if the TDS of your water supply is around 300, this unit can provide about 12 to 15 gallons of filtered water before you need to replace the cartridges or refill the existing cartridges. This system accepts standard 10" cartridges, and here is the link to the 3-pack replacement cartridges that fit these canisters. The cartridges are refillable. So, when you need to replace the resin, you can buy bulk resin instead of full cartridges. Of course, refilling the existing cartridges saves money. As water flows in series in this system, you don't have to replace both cartridges at once. Once the first cartridge gets tanned, place the second cartridge in the first canister, and refill the first one and place it in the second canister. Some users try to remove the GPM regulator to get more water pressure. Unfortunately, it's a bad practice as it doesn't give the resin enough time to remove all the chemicals from the water. As a result, you may not get a completely spot-free car washing experience. Overall, it's quite an inexpensive water filter system that shines in performance. For the price point, you can't go wrong with this unit. 3. CR Spotless DI-120 Car Wash System Review Pros Easy to lift and carry anywhere you want. Kudos to the quality integrated stand. Removes the minerals efficiently to ensure spot-free air dry washing. The purchase includes a resin cartridge and other accessories like a filter wrench, a spray nozzle, and a TDS meter (battery operated). Cons A bit pricey. But the performance and capacity justify the bill. Detailed Review The performance of this DI-120 is pretty similar to the one I reviewed earlier from the same brand (DIC-20). Some of the core differences are - this unit features only one cartridge, and it doesn't have any wheel to transport. Nonetheless, still, you can carry it anywhere you want with ease. This system provides approximately 150-200 gallons of filtered water before you need to replace the resin if the average TDS of the water is 200 ppm. Depending on the TDS level of your water supply, the total amount of filtered water per cartridge varies. It can be as low as 75 gallons and as high as 1000 gallons of filtered water from one cartridge. The TDS meter lets you know when to replace the cartridge or refill it with new resin. When the meter shows 20 ppm, you should consider replacing the resin. This unit boasts a 20" cartridge. You can refill the entire cartridge with this one pack refill resin from CR Spotless. The recommended flow per minute from this unit is 2 GPM. You can use a pressure washer connected with the system keeping GPM restricted to 2. You can use this deionized car wash system for washing cars, motorcycles, RV, boats, golf carts, house windows, etc. As a whole, it's a reliable and efficient water filtering system offering portability and every other meat and potatoes. Give it a whirl! 4. Unger Rinse' n' Go Water Filter System Review Pros Lightweight, compact, easy to carry and store anywhere you want. Quality builds, convenient carrying handle. Excels in removing contaminants and minerals. You can refill the resin bag effortlessly within a minute. Suitable for versatile use. Cons Some wheels underneath the unit would have made it even easier to transport. The price could have been better. Detailed Review Don't think this Unger Rinse' n' Go Water filter system is a phony-baloney seeing its compact size. It gives exactly what it requires to get a touchless spot-free vehicle washing. The purchase includes all the essential accessories like a TDS meter, an 8' input hose, a resin bag, a soap blasting nozzle, and of course, the unit itself. One resin bag can process 100 gallons of water for 200 ppm TDS before considering replacing the bag. You can buy the replacement resin bag here, which is pretty straightforward to install. If you wonder if the bag can be opened to replace the resin or not, I would say you better replace the whole bag. It's not designed to replace the resin in the same bag to get the best results. To help the resin remain moist inside the unit, make sure to put the sealing caps on the input and output. You better don't hook up a pressure washer with this unit. That shouldn't trouble you, as giving the final rinse doesn't necessarily require a pressure washer. With that said, some users didn't find any drawbacks using this unit with a pressure washer keeping low water pressure. I like the way it makes life easy to carry and place anywhere effortlessly. It doesn't have cartridges like other units, making it even easier to manage and replace the resin bag. It's a great time saver. It would help if you gave it a go without any second thought. 5. CR Spotless Simple Chuck Car Wash System Review Pros Color changing resin to indicate the required time for a resin replacement. Foldable handle and smooth wheelbase help to transport the unit easily. Easy to connect and disconnect the hoses. Efficient in removing minerals and contaminants from water. Cons The refill cost is higher than usual. You can't reuse the cartridges. You have to install new cartridges once the old resin changes the color entirely. Detailed Review This model from CR Spotless Simple Chuck processes 400 gallons of deionized water. It may vary depending on the hardness of your house water supply. Like other items I've listed here, this one is also ideal for cleaning various objects like any sort of vehicles, solar panels, windows, etc. The resin cartridges come with the purchase. It features color-changing resins, and you can see the current color through a window on the body. You can hook up a pressure washer to this unit. To cut your washing time, this spot-free car wash system comes in handy without any doubt. Yes, it's a bit costly. But the brand speaks for itself, so does this model. More importantly, like other CR Spotless models, this one is also made in the USA. Things to Consider Before Buying a Home Car Wash System Capacity A water filter system's capacity varies depending on the hardness or amount of TDS in your water supply. The manufacturer may say a particular unit can produce 200 gallons of filtered water. But that doesn't mean you will get exactly that amount of filtered water. It's because it depends on the number of minerals and chemicals your water processes. In short, it's called total dissolved solids (TDS). The more TDS your water has, the more frequently you have to replace the resin. The TDS is calculated in parts per million or ppm. To estimate the expected amount of filtered water from one cartridge of a unit, use the following calculation process - You have to know the number of TDS of your water supply before filtering. Use a TDS meter to find out the value. You also have to know the amount of resin the system uses. The formula is 235000 / TDS (before filtering) * Volume of resin = Gallons of spot-free filtered water. Portability Not all water systems are portable. Some are meant to connect to the wall, and some are built to transport the unit anywhere easily. Whether you should go for a portable option or not depends on your preference and garage set up. Most of the car owners prefer a portable unit to a stationary unit, though. Ease of Use Setting up the filter system should be a breeze. Replacing the cartridges or resing bags shouldn't be a tedious job either. Suitable to Use with a Pressure Washer? Although all the water filter systems are ok to connect to a pressure washer, some are not ideal for this purpose. Check out if the unit is ideal for connecting to a pressure washer before you purchase one. Technically, you don't have to connect a water filter system to a pressure washing unit. It's best practice to use the filter unit for the final rinse to extend the resin lifespan. Availability of the Replacement Cartridge / Resin Bag The model you are going to purchase must have a readily available replacement unit. You don't always have to change the cartridge. A replacement resin bag gets the job done in most cases. Fortunately, all the water filter systems I've reviewed above have replacement cartridges or resin bags available on sites like Amazon. Price Like any other product, a home car wash system should be cost-effective, particularly the refill cartridge or resin bag. It's apparent that you have to replace the resin at some point. Buying the replacement unit at a high price doesn't make any sense. How to Setup a Deionize Water System For Car Wash The core idea is to split the house water supply into two parts using the garden hose splitter. We will use the first hose unit to get a regular water supply (unfiltered water) and connect the water filter system with the second hose unit to get the deionized water. You will apply the regular unfiltered water before applying the soap and scrub. Once your scrubbing is done, you will rinse the car with the filtered deionized water. This will keep the car spot-free after the final rinse. Setting up a deionized water system is pretty straightforward, and any DIYer can complete the setup with ease. Let me list down the steps - Step 1: First, attach the brackets (come with the retractable hose units) to the wall keeping the water supply in the middle. Then install the hose units. Step 2: Attach the garden hose splitter to the water supply. Step 3: Connect one hose unit to one end of the hose splitter. This hose unit will not be attached to the water filter system. You will use this unit to get the unfiltered water to spray on the car before applying the soap and scrub. Step 4: Now, connect one end of the garden hose to the water filter system's supply line and the other end to the garden hose splitter that is attached with the main water supply and currently vacant after you completed step 3. Step 5: Connect the other retractable hose unit with the "filtered water" end of the water system. The filtered water will come out from that end and go to the hose unit you will use for the final rinsing. Step 6: Put in the first-stage sediment filter cartridge. To install this sediment filter, choose the water filter system (the end where you attached the garden hose at step 4). Step 7: Install the deionization resin filter cartridge into the other chamber of the water filter system (the end where you attached the retractable hose unit at step 5). Step 8: Anchor the water filter system to the wall. That is how you can set up a water filter system following the above eight easy steps. The water filter system allows the highest pressure of 80 PSI. Generally, the household water pressure ranges between 30 PSI to 80 PSI. Meaning, you don't have to worry about exceeding the max level. Not to mention, in the end, you will get the desired water pressure from the system (both for filtered and unfiltered water) to do the rinsing effortlessly. Steps for a Spot-free Car Wash A spot-free car wash requires both regular water and filtered water as you will rinse the car in two steps. Let me explain why and how. First, you will apply regular water (unfiltered) using the appropriate hose unit (refer to step 3 above). Then, soap up the entire car and then scrub the car with a microfiber scrubber or brush as per your preference. The foamaster gun will come in handy in this step. Now, rinse the entire car using the filtered water with the other hose unit (refer to step 4 and step 5 above). Why am I suggesting to use regular unfiltered water for the first wash? It's because it will stretch out the resin's lifespan. Consequently, you won't have to replace the deionization filter too soon. As you will apply soap after the first wash and finally rinse with the filtered water, there will be no spot once the car dries out. The retractable hose unit I recommend comes with a handy-dandy hose nozzle. The nozzle boasts a swivel to adjust the water volume coming out and lets you adjust the rinse settings. Replacement Accessories You have to replace the deionization filter cartridge when the resin color changes from blue to yellow. It's a color-changing filter, and it starts changing the color from the bottom. Once you notice the color is changed to yellow entirely, consider replacing the filter. Final Thoughts If your house water supply's hardness is high, you should consider setting up a water filter system for car washing. It cuts down the washing time and labor as it eliminates towel drying. You rinse with the filtered water and let the air dry the car without producing any spot afterward. Using a deionized car wash system is undoubtedly a cost-effective solution.