'Spot-Free' Wash Systems...worth it?

[NH Dave]

Anyone have or ever tried those spot-free/deionized water systems to wash their RV or anything else? Are they worth the money and time?

Spending the balance of the winter doldrums gearing up for and looking forward to the spring when I get my coach out of storage. I'm thinking about getting one of these systems, but don't want to waste the money and time, if they're not worth it.

Anyone care to share their experiences on them?

Thanks!

[BobGed]

I have been using a CR Spotless Water Deionization System for years and it works great, although I don't use it in direct sunlight.

[fsudelt]

I love the CR spotless system so much I have one (the larger one) for the house, and had my wife get me the smaller system to keep in the coach. It works great! I can wash our 43 ft coach in about 40 min and even in FL heat and direct sun walk away and have no water spots.

[Electra 225]

Here is another discussion on the subject.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/spo...me-279526.html

[Isaac-1]

I suspect it likely depends on how hard your local water is, the answer you get from someone that has 700 ppm of Calcium Hardness in their drinking water is likely going to be different from someone that has 50 ppm of Calcium Hardness.

[theroc]

I agree with Isaac-1. From my experience, I think it depends on how "hard" your water is. We're originally from an area of western Washington where the water is very soft. With soft water, there doesn't seem to be much spotting to begin with. Therefore, at a place where the water is soft or slightly hard, de-ionizers may work but would but would the hassle and cost be necessary? For those in very soft-water areas, probably not.

However, we now spend a lot of time in the desert southwest. Good grief, what a difference it makes when rinsing off a vehicle there!! It was a rude awakening. So several years ago, I did purchase a de-ionizer product and it did help a lot but never came out completely spotless as I was used to in the northwest. I still had to wipe down the vehicles after rinsing.

So if you're in a hard water area, I'd probably recommend using a de-ionizer. You may or may not still be required to wipe down in places to prevent subtle spotting. Washing the car in the desert, I'll skip the de-ionizer and wipe it down immediately before it dries. I may or may not use it when washing the motorhome as I wash it in sections and try to wipe it down before it dries spotty.

I use this one as I also have a "on the go" water softener so they are approximately the same size for storing purposes. Who knows if a more expensive de-ionizer would work better or not. I do know the less expensive ones tend to be useless, though.

Here's a map so you can "kind of" tell your water hardness but the better method might be to use test strips. We carry this kit with us so we know when we might need to set up the water softener.

[Dutch Star Don]

I bought the model that Costco sells. It comes with an additional box of pellets. I'm guessing I got about 10 washes out of it before replacing the pellets. The only down side.......the pellets (medium) is expensive.

We live in California and it;s usually warm out. I wash the coach, one side at a time, do a quick rinse of the soap with the regular hose and then rinse with the deionizer. The Costco model recommends a certain psi so you don't waster water. I used an old adjustable water regulator to set it at 15 psi. That's not a lot of pressure so I use one of those short wands (24") with the multi adjustable spray head so I can reach higher on the coach. I concentrate on rinsing the upper portion and still towel dry where I can reach. No more ladder climbing.

[curtsr]

Originally Posted by BobGed

I have been using a CR Spotless Water Deionization System for years and it works great, although I don't use it in direct sunlight.

+1 for the CR spotless. We live is south Mississippi and have hard water. Before I got the CR an average wash would take almost 3 hours on my 40 foot motorhome. Now I am finish in an hour with no spots. Use it on all my vehicles. I wash the motorhome at least once a month and have gone over a year on the original fill.

[PanJH]

I also use the CR Spotless--- we have really hard water and our brown coach and toad really show water spots if using tap water. Yes, it's a bit expensive to purchase and to periodically refill the resin, but it's worth it to me in the time I save by not having to go over teh coach and remove dried on water spots with a detailer or clay bar for stubborn spots every time I wash.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by NH Dave

Anyone have or ever tried those spot-free/deionized water systems to wash their RV or anything else? Are they worth the money and time?

Spending the balance of the winter doldrums gearing up for and looking forward to the spring when I get my coach out of storage. I'm thinking about getting one of these systems, but don't want to waste the money and time, if they're not worth it.

Anyone care to share their experiences on them?

Thanks!

NH Dave,
As you can read, there's lots of folks that have used and or are still using at least one of the many types of Dionized water washing systems out there. I'm in the link that was posted here. Basically, the very first time I used that CR system from Costco, it was a 90 degree morning in So Cal and, I plugged in that unit to wash our truck. I did not use any other water for the total operation. I used that unit for pre wash, wash and rinse.

What I did next was really disheartening 'cause I'd never, ever done it before. As stated it was a 90 degree day. I washed that truck, soap galore etc. I then rinsed it all down with that CR Costco system. I THEN WALKED AWAY FROM IT, DRIPPING WET!!!!!!!! I went in to the house and did a few tasks. I came back out, about 1 hour later to find a COMPLETELY SPOT FREE TRUCK! I didn't touch one inch of it with a drying towel, squeegee, nothing.

I was, and still am for that matter, seriously impressed with something like that. As many of you know, it's one serious pain in the a$$ to hand dry any length and size motor home. Lots of ladder work and more. So, to be able to rinse it down, and walk away from a dripping wet, full body painted coach, in the dead hot So Cal, or AZ sun for that matter, and the results are a completely SPOT FREE coach, including any chrome and glass, is outstanding.

But, achieve these results, is at what cost. If I recall, the initial cost of the unit was around $380 or so, maybe less, can't remember. For the water in So Cal at the time, that unit was going to give me around maybe 3-4 truck washes and, maybe 5 motor home washes. After that, spotting would start to appear. There is no "rejuvination" for the beads/substance inside those containers. You simply have to replace it. The cost, as stated in my post in the link, it was around $150 or so for, two complete refills of the two containers.

That would probably give me around another 10-12 RV washes and, maybe 10 truck washes or so. The water in So Cal (where we lived at the time) was fairly hard. But, it's absolutely nothing compared to the water here in Lake Havasu City AZ. The water here is like hammers flowing from your hose, it's that hard.

I'd love to have that CR system working here but, the cost to keep it active and producing great, SPOT FREE wash jobs on my vehicles, is a tough choice, based on the charges of some of the local detailers here. What used to be $69.00 for the company to do both the truck and a 36' coach, is now $72 just for the coach. But, $72 is still not all that bad due to the fact that they get up on top, wash the top thoroughly, detail the coach real well and do the tires etc. When they're done, it's a spotless coach and I didn't have to climb one rung on a ladder or, put up with the on-going maintenance of the CR system.

It's a separate choice, for each individual out there. Different areas of the country reflect different costs for detailers for washing coaches. Something to think about.
Scott

[rvaction2015]

I have a Costco water softener. So the house showers stay spotless and so does what I wash outside, cars and RV.

[Lt Dan]

I bought the one from Griot's Garage a month ago and just got the chance to use it today. Here at home, I've washed the motor home several times in the past and always fought water spots especially on the black paint areas. Today, I washed with regular water then did a final rinse with the DI water, then walked away and left it. What a huge difference it made. It was not hot here today, but there was not a single water spot I could find, even on the windshield. I researched the different systems and chose this one because it has the built in bypass. Turn two valves and you get un deionized water so you don't waste as much of the resin. Needless to say, I'm totally impressed with this or any DI system.
https://www.griotsgarage.com/product...e=&from=Search

[rvadventure]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

I bought the model that Costco sells. It comes with an additional box of pellets. I'm guessing I got about 10 washes out of it before replacing the pellets. The only down side.......the pellets (medium) is expensive.

We live in California and it;s usually warm out. I wash the coach, one side at a time, do a quick rinse of the soap with the regular hose and then rinse with the deionizer. The Costco model recommends a certain psi so you don't waster water. I used an old adjustable water regulator to set it at 15 psi. That's not a lot of pressure so I use one of those short wands (24") with the multi adjustable spray head so I can reach higher on the coach. I concentrate on rinsing the upper portion and still towel dry where I can reach. No more ladder climbing.

I love the CR- peerless, saves a lot of time.Regards

[NH Dave]

Wow thank you for all the responses! A lot of great information here!

As far as water hardness, I'm not really looking at these from an exact science perspective. I'm looking at these simply because my coach and vehicles will dry dry spotted if I don't physically dry them myself. I've always just used a chamois and an ultra soft silicone squeegee on my vehicles after washing, and never minded doing it. But, the coach admittedly is a tad past my 'whistle while you work' point.

Thanks again everyone for all the great info! I will look into some of these suggestions and products.