How Water Hardness Affects Your Detailing Business
One question we ask course attendees attending our Career Development courses when starting a detailing business is:
“Where are you going to be based?”
Where in the UK (or the rest of the world for that matter) is important for a number of business and regulatory aspects, from local area authority regulations and assistance to different environmental laws applying to the devolved areas of the UK, but one more technical reason is down to the water you draw when working.
TDS, or Total Dissolved Solids, is the measurement of all dissolved solids, indicating how hard your water is – and this varies massively from East to West, North to South and can affect your wash process, your aftercare advice, and the speed at which you can work in different weather conditions.
The dissolved solids in the wash water and rinse water can cause massive issues from water spotting if allowed to dry on a vehicle – ranging from the need to wipe down with a dedicated water spot remover, or a mild acid solution made with white vinegar and water, through to correction, and even sanding if the paintwork has deep etch marks from the expansion of the surface at different rates under mineral deposits.
Yes – the reason for water spot etching is that the minerals deposited and clinging to your paintwork don’t expand and contract at the same rate as your paint does, so a hot-cold-hot-cold weather cycle lets the minerals grind their way into the surface as it expands and contracts around them. Glass is rarely affected as it doesn’t expand to the same degree, and you can usually dissolve these spots off without issue.
Where in the UK can I avoid water spots?
In the diagrams below (one more detailed than the other, apologies Scotland!) you can see where you may sit on the scale in your area in terms of water hardness, and this can translate to needing either zero extra equipment, or potentially having to invest in DI filters, Reverse Osmosis systems, or using third party suppliers – such as Spotless Water who provide stations to fill tanks with ready filtered water for pennies per litre.
It’s worth regularly testing your supply with a cheap TDS meter – both to know your starting water hardness, and to check how well your treatment system is performing.
Filtering water for washing cars.
Whilst it seems extravagant, using low solids water will give you a much easier time when washing vehicles, especially over the summer months when the sun can play havoc with washing conditions and could save you hours in clearing up dried water marks and drips from washed vehicles – effectively allowing them to dry by themselves following a thorough rinse.
Costs for this are now actually quite low when you compare it to the time lost and the extra chemicals needed dealing with mineral rich water. Systems such as the 3 stage RO (Reverse Osmosis) filters and added DI (deionisation) stage we use at the Academy coming in around £400 for the kit, plus another £250 for a 300l storage tank.
The downside to these systems is waste, or “brine”: for every litre of purified water, the system will dump between 2 and 4 litres of concentrated hard water. This can still be used for anything that isn’t affected by high mineral content, such as watering the garden or mopping floors, but wouldn’t be great in a kettle. They need the filters changing every few months, depending on volume used, at a cost of around £25-30.
Inline filters and small resin vessels are also available and work using DI resins in a cartridge or refillable tank (a bag of resin costs around £70). They’re OK for final rinsing, but require a slow flow to give the positively and negatively charged resin time to capture and neutralise particles before they reach the end of your hose. Typically this is in the 2-4l per minute range, and given most pressure washers run at around 6l per minute, they’re not suitable for direct feed – they’re best used to gradually fill a separate tank. The inline resin cartridges need changing frequently and aren’t considered cost-effective for a commercial operation, but if you just want a tank of pure water on the road or in your unit, the vessels can be a cost-effective solution.
For the super-eco-efficient, a rainwater recovery system can fill an IBC tank with a bit of home ingenuity, giving you a free supply of naturally soft, low-solids water – once it has been filtered for the dirt particles that exist in every raindrop. Combine this filtered water with either of the above options and you’re going to have longer lasting filters and free water – for as long as the rain keeps falling.
Summary
Small adjustments to something as simple as a water supply can be the difference of an extra job a day – so it’s not an extravagance, it’s a solid business decision. It’s that or relocate to a soft water area, which does seem a bit of a faff…
UK Detailing Academy specialises in training entrants to the detailing industry with advice such as this to ensure you hit the ground running and have a successful and efficient business model to build on. Learn more on our Level 1 Professional Development page, and get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect further.
