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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Is it 'safe' to use deionised water to wash a car?
Q. I've been trying to find out if washing a car with deionised water can cause long term damage by increasing the possibilty of corrosion.
I Live in a hard water area, and as I own a black car I find that when rinsing the vehicle, the calcium and other deposits in the tap water leave an unsightly residue - streaking and 'spotting'.
waxing the car after every wash is time consuming, so I looked into the possibilty of using deionised water for the final rinse.
But now I've had conflicting information about deonised water, and that it absords CO2 from the air and becomes acidic. Is this acidity likely to cause long term damage to either the paint or the vehicle bodywork.
The vehicle in question is a Land Rover Defender, which has mainly aluminium body panels, galvanised steel body cappings and a steel chassis.
hobbyist - Lincolnshire, UK
2007
First of three simultaneous responses --
A. Most of the auto dealers and large used auto dealers use low end DI water for a final rinse when washing their cars.
James Watts- Navarre, Florida
2007
Second of three simultaneous responses --
A. Deionized water will do a fine job and cause no problems whatsoever. It's only during long periods of immersion, such as swimming pool use, where there's a problem with DI.
Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina
2007
Third of three simultaneous responses -- 2007
A. You can use deionised water if you want to, but it will cost you and arm and a leg! I suggest you use soapy water and then hose the Land Rover down with normal tap water. You can always chamois ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] leather off the excess water so it won't leave any stains. A chamois leather is one hell of a lot cheaper than deionised water
Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2007
A. It's a Land Rover, a farm vehicle. It's supposed to get dirty. Or is yours a Chelsea Tractor?
:-)
Geoff Smith
Hampshire, England
2007
! Those UK phrases again, Geoff! So what's a 'Chelsea Tractor'? Here is the USA you can earn a farm subsidy for not growing food. So a good number of the politicians live on 'farmettes' -- large spreads of land that earn them easy money if they refrain from growing food on their tennis courts, swimming pools, and horse ranges :-)
Would these pols own Chelsea tractors for driving around their "farms"?
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
i. Ted. Always pleased to help with your education.
Chelsea is a very fashionable area in London.
Part of the 'fashion statement' is to drive the biggest 4x4 vehicle you can find.
It's the same principle as mountain bikes in cities.
Neither is ever used off road or sees mud.
Geoff Smith
Hampshire, England
2007
Q. I bought new car last year.My coolant level has gone down to the level of low.While going through the Car's Manual it says to use "DEIONIZED WATER" with coolant which I purchased from Auto Dealer.
Appreciate if I can find store in Toronto,Canada where I can buy Deionized Water. Also Please let me know which grade I should buy.
Thanks
- Toronto,Ontario,Canada
April 8, 2012
Hi Dinesh.
I'm confident that high quality water is not required for an automobile radiator. In the supermarket, perhaps near the fancier bottled water, you'll find gallon jugs of cheap deionized water -- that is sometimes used for clothes irons and other domestic needs. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
April 9, 2012
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