Any Reason to Softened HP Rinse Water?

[bigleo48]

All,

Someone in another post mentioned that they did not use softened water for the HP rinse. Is there really much benefit to using softened water for HP rinse?

I have a spotfree final pass for all washes and I understand that making SF water requires it to be softened, so I'm just talking about HP rinse tank on my M5. My city water feed is good with about 5 grains of hardness, so its not like I'm on a well or anything. It would however save me over $100/month on salt.

Thanks in advance for your replies...Big

 

[Jeff_L]

What do you do with your waste water from your RO process?

 

[pitzerwm]

"Hard water" helps get rid of soap foam better than soft. As I recall, mine was plumbed that way, hard water rinse.

 

[rph9168]

5 Grains is not very hard water. I have seen washes with 5 grains do without a softener and plumb directly into an RO unit. I believe you would need a charcoal filter to do that to remove the chlorine which damages membranes.

 

[MEP001]

You always need a charcoal filter whether the water is softened or not. I agree though, 5 grains is pretty low - you'd probably spend less in replacement membranes than you would on salt for softening water.

 

[bigleo48]

You always need a charcoal filter whether the water is softened or not. I agree though, 5 grains is pretty low - you'd probably spend less in replacement membranes than you would on salt for softening water.

OK, but how much more effective are the soaps with soft water vs 5 to 6 grains of hardness?

 

[rph9168]

The effect should be minimal since most decent soaps have some conditioning agents in them and you are already at 5 grains. I doubt you would see any real difference between your water and soft water.

 

[TheChemicalGuy1]

You would be surprised that just at 2 GPG hardness approx 5oz of soap is destroyed per 100 gallons of hard water, 4GPG 10oz, 6GPG 15oz. So I think selecting products that are hard water tolerant or contain conditioners.