Water quality is generally based on Total Dissolved Solids or TDS which is generally measured in Parts Per Million or PPM. The EPA advises against consuming water with more than 500ppm TDS, the national average is 350ppm The area of Brownsburg I live in is on Indianapolis water, I measured the TDS at 398ppm well above the national average.
Initially I plumbed a soft water spigot into the garage because it was cheap and easy, it helped some with making the car easier to dry without spotting, but didn't come close to fixing the problem.
After much research I decided I was going to go with a Reverse Osmosis or RO system. Initially the wasted water (best case 3:1) was a deal breaker for me, but I came up with a plan to use the excess to water the flower beds around the house. Two things happened that would change my mind, I broke my thumb preventing me from doing all but the most simple tasks and Costco had a sale on the only other real option, a water De-ionizer.
This was a proven simple to use system that is designed exactly for what I wanted to do. Its initial cost is less than the RO system but it has a higher long term cost, unless I decide to process the resin myself.
The system works great, I could not be happier with it and only wish I had gotten one sooner. I can wash the car in 20 minutes, let it air dry in the garage and have next to no spots. Both cars can be done in less than an hour on the hottest days. It can also be used to rinse the windows on the house or any other items that would be time consuming or difficult to dry.
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