Barrel of rain, that is. Here in Littleton the water has a lot of lime. Seemed I was always racing around the car to dry it before the water spots began appearing. Well, partly due to an anticipated continuation of watering restrictions of our drought and partly hoping to get away from the stains the *good* water was leaving behind, I made a rain barrel.

My expectations have been met. Just washed it for the first time with rain water and even though the water is a little cloudy it made the wash much easier and no water spots.

I wish I had a camera so I could share but it's a pretty crude little design. Namely, a trashcan (Rubbermaid Roughneck, to be precise) and a plastic drain, both purchased from Home Depot for under $20. The Roughneck is great because the lid fits snugly on the can when flipped upside down. In that position it acts as a funnel under a rainspout. I placed the drain (which has a high collar) up the slope of the inverted lid so that heavy particulates collect in the bottom of the lid before reaching the drain and flowing into the trashcan. I'm considering some sort of filter paper or cloth to further reduce the debris. Two little bungees easily wrap around the handles and securely attach to the inverted lid grips. We've had some massive windstorms and the can/lid/drain have remained firmly in place, although when empty I did toss in about a gallon for ballast.

All told it took a half trashcan to wash the car. I'm considering an overflow into a second (or third!) can to build up a reserve. It's free, it's clear of chemicals/minerals and it works well. If you wash your car as often as I do, you owe it to yourself to consider one.

 

great idea for places that have that stuff (rain, that is)!!

 

good way to save water, but make sure to keep it covered well. and keep an eye on it for mosquitos!

 

Now, isn't that a clever idea! Way to go.

 

 

Bash, as of June 1 in Denver, it is legal to wash your car any day of the week except Sunday. You have to wash between 6-10am and after 6pm. You may want to check to see if Littleton has loosened up a bit too.

 

Nick, I'm sold on the rain water (assuming we get some more rain). Where I live is encircled by fallow fields and two hours after the wash I spoke of in the first post my car was covered with a thick dusting of pollen. I figured I'd have to re-wash but was going to make some adjustments to the rain barrel anyway so I emptied it to rinse off the pollen and didn't bother to dry it. It dried by itself, free of pollen and not a single water mark. Looked like I just washed it again. Gotta love Mother Nature.

 

Oh man, now I have to start collecting my rainwater too.

 

water spots go away with pure vinegar and a MF towel

 

Trudat, Simon, but pure vinigar is a mild acid. I'd prefer preventing the spots in the first place rather than taking acid to my finish. But good point anyway in case folks with spots were wondering what to use to remove them.