Adding washing soda into your tap water in the hard water areas

[DannyB]

Hi tradders, especially those of you who live in hard water areas and yet put tap water, rather than the rain water, into your buckets.

Does any of you find it worthwhile to add some washing soda, baking soda, borax or a similar substance into your bucket water to make it easier for washing up liquid to foam in it?

 

[Jake]

My water is extremely hard, comes out in rocks almost!, averages 500ppm, and never needed anything other than fairy liquid, don't know anyone else who does any different round my way...

 

[DannyB]

Well, there has been a lot of chat also about using vinegar for trad cleaning over here in recent days. And I can quite imagine that for those who use vinegar on a regular basis would any alkaline stuffs be meaningless either. But if you use the hard water and, at the same time, don't always use vinegar, then I can still imagine that some soda could save you some money on detergents, as in a softer water you can produce foam with much less washing up liquid.

 

[Jake]

Yeah I don't need the foam, in 8 years all I've used is big old squirt of fairy, and jobs a gooden...

Depends how picky you are, fairy has always been great for me...

 

[DannyB]

Well, I've always been under a strong influence of Polzn Bladz on YouTube. But it's definitely useful to hear also views of other experienced people.

 

[Dave B]

I agree with Bob on soap etc but he likes the bubbles as the customer can see the soap then..I have hard water and don't get a lot of bubbles with vinegar also but it's the detergent that cleans not the bubbles

 

[DannyB]

I agree with Bob on soap etc but he likes the bubbles as the customer can see the soap then..I have hard water and don't get a lot of bubbles with vinegar also but it's the detergent that cleans not the bubbles

I believe you've recently mentioned that vinegar is good on greasy surfaces. But from the outside, windows may be soiled more often with plastering, dust or pollen. This makes me hesitate a bit about the usefulness or necessity of vinegar in your solution when you're doing your routine outdoor work. Especially when the window frame or glass aren't heavily soiled. But to address specifically the issue hard water, vinegar may certainly be as good measure as alkaline stuffs would be.

 

[Dave B]

Hard water makes no difference cleaning trad

You don't leave it on to dry which is when hard water leaves marks

Water is the main cleaning agent as it is a solvent technically due to dirt dissolving in it

Soap is used mainly for slip for the squeegee

Vinegar or flash just gives a boost to the cleaning power

I have been tradding 26 years and have tried lots of things and trust me it works

Spider :turd: etc hardly ever needs scraping

In fact it is rare for me to get my scraper out

 

[paulben]

Like daveyboy said bubbles don't do a lot unless your name is Michael Jackson. reason I like vinegar is extra shine lifts off muck easier and no smears in hot sun especially in corners just want minimal soap to give it a nbit extra slip . also use waste water from ro for trad about 430 tds

 

[Posh]

I use my waste water from ro for trad as well.

 

[paulben]

Waste not want not

 

[DannyB]

Hard water makes no difference cleaning tradYou don't leave it on to dry which is when hard water leaves marks

Water is the main cleaning agent as it is a solvent technically due to dirt dissolving in it

Soap is used mainly for slip for the squeegee

Vinegar or flash just gives a boost to the cleaning power

I have been tradding 26 years and have tried lots of things and trust me it works

Spider :turd: etc hardly ever needs scraping

In fact it is rare for me to get my scraper out

Your last sentence is especially encouraging for a newbie /emoticons/wink.png

Regarding your more than quarter a century of tradding experience, it's obvious that I can learn a lot from you.

It would be great if you could yet explain me why some tradders use the rain water. I am, of course apart from many other things, confused by the fact that rain water is often discussed and sometimes used in the traditional cleaning, but almost no one talks about any softening additives into a hard tap water. Also you are talking about vinegar in rather a different context here - not in that one of its hard water softening effects. You would almost certainly use it even if you lived in a soft water area...

 

[Dave B]

Rain water is almost pure snd pure water wants to be impure..it dissolves more dirt than tap water as it has more room to dissolve it

It has less slip though so definitely needs soap

Softening hard water with chemicals wouldn't have the same effect as it is still full of the minerals that made it hard water

 

[paulben]

unless you got fresh rainwater I wouldn't bother look in a water butt that's a week or more old in will look filthy would you wash up with mucky water also think what germs you could get from dirty water through cuts .If you use pure water from ro that's different if stored correctly then it does help with cleaning

 

[Jacob]

Hard tap water works fine with a dash of soap. You get all the water off the glass and therfore dont leave anything to dry so no marks, like daveyboy said it.

Using pure for trad instead of tap is just waste of expensive pureified water imo, as it has no notible effect.

 

[DannyB]

Hard tap water works fine with a dash of soap. You get all the water off the glass and therfore dont leave anything to dry so no marks, like daveyboy said it.Using pure for trad instead of tap is just waste of expensive pureified water imo, as it has no notible effect.

Do you mean:

a) hard tap water + dash of soap + washing up liquid

OR ONLY

b) hard tap water + dash of soap?

And would you use some grated hard soap, or a liquid soap?

 

[Dave B]

By soap we mean washing up liquid or whatever mix we individually use

 

[Dave B]

You have to forget about this hard water business..mines 500+ppm here and it is still fine for cleaning with

For trad water is water

 

[Jacob]

Do you mean:
a) hard tap water + dash of soap + washing up liquid

OR ONLY

b) hard tap water + dash of soap?

And would you use some grated hard soap, or a liquid soap?

Option b, dont use any specially made hard water soap just a dish soap or occasionally some my local wc supplier sells, practicly the same just sud a little more for better glide.

Hard water soft water makes no difference when trad cleaning.

 

[DannyB]

You have to forget about this hard water business..mines 500+ppm here and it is still fine for cleaning withFor trad water is water

Not too bad. I'll buy no washing soda and save money :thumbsup: