Problem with water spots on chrome fixtures

[Gary Slusser]

It would probably take less than 90 seconds to wipe the water off the fixtures after using the shower. Or, maybe something like a chrome polish or Rain-X might prevent the spots.

[mrmichaeljmoore]

It would probably take less than 90 seconds to wipe the water off the fixtures after using the shower. Or, maybe something like a chrome polish or Rain-X might prevent the spots.

That is what I've been doing as I search for a solution to this problem.
But, and maybe I should have made this clear in my original post, but I'm also concerned about the buildup of the spotting on the shower tile, tub. I concur that wiping down the fixtures takes just a minute or so, but you surely wouldn't suggest drying down the entire tub and shower?
And like I said in the earlier post, I've noticed pitting on some of the chrome hinges for the glass shower door.....where water may collect as it dries.

I've tried rain-x, car polish, etc. It helps a bit, in that it causes the water to bead up much more, thereby having less spots...But the spots still accumulate.

So, yes, I will continue to take the various preventative efforts to minimize the damage of the spots, but I would prefer to alleviate the problem altogether.....

You've been in the water business a long time.....any thoughts on the silica possibility? And any experience using the Siliphos or Polyphosphate treatment?

Thanks.
mm

[ditttohead]

I am not a fan of whole house RO, but if you really want to alleviate this issue, this may be your only real solution. Modern Whole house RO's have become very common and the price has dropped significantly over the past 10 years. We distribute a turn key whole house RO system that has proven very effective for your type of water. The real problem is that it is costly to maintain and to purchase. If you have the money to spend on a whole house RO and dont mind the maintenance requirements, send me a PM. I can probably recommend to a few different companies that can be of great assistance to you.

Polyphosphate feeders are chep, but rarely effective. It would cost very little money to try.

[Mikey]

It might be worthwhile to contact your local County Extension Office. They usually can do limited testing locally, but more importantly have a relationship with your state land grant university, who often have some pretty exotic testing capabilities.

I like ForkWheelDrive's dinner-plate methd of capturing the culprit's tracks. Take the plate to a good testing lab and ask them to identify the white stuff, and Viola! you know what's causing the problem. Instead of the plate, though, start with a beaker and evaporate a LOT of water to get a nice big sample. A local university, or maybe even an exceptional high school, with a good chemistry department might even do it for free as a class project to illustrate that chemistry has a practical use .

[jasper7821]

I'm a total noob and this is my first post to someone else's thread.
I have a CR Spotless car washing system that takes the TDS to zero and is supposed to leave no water spots whatsoever.
I live in Tucson and after washing my silver car I still saw just a tab of spots. I just got a new car and it's black and after washing the car I saw tons of spots.
After sending a water sample to CR Spotless and them having it tested it they found silica in the water.
They sent me another cartridge called a Silica Buster.
I washed the black car again and and let it dry in the 100 degree temp and now there was not a spot anywhere.

So maybe using something like that in the house will leave everything truly spot free.
Just my uneducated guess to take it with a grain of salt.

[mrmichaeljmoore]

I am not a fan of whole house RO, but if you really want to alleviate this issue, this may be your only real solution. Modern Whole house RO's have become very common and the price has dropped significantly over the past 10 years. We distribute a turn key whole house RO system that has proven very effective for your type of water. The real problem is that it is costly to maintain and to purchase. If you have the money to spend on a whole house RO and dont mind the maintenance requirements, send me a PM. I can probably recommend to a few different companies that can be of great assistance to you.

Polyphosphate feeders are chep, but rarely effective. It would cost very little money to try.

Ill send you a PM regarding the whole house RO and polyphosphate....
I don't think I want to go the route of a whole house RO.....I don't want to add anything else to my "honey-do" maintenance list.

About polyphosphate feeders....can you recommend a unit? It might be worth a try.....

thanks.
mm

[mrmichaeljmoore]

I'm a total noob and this is my first post to someone else's thread.
I have a CR Spotless car washing system that takes the TDS to zero and is supposed to leave no water spots whatsoever.
I live in Tucson and after washing my silver car I still saw just a tab of spots. I just got a new car and it's black and after washing the car I saw tons of spots.
After sending a water sample to CR Spotless and them having it tested it they found silica in the water.
They sent me another cartridge called a Silica Buster.
I washed the black car again and and let it dry in the 100 degree temp and now there was not a spot anywhere.

So maybe using something like that in the house will leave everything truly spot free.
Just my uneducated guess to take it with a grain of salt.

Thanks for the help and info......
I may look into some sort of polyphosphate system for the house to reduce the silica as a last resort. Not sure what else to try at this point.
Just have to find one that works for whole house and is DIY friendly....

Oh, and the wife wants to me to do some research to make sure the polyphisphate is safe for home use!!

mm