But what actually causes these spots that leave customers so frustrated? These spots are caused by dissolved minerals in the water. The water droplets that remain on the car after the wash contain dissolved minerals.

“The content of these minerals in the water is known as Total Dissolved Solids or TDS. The amount of TDS in the water is dependent on geographic and the source of the municipal water supply. Depending on where your car wash is located will determine how much TDS exists in your water. The higher the TDS the worse the spotting will be.”

As these droplet s of water evaporates, the minerals are left behind. These remaining minerals create unsightly white spots that can be difficult to remove once the vehicle is dry.

Now you must be asking, “What can I do about it?” There are three ways to prevent spotting after a car wash, each represents its own set of costs and advantages. The traditional way to remove spots is by hand drying afterwards. However, the employees and time required to hand dry each vehicle represents a much higher cost than other solutions. The most effective way to prevent spots is with a De-Ionization or DI system. These systems contain two types of resin that remove positively and negatively charged ions, resulting in mineral free water for a true spot free rinse. These DI systems come with a huge downside. The resins they contain must be regenerated often with hazardous chemicals. Most

commercial car washes are not equipped to perform this regular maintenance, as it requires specialty equipment, and disposal techniques. Most commercial car washes rely on an expensive service to swap their system with a newly regenerated one, so they can take the system to their facility to maintain. The third option is a commercial reverse osmosis or RO system. These commercial reverse osmosis systems have seen an increase in popularity as an alternative to DI systems. These RO systems can mechanically remove 95-99% of the mineral content in water, making them more than suitable for a car wash spot free rinse application. A commercial reverse osmosis system also requires only minor maintenance, that can easily be performed by the car wash staff. This maintenance consists of filter replacements at set intervals.

How Does Commercial Reverse Osmosis Work?

Now that we have discussed the various options available to you, let’s dig a little deeper into how a commercial reverse osmosis or RO system works. An RO system uses a process called reverse osmosis to remove a massive amount of contaminants from water. RO utilizes a membrane made out of an extremely thin film that is tightly wound around a core tube. Water pressure is used to force water through this tightly wound film. As the water is pushed through the film, pure water is collected into the core tube, while the remaining concentrated contaminated water is discharged through a drain line. The water that is discharged can be collected and reused for other applications. Commercial reverse osmosis requires a series of stages in order to increase life of components and ensure quality water on demand.

• Stage 1 Pre-Filtration: The pre-filter, or sediment filter on a reverse osmosis (RO) system is designed to remove large particles from incoming water to protect the further stages from being exhausted too quickly. Without a pre-filter the carbon filters and membrane would become plugged with fine particles, resulting in reduced water flow and efficiency, and inevitably no output.
• Stage 2 & 3 Carbon Filtration: Carbon filtration plays an even more important role in a reverse osmosis system. The semi-permeable membrane used in a commercial RO system are vulnerable to chlorine and chloramines. These chemicals are introduced by your city water supply will quickly destroy your membrane. Therefore, carbon filtration is required to remove chlorine and chloramines prior to the water coming into contact with the membrane. Typically two carbon filters will be placed before the membrane. The first carbon filter removes up to 99% of chlorine and chloramines, and the second carbon filter removes the majority of trace chlorine, and acts as a backup in case the first filter becomes exhausted.
• Stage 4 Semi-Permeable Membrane: We discussed the role that a semi-permeable membrane earlier in this section. These membranes use an ultra-purification technique called reverse osmosis. Incoming water builds up pressure behind the membrane, forcing water through the multiple layers of wrapped membrane. The tight layers of the membrane allow water molecules to pass through, but restrict passage to other molecules, such as those that make up dissolved minerals, chemicals and organic matter. Semi-permeable membranes are rated on production and efficiency. Production is typically measured by gallons per day. It will need to be determined how much water you are using each day to adequately size the system for your car wash.
• Storage Tank: Due to the low production rates achieved by reverse osmosis a storage tank will be required to house purified water. This will allow for the volume and pressure required to provide instantaneous access to water in enough quantities for your spot free rinse application. Once it is determined how much water your car wash will consume daily in a spot free rinse application, an adequately sized storage tank will be selected to ensure the highest quality water is available at all times.
• Booster Pumps: Typically, your incoming water supply is not going to provide enough pressure for your spot free rinse application. A booster pump is usually required to produce adequate pressure from the storage to the sprayer assembly.
  Please follow this link to get a better idea of what a commercial reverse osmosis system assembly would look like for a car wash spot free rinse application.

Required Maintenance for a Commercial RO System

One of the biggest advantages of a commercial reverse osmosis system is that they require very little maintenance when compared to alternatives. Your installer will provide you with a replacement schedule based on the quality of water and your estimated daily use. The scheduled maintenance will include pre-filter and carbon filter changes at a specified gallon or month interval. Many commercial RO systems also contain a built in TDS meter. These meters detect the total dissolved solids in the water after it has been treated by the RO. Over time the membrane will become exhausted and the level of TDS will begin to increase. This will be your indicator that it is time to replace the membrane.

How will a Commercial Reverse Osmosis System Save My Car Wash Money?

A commercial RO system can help your car wash save a ton of money. These systems typically pay for themselves within a year. Some of the ways that a commercial reverse osmosis system can you’re your car wash reduce costs are:

• Compared with alternatives there is very little ongoing maintenance required for a commercial reverse osmosis system, and required maintenance is a relatively low cost.
• No toxic chemicals required to regenerate the system like with DI. No expensive regenerating equipment and disposal costs, or the ongoing cost of a service to regenerate the system. Over time this represents an enormous cost savings.
• A commercial reverse osmosis system produces adequate quality of water for a spot free rinse, therefore you will save money by not requiring additional personnel to hand dry cars to prevent spotting.
• A spot free rinse is an additional service that customers are willing to pay for. You will be able to make more money per car wash by providing this service.

What Are My Next Steps in Selecting a Commercial Reverse Osmosis System for my Car Wash?

The best next step is to have your water tested, so that your incoming TDS can be determined. We provide free water testing (link to water testing instructions) for all commercial applications. Once your water quality is known, and your daily water use is calculated, a daily production and storage can be determined for your specific application. If you need additional assistance, please give us a call at 602- 414-0701, or drop us a line below.

The post Commercial Reverse Osmosis Solves Problems in Car Wash Spot Free Rinses first appeared on International Filter.

We all take great coffee and our access to it for granted, but what actually makes the best coffee? Is it the imported beans from foreign lands, the proprietary roasting techniques, the water to coffee ratio, the optimum brewing temperature, or the fancy coffee makers? The answer is yes and no. While all these things play a factor in the taste and aroma of a great cup of coffee, the component that plays the biggest part in producing the best cup of coffee is something that needs no introduction — water. Without quality water, the rest of these factors would simply not matter.

It sounds simple, but what makes the best coffee water? Before I can answer that questions, let us discuss all the things that can be present in the water delivered to your business.

• Chlorine/Chloramines: ​​Chlorine and chloramines are a necessary evil in our water supply. City municipalities add chlorine and chloramines to the water supply in order to kill cysts, bacteria, algae, and viruses. The levels of chlorine and chloramines in the water supply typically depend on the temperature of the water and how far the water has to travel until it reaches the end of its service line. While chlorine and chloramines are great for keeping people safe, they are a major issue when trying to create the best coffee water. Chlorine and chloramines affect the taste and odor of water. They impart a chemical taste and a swimming pool like odor. These are
  not desirable qualities in a cup of coffee.
• Organics: ​​Organics are by-products of things falling into the water supply and breaking down
  into microscopic pieces. This can be plant matter, insects, manure, and a wide range of other contaminants. These organic by-products can affect the taste and odor of water. Crickets and animal waste are definitely not a component of the best coffee water.
• Color: ​​Color is a property of water that does not always affect the taste of water. However, green, yellow, or rust-colored water is unsightly and most likely will not be appealing to your customers. Some contaminants like iron, can cause water color to change. Iron in your water can also impart a metallic taste that will effect the taste of the coffee.
• Total Dissolved Solids: ​​Total dissolved solids (TDS) are a measurement used to determine the total dissolved content of in-organic and organic contaminants in water. This can include minerals, agricultural runoff by-products, and organic by-products. TDS is not necessarily a bad thing at the right levels. High TDS levels can cause issues with taste and aesthetics. Low levels of TDS can cause your water to taste flat. Finding the right balance is important to making the best coffee water.
• Dissolved Minerals: ​​Dissolved minerals are introduced to water as it passes over rocks in streams, rivers and aquifers. They can include calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. While all these contaminants in water are good for you, they tend to affect the taste of water. Keeping these in balance is important to allow the taste of the coffee to shine through. Also, minerals like calcium and magnesium form scale. Scale can build up in your water reservoir, and throughout your coffee machine. This scale will eventually coat the heating elements of your coffee machine, resulting in lower efficiency, and eventually failure — not an ideal outcome.
• Total alkalinity: ​​Total alkalinity represents the concentration of alkaline substances that are dissolved in water. These include carbonate, hydroxides, and bicarbonates. These substances are typically introduced as water breaks down rock. While it is rare that alkalinity levels will be high enough to affect taste, they do have the capacity to buffer acids and keep pH in control. Most likely you will not find yourself having to adjust these levels, but it is still important to know the factors that change the properties of water.
• pH: ​​pH probably needs no introduction. If you have ever had a high school chemistry class you are probably aware of pH. pH represents how acidic or alkaline water is based on a scale of 0 to 14, with 0 being extremely acidic, and 14 being extremely alkaline or basic. High pH levels in your water supply will result in your water having a flat taste, while low pH levels will result in a bitter flavor. Keeping pH balanced is an important component to the best coffee water.

Now that we know all the factors that can affect the taste, odor, and appearance of your water, let us discuss what is actually required for an amazing cup of water. The following chart was created by the Specialty Coffee Association and represents their recommendations for the ideal water for coffee making.

I hope you now understand the importance of high-water quality in making the perfect cup of coffee. It can feel like a daunting task to achieve this level of water quality. Fortunately, water treatment systems exist that can help you achieve this goal. If you would like to find out how you can start using the best coffee water in your business please read our ​Achieving the Best Coffee Water​ article, where we discuss treatment techniques for controlling each of the water quality issues you may be experiencing in your business.

The post Beyond the Bean How to Make the Best Coffee first appeared on International Filter.