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I have been using distilled water as a final rinse after washing my car, and it pretty much eliminates water spots, but I started thinking about the water that drips out of my home's a/c drain line, is it the same as distilled water? I hate to buy distilled water if I can get it free from my a/c.
But might it meet the original poster's intention of rinsing without spotting?
No. If anything, the water dripping from the A/C is more likely to be dirty than hose water, as there is no filter for the condensate. Plus, if the OP is maintaining his A/C properly, and pouring bleach into the drain pipe once or twice a year, there may be bleach residue that he is washing his car with.
No. The water that drips out of your AC is just moisture sucked from the air.
That's what distilled water is -- moisture in the air condensed out.
But water dissolves impurities very quickly, when it condenses in your AC system, it can get dirty from contact with system surfaces.
Rain water is also perfect distilled water at it's origin in the clouds, but grabs dust particles and other impurities out of the air as it falls, which is why it spots when raindrops fall on your newly washed car. You could capture rainwater in a container that is not made of soluble minerals, and let the particulate settle (or filter it), and then use that. It's not quite perfect, because some of the dust particle would be chemically dissolved by the water, although most would just be suspended.
While the condensation and distillation processes are mechanically different, the end result is the same. It is pure H2O molecules converted from vapor to liquid when cooled. You can also save the water that drips into your coaster from the side of your beer can on a humid day.
The distilled water works great for rinsing my dark blue car, I usually put in a garden watering can then pour it over the car (after rinsing with the hose). No spots.
i used to use our softened water back in Wi to wash our cars to avoid all the hard water spotting. But down here, since it seems the minute i finish washing the wonderful yellow pine pollen starts to cover the car..... i dont worry about it as much. It only would remain clean if kept in the garage, under a dust cover, and never driven lol
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