Aqua Gleam Water Filters

[belleair302]

I know these have been around for some time now but are they any good? I am looking at the 30ppm filter and am sick of water spots on my car when rinsing down in warmer weather. Opinions much appreciated.

[Neil_Sc]

belleair302 said:

I know these have been around for some time now but are they any good? I am looking at the 30ppm filter and am sick of water spots on my car when rinsing down in warmer weather. Opinions much appreciated.

I've heard of a few people using these with success, my only concern would be longevity and the fact that you have to throw away the whole thing when it stops working.

As far as I understand the aquagleam is just full of crystals which take out the parts in the water to purify, overtime the crystals are going to become expired and I would therefore assume more parts are going to get through into the output water until such a time as you start noticing water spots again.

I am not sure what the rated life on these filters are, but I don't think it is awfully long, I think it was several hundred litres of water (depending on hardness), but I can't find the Aquagleam site at the moment.

I decided against a Aquagleam and went for a reverse osmosis filter which has been fantastic, it produces 0 ppm water for me and leaves no water spotting.

I use 25 litres to rinse each week and the two pre filters and the final filter are changed every 6 months at a cost of about £20. The membrane does the majority of the work in removing the parts in the water, the most unfortunate part of an RO filter is that for every 1 litre pure water you get 3 litres waste (which takes away the excess parts in the water). This hasn't been a big issue for me as I have used some of the waste water in the garden.

Biggest downside of the RO filter for me is that it takes about 2 1/2 hours to filter 25 litres of water for me. I just filter the water after I've finished washing the car and store it in a 25 litre drum for the next wash.

The aquagleam does have benefits in that you can use it on demands, but I personally thought it would work out quite expensive overtime and the RO filter although it had it's downsides, allowed me to produce perfectly clean water for less.

[belleair302]

Interesting reading. The Aqua Gleam 30ppm lasts for around 26 rinses of a large car before it needs replacing. The 0ppm lasts for 22-24 rinses. Neither should be used with a pressure washer, but if I can make two filters last 8 or so months its not that expensive. If we get a hosepipe ban again I am not too worried using a bucket and watercan and like the idea of no drying!

[evolutionvalet]

When we wanted to get pure water in our new unit, we looked at many different setups but decided on an RO unit from these chaps.
John is very knowledgable and can build/sell a system tailored to your budget on either home use or commercial use.

www.aquaflow.co.uk/reverse_osmosis/commercial_and_industrial.html

[belleair302]

Looks a little too advanced for the tap behind my home!

[evolutionvalet]

Belleair,

They can supply just a cartridge type filter as well as the full monty filtration too.

Kev

[hutchingsp]

Isn't the cheapest option to simply dry the car before the water evaporates off leaving the deposits?

That said I'm off to have a dig on eBay to see what's out there

[belleair302]

It may well be the cheapest but in hertfordshire we have hard water and in the sun it leaves water marks. A filter means NO DRYING and NO Watermarks!!

[slippydiff]

Forget messing around with water filters. You will need : -

www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/detailing-sprays/meguiars-last-touch/prod_225.html
www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/microfibre-cloths/sonus-ultimate-drying-towel/prod_87.html
And a garden spray bottle
Wash your car as normal, once you are ready to dry it off (using a microfibre towel, not a leather) give it a final "misting" with your powerwash or hose.

Using the Meguiars quick detailing fluid in the garden sprayer apply to the panels on whichever side of the car is exposed to the sun.
Once applied, quickly wipe off the panels to leave a smear and watermark free shine.
Repeat on all other panels (you can take your time on the panels not directly exposed to the sun )


This is Midnight Blue Metallic (it almost looks black in dull weather), it shows every mark imagineable, but the technique outlined above leaves it perfect every time.


Click on the image twice to get the full on shiny effect !

Edited by slippydiff on Monday 30th April 00:52

[belleair302]

Great idea, but I am looking to save time not spend time cleaning my car. Its a car, not a gold bar.

[slippydiff]

belleair302 said:

Great idea, but I am looking to save time not spend time cleaning my car. Its a car, not a gold bar.

The "gold bar" you refer to gets used in the manner it was designed for, but that doesn't stop me from cleaning it properly afterwards

[belleair302]

I have just used the Aqua Gleam filter for the first time and its most unusual. You wash the car as usual, I use Meguiars NXT and a foam gun. Then using a two bucket method, wash the car with a mitt and then rinse as usual with the Karcher.

Unplug the Karcher and plug in the filter, rinse down the car using the flow of the water and leave. The water just flows off, no water spots so far and no drying. I shall tomorrow have a much closer look at the paintwork and will see if the car is spotless.

Photos to follow, but I think its a great idea.

[Neil_Sc]

The reason for using a filter for me was to reduce the marring imparted during the drying process which even using a waffle weave towel you will impart some marring over time.

[belleair302]

I have just been outside to see how it looks five hours after leaving the car wet. paintwork looks fantastic, a few spots on the side windows, but front and rear screens are crystal clear. If you are short on time and want to do a mid week clean filters are the future.

[hutchingsp]

I was curious about this so I did a little digging. AIUI the Aquagleam filter is basically a sealed disposable unit filled with resin.

On eBay (and numerous online stores) you can buy various "Whole House Water Filter" boxes that have 3/4" BSP fittings i.e. they will attach to a Hozelock hose.

It seems you can buy one of these for around £15. Then you buy a refillable cartridge and a big bag of resin and away you go.

I'd be interested if anyone knows any more about these as obviously it's a waste of money if they don't actually do anything useful.

[belleair302]

I purchased an AquaGleam filter for when I do not have time to dry my car, or when wanting to give it a really good wash. For me ease of use was top of the list and as I will not be using it every week or so, cost was not so important. if I get so or more washes from a 30ppm cartridge I am not wasting too much cash.

[hutchingsp]

belleair302 said:

I purchased an AquaGleam filter for when I do not have time to dry my car, or when wanting to give it a really good wash. For me ease of use was top of the list and as I will not be using it every week or so, cost was not so important. if I get so or more washes from a 30ppm cartridge I am not wasting too much cash.

That's fair enough. I entirely see what you're saying about cost not being an issue as you don't use it week in week out.

I do think though that there are plenty of things that once you put "Car Care" on the label suddenly go up in price and the same item sold as Window Cleaners equipment is much cheaper.

I may try what I've been looking at for myself but also it may be of use to someone as tight as me who doesn't want to spend the money on something they have to chuck away or where they wash their car far more often so value is more of an issue.

[belleair302]

If there is a solution for you to use every weekend and its cost effective I would pursue it. I usually have time to clean my car, dry it immediately and then polish etc without delay. However in the summer it dries too quickly and the Aqua Gleam system ticked my box regarding what I wanted.

[warmfuzzies]

hutchingsp said:

I was curious about this so I did a little digging. AIUI the Aquagleam filter is basically a sealed disposable unit filled with resin.

On eBay (and numerous online stores) you can buy various "Whole House Water Filter" boxes that have 3/4" BSP fittings i.e. they will attach to a Hozelock hose.

It seems you can buy one of these for around £15. Then you buy a refillable cartridge and a big bag of resin and away you go.

I'd be interested if anyone knows any more about these as obviously it's a waste of money if they don't actually do anything useful.

Sounds like a domestic water softener, which uses the resin to bind calcium etc to and then flushes this away using a salt rinse...


Kevin

[lynnj]

I bought the 30ppm. Its a cracking product.. for 3 rinses. As instructed, to maximise the life of the product, I washed the car with normal water, then rinsed it using the aqua gleam filter. Did an amazing job - literally no residue at all, even without using a chamois.

The problem - on the 4th rinse, the filter was already turning purple (indicating exhausted), and streak marks are once again appearing on the car.

Its been used very sparingly, no power hose, no special weird water butt. Just plain old SW London tap water.

So if you don't mind paying £62 for 3 washes, I'd say go for it. But at £20 per wash, the local hand valet is actually somewhat cheaper...

In summary - lovely to see a product working, but I can't help feeling I've been conned here. The brochure talks about very different numbers, which would make complete sense. Instead the reality is just massively disappointing.