Do you run softwater to all cycles?

[UtahYoutubeGuy]

Alright for context I am remodeling a 30 year old self-serve only site that has been closed for 10 years.

The current setup is that the water main comes in and directly feeds the water softener before supplying any other sources. I have looked at some other operators sites and one specifically I saw that one guy ran his rinse water directly from the main and had all other functions supplied by soft water.

Do you guys have a specific way you plumb your washes so that you run soft vs tap water on specific functions? Is there a significant cost savings involved as far as reduced usage of salt pellets etc. to make it worth it?

 

[MEP001]

There's no reason to leave rinse unsoftened. What little you might save in salt you'll pay for in maintenance and having to clean the bay walls.

 

[UtahYoutubeGuy]

There's no reason to leave rinse unsoftened. What little you might save in salt you'll pay for in maintenance and having to clean the bay walls.

Great honestly it keeps things alot simpler if everything is just soft water. A lot of minerals in the water out here in my country as well causes a lot of hard water.

 

[soapy]

It depends on the hardness of your water if you want to use soft water for all functions. If I did not run hard water rinse I would be buying pallets of salt each month. 22 grains of hardness here makes it unprofitable to run a soft water rinse.

 

[MEP001]

It depends on the hardness of your water if you want to use soft water for all functions. If I did not run hard water rinse I would be buying pallets of salt each month. 22 grains of hardness here makes it unprofitable to run a soft water rinse.

For self serve only?

 

[OurTown]

Last I checked we have 18 grains coming in and everything is soft at our wash except the outside hose bib and for some reason the toilet and sink. We even weep soft water. Maybe our softener is set up just right. Of course we only use typically under 50,000 gallons of water most months.

 

[mjwalsh]

For self serve only?

That is a valid question since self serve tends to use way less water than the drive throughs from what I have been told! All of our dog & car wash functions are soft bu we draw the line for our three full fill of rinse water on our washing machines in our laundromat. We do not shortchange our customers in water quantity like some brand new equipment laundromats do either.

It is appalling to some extent to me ... that so many laundromat owners do not have nor plan to ever use a water softener for their heated water. I am pretty sure it has something to do with possibly the reality of needed to cut costs because they are overextended in other ways.

 

[washnshine]

Alright for context I am remodeling a 30 year old self-serve only site that has been closed for 10 years.

The current setup is that the water main comes in and directly feeds the water softener before supplying any other sources. I have looked at some other operators sites and one specifically I saw that one guy ran his rinse water directly from the main and had all other functions supplied by soft water.

Do you guys have a specific way you plumb your washes so that you run soft vs tap water on specific functions? Is there a significant cost savings involved as far as reduced usage of salt pellets etc. to make it worth it?

Any detergent/cleaner will work better in soft, so the question is really only about the rinse. I like the way sealers and protectants break better with an hard water rinse and I can set that up in a tunnel, but like others have said, your wash will be cleaner with soft. And if you don’t have sfr and your customers are not drying, hard will leave deposits.

 

[MEP001]

That is a valid question

It wasn't a question, it was pointing out that it was in OP's original post. You might try once in a while reading the entire thread.