Struggling with…Raising the dead…

Struggling with…The TDS issue

We’ve been down the “overcoming TDS road” in the past, but since it’s been a while, a refresher might be in order. First you can’t rely on any one solution to beat the TDS haze problem. That’s because it comes in lots of varieties with those variations based on the differing minerals the contained in the aquifer.

The second variable is the portion of the water composed of runoff (that’s essentially pure H2O) and the aquifer through which it flows containing those minerals. TDS’ soluble minerals in that water “cocktail” can moderate with the seasonal rains explaining why the problem can come and go.

Regrettably those soluble minerals aren’t affected by phosphate of other chelating agents contained in our detergents. That leaves us with only two practical approaches. The first is to get clever with the temperatures. By lowering both the wash and final rinse temps, we can lengthen the time water sheets from ware before it evaporates or flashes off leaving its’ solids behind.

Option two is to experiment with rinse agents. There again there’s really no magic bullet. While a hard water and or high TDS rinse aid is a good starting point, don’t overlook consideration of a light duty rinse aid if the conventional options flop. Of course the problem can be fully overcome with (expensive) deionization equipment that removes all the solids from the rinse water. But other than the most sensitive account (with really deep pockets), that option isn’t really in the cards.

Raising the dead…Takes an autopsy

After repeated failures to make any inroad with that really attractive, but seemingly unsaleable prospect, you finally shelved it and moved on to pursue more fertile opportunities. But it’s now a year later and you’d really love to find a way to make that sale. But one thing’s certain, going back to exactly the tack that fell flat on its face last year is pretty certain to result in the same outcome.

Maybe our failure was that what we proposed wasn’t something that they either felt was missing from the current supplier’s offering, or it just wasn’t of interest to them. Or perhaps they didn’t know us well enough to believe or trust what we proposed was something they could really expect to receive from a relative unknown. It could be that we totally misread the situation and incorrectly presumed that they actually cared about what we thought was a serious and completely unfilled need.

It might have been any of those or something entirely different. It might have been as simple as they had such strong loyalty for the incumbent that until he moves on (or the buyer does) you’ll never sell them. So, before we darken that door again, it’s time to take stock of why we got nowhere last year. If we can get that answer, we may have a real shot at resurrecting that dead end.