Water Restrictions and Car washing

[Uvy]

Hey guys

So up here in JHB we have been restricted from using a hose pipe etc as there are water restrictions.
The normal 2 bucket method can happen still but obviously you do not want the liquid to dry
and you cannot get stubborn dirt off as you cannot use a hose or high pressure washer.

So that begs the question, do you throw water over the car first or use a third bucket with water and wash a panel at a time ?

Your thoughts ?

[lawrence]

UV, why not look into rinse-less washing?

There is some info on it in this thread here http://vwclub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=176094

If you have any more questions, just shout

[DangerBoy]

Hey guys

So up here in JHB we have been restricted from using a hose pipe etc as there are water restrictions.
The normal 2 bucket method can happen still but obviously you do not want the liquid to dry
and you cannot get stubborn dirt off as you cannot use a hose or high pressure washer.

So that begs the question, do you throw water over the car first or use a third bucket with water and wash a panel at a time ?

Your thoughts ?

I wouldnt accept the water restrictions.... Once protest Uvy.... #waterRestrictionsmustfall......

[Uvy]

Thanks LA
I read the thread once before but wasnt convinced about the waterless washing.
BUt maybe its worth a try

[Uvy]

Hey guys

So up here in JHB we have been restricted from using a hose pipe etc as there are water restrictions.
The normal 2 bucket method can happen still but obviously you do not want the liquid to dry
and you cannot get stubborn dirt off as you cannot use a hose or high pressure washer.

So that begs the question, do you throw water over the car first or use a third bucket with water and wash a panel at a time ?

Your thoughts ?

I wouldnt accept the water restrictions.... Once protest Uvy.... #waterRestrictionsmustfall......

hahahah.. the hole ppoint is water must fall

[GaVeN]

Hey guys

So up here in JHB we have been restricted from using a hose pipe etc as there are water restrictions.
The normal 2 bucket method can happen still but obviously you do not want the liquid to dry
and you cannot get stubborn dirt off as you cannot use a hose or high pressure washer.

So that begs the question, do you throw water over the car first or use a third bucket with water and wash a panel at a time ?

Your thoughts ?

Unless you're going mad, an HP washer actually uses very little water compared to just rinsing with a hose pipe.
And, in detailing, the idea is not to blast dirt off, as you could lodge particles further into the paint. When you're simply doing it to remove the top layer & soften up the dirt, followed by a foam and a thorough rinse down, you'll still be using less than a garden hose.

[lawrence]

UV, if you choose a quality rinse-less wash, invest in sufficient quality (preferably longer pile) MF towels and a bucket with a sealable lid, there is no reason why you cannot safely clean you car using this method.

I'd advise watching some Youtube videos to dial in your technique (Gary Dean from detailjuice.com has a few good ones, but there are countless others out there).

Also remember you kinda need to do a rinse-less more often that a traditional wash.... so assume the average dude spends an hour a weekend washing the car.... going rinse-less you'd hit it 3 times in a week, but each time will only take 20 mins.... this ensures the car doesn't get a big build up of dirt, making the rinse-less wash a bit more safe to do.

[lawrence]

a HP washer actually uses very little water compared to just rinsing with a hose pipe

This too

[amstel18]

I see you get HP guns lately that you can stick the inlet hose in a large bucket. Problem solved!

On the waterless wash.

If done properly, it can work properly. But if you take into account that you going to be doing a "dry" wash 3 times a week.
How much water are you going to use to wash your MF towels afterwards? Many washing machines are quite heavy on water, and I myself prefer to run my MF's through an extra rinse cycle to ensure all the dirt is out.

So maybe you not Really saving water, by doing a waterless wash over the entire process. I could be wrong, but that's just my view and logic behind it.

[ChefDJ]

Try convincing a pesky neighbour/cop passing by that your pressure washer uses less water than a regular hose... That is the problem, not the actual amount of water you use (although we should all try to be a bit water wise right now, I'm not saying you're allowed to waste water).

[jippo]

Try convincing a pesky neighbour/cop passing by that your pressure washer uses less water than a regular hose... That is the problem, not the actual amount of water you use (although we should all try to be a bit water wise right now, I'm not saying you're allowed to waste water).

this

[GaVeN]

Try convincing a pesky neighbour/cop passing by that your pressure washer uses less water than a regular hose... That is the problem, not the actual amount of water you use (although we should all try to be a bit water wise right now, I'm not saying you're allowed to waste water).

This is real life, and completely true

[Stompie]

Hey guys

So up here in JHB we have been restricted from using a hose pipe etc as there are water restrictions.
The normal 2 bucket method can happen still but obviously you do not want the liquid to dry
and you cannot get stubborn dirt off as you cannot use a hose or high pressure washer.

So that begs the question, do you throw water over the car first or use a third bucket with water and wash a panel at a time ?

Your thoughts ?

Unless you're going mad, an HP washer actually uses very little water compared to just rinsing with a hose pipe.
And, in detailing, the idea is not to blast dirt off, as you could lodge particles further into the paint. When you're simply doing it to remove the top layer & soften up the dirt, followed by a foam and a thorough rinse down, you'll still be using less than a garden hose.

This.

Actually did a little experiment about 2 months back using my HP washer and checked how long it takes to fill one bucket of water... It takes forever! ok not forever but 100 times longer than a normal hose. So water usage on an HP is way less i agree!

I did the experiment cause i was just waiting for the care taker to come and tell me kak about me using the HP and using too much water.

When i wash my car with a hose, there are huge water puddles and water streams after im done. With my HP the ground is just wet with no puddles.

But yeah....Try explaining that one to the judge

[dazza]

I use Optimum No-rinse wash on my 87 Citi based on Lawrence's advise. Considering the car already has some rust spots its better then introducing a bunch of water and in turn potentially worsening the rust.

I only drive my citi roughly 3 days a week so the No-rinse wash works well and I can do it inside my garage as there in minimal water used. I spray the car with a no-rinse wash solution using a pressure bottle first and let it sit for a while and then tackle the car after and give it a clean.

I have used the same approach on my GTI and my previous TT if I wanted to clean the car quickly midweek.

Optimum no rinse is a great product!

[Rsi huntered]

I stopped washing my car every weekend.
I stopped watering my garden(rather use it on.my car).
I will convince them that I use much much less than the car wash.
I will show them how much I spend on products and if they willing to pay me for Ffling up my car.(which car wash will do)
If they call the cops I will just deny it
honestly I am very weary when I'm using water.

[Abnormal]

I stopped washing my car every weekend.
I stopped watering my garden(rather use it on.my car).
I will convince them that I use much much less than the car wash.
I will show them how much I spend on products and if they willing to pay me for Ffling up my car.(which car wash will do)
If they call the cops I will just deny it
honestly I am very weary when I'm using water.

It's simple just don't use a hose.

Let us know what the fine is after you show them.

[Life160]

I've resorted to the car wash - but take a spare bucket and all my mitts and drying cloths. I make the guy rinse the mitt in my bucket as many times as I would rinse mine.
Initially he didnt get it - but after a good tip, he does whatever I need him to do.

Not ideal - but it will have to do for now.

[Luigi_S]

Years ago in the UK, we also had a hosepipe ban, yes, it does happen. I bought one of these to get around it.

http://www.nomadwasher.com/index.php/pr ... s/c_1.html

Still have it, works a treat. Might just dust it off, lol.

[ChefDJ]

Washed the Benz this weekend. Instead of using a hosepipe to rinse, I used a bucket... filled up by the hosepipe... multiple times...

Got myself soaked. Backsplash is no lie.

[sbu.mah]

My neighbour gave me a dirty look yesterday when washing my car. I mean I haven't washed it for the past 3 weeks.

I'm not a good fan of carwash, those guys know how to mess ones precious possession

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

[LostEnigma]

Get your detailing business registered....

I have countless people saying I can get a fine for this and a fine for that...

I go get Diamondworx Detailing's registration papers and show I have business rights to do what I do at my place and then I never see them again...

[Rsi huntered]

I stopped washing my car every weekend.
I stopped watering my garden(rather use it on.my car).
I will convince them that I use much much less than the car wash.
I will show them how much I spend on products and if they willing to pay me for Ffling up my car.(which car wash will do)
If they call the cops I will just deny it
honestly I am very weary when I'm using water.

It's simple just don't use a hose.

Let us know what the fine is after you show them.

No thanks

[Djin]

I've just posted a thread regarding my thoughts and experience in the Crazydetailer section:

http://vwclub.co.za/forum/posting.php?m ... &p=2473352

Okay we have been hit with restrictions on our side as well, so this weekend, having two dirty cars in the garage, I decided to give this Rinse-less wash a go.

I have been well versed with the idea behind Rinse-less washing as we have been importing and retailing ONR for around 6 years now. But I have never been prepared to take the leap of faith. And well tbh, there wasn’t a need. But things are changing and I can see this becoming the norm for a while, until our water levels return back to normal.

So I prepared myself for the Rinse-less wash debut.
1 x Bucket with about 6L of clean water,
6 x D-lite microfiber towels,
1 x Gold-Dlux microfiber towel
1x spray bottle with high volume spray nozzle,
30ml ONR,
CarChem Waterless wash. (Soon to be available in smaller sizes)

I then pulled out one of the cars, and then parked the other in the center of the garage so I had enough space to work. I mixed up the solution of ONR and then filled the 1L spray bottle with the ONR solution. I put all 6 microfibers in the solution of ONR to soak. <Step 1> Starting from the top, I pre-treated the areas that I was going to wash with the ONR solution in the spray bottle. The idea here was to wet the paint surface, encapsulate the dirt particles and provide additional lubrication.

Now you have to really judge for yourself here how big of an area you want to pre-treat, because it is a bit of fine balance of treating enough surface area to get the longest dwell time, vs having the solution dry up on you. I generally have a rule of not letting any liquid air dry on the paint. Think of it, even just plain water has the potential to cause spotting, so it’s just good practice I guess. Anyways, it took me a short time before I got the sweet spot of enough hang time vs drying out.

With the paint surface now wet and lubed up, <Step 2> I picked up one of the soppy microfiber towels from the ONR solution, folded it into 4, and then gently glided it over the surface. The first thing I noticed was how slick it felt. I tried to cover as much area as possible without having to go over the same area again. I flipped the towel over to the clean side and washed the same amount of contaminated paint surface. So essentially doubling the wash area without having to re-dip the microfiber towel back into ONR.

Once completed, I hung the microfiber towel on the side of the bucket. <Step 3> While I grabbed another clean microfiber from the bucket. This time I wrung out the solution as I now needed to wipe off all ONR solution as well as any dirty residue left behind. Again, I wiped the paint surface very, very gently, removing most of the solution. I refolded the microfiber towel to expose 2 clean sides and dunked it back into the ONR solution. Grabbing the first “wash” microfiber, I also refolded it to expose, 2 clean sides and re-dunked it into the solution. And repeated from <Step 2>.

When I got to the end of my previously pre-treated surface from <Step 1>, I then grabbed the CarChem Waterless wash + the clean dry Gold Dlux towel and went back to my original starting point and spritz the clean area with the waterless wash, and buffed dry to a high shine. The CarChem waterless wash is really top notch. Its fortified with surfactants, wetting agents and waxes which leave the paint feeling slick and just waxed. The will also reduce spotting.

This entire process is essentially the Gary Dean method, and those who are interested can catch him on YouTube.

Once I was completed, I even did the wheels and tyres (with a different set of microfiber towels). Tyres picked up quite a bit of grime, as expected, but it cleaned off very well. I suspect this is where the CarChem tyre dressing stands above all other dressings I’ve used. ESP solvent based ones. Expect a bit of graft if you are using a solvent based dressing as these tend to attract a lot more dirt and grime, and just feel sticky in general. Once the wheels and tyres were clean I applied the tyre dressing and was good to go.

My thoughts on Rinse-less washing –

The good –
It’s extremely convenient. My wash area outside my garage gets sun the entire day. And because I refuse to wash in direct sunlight I have a very small window to wash the cars. This process allows me to wash any time of day OR night.
It’s very quick. I managed to wash both my cars back to back in about 2.5 hours. I could easily bring that down to 2 as I did faff around in the beginning.
The paint looked amazing and there were zero streaks on the paint as well as the windows.
I had the ability to do a start stop wash. i.e washed and dried a section. Was distracted by one of my kids for a while, and then just picked up where I left off. With a normal wash, I really work against the clock as you don’t want anything drying on the paint.
Cost wise it works out to about R10 a wash. Which is not too bad me thinks.


The bad –
I think while this is as safe as it can possibly get without a hose pipe. And while I did not notice any swirls or marring, it still has to be more riskier compared to using 2 buckets and a hose.
So you have to be super gentle and very careful and mindful of your process.
But if I think about it this way, it is still far more safer than using a single bucket and chamois to wash.
Cost wise, it will work out more expensive than the regular two bucket method. (water fines excluded.)

Overall I think the pros outweigh the cons, for me at least. I don’t believe this will be something for everyone. I just hope thread might be useful to those who might be considering their options.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts or questions I will be happy to answer.

[lawrence]

Some more reading material on rinse less washing, for those interested....

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot ... -wash.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wol ... wrong.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/aut ... uards.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/aut ... ashes.html

[Howie-WP]

On this topic.......what are the thoughts of the detailers here wrt using non potable water to wash your cars? I have a borehole which I use for watering the garden, was thinking of using it to wash the cars? I have not had the water tested and it seems relatively clean. Just concerned about heavy metals (iron).....I see all of a sudden filtration systems have shot up in price. I wonder if I should try it out. Will wash the car on the lawn, double the use of the water.

ps: perhaps should do a basic water test and see what it says.