Washing the Prius

[sunnysandiegan]

Hi! I haven't been on this board for awhile, except to read here and there. When I search and read up on washing our 2006 Seaside Prius, I get a little sick to my stomach and put it off. EEK! Well, I really cannot put it off much longer and I can no longer find one of the topics I recall reading back at the end of 2005 or very early in 2006 where someone very kindly stated the basics. Every thread I read goes deep into the "If you use A, then you get B (disastrous results)" and "If you use C, then you have to also do D (long drawn out process)".

We purchased our vehicle in early February and had the 3M film protection applied a day or two later (20 miles). We have a somewhat suitable place to wash a vehicle nearby (easy access to a spigot, large tree overhead), but it is on the street and anyone can park there at any time. So timing can be tricky.

All I want is for the car to be clean; not create any damage while washing it; nor to spend an entire day achieving a clean car. We have a young child who will be present during the process and the attention span is only so long, KWIM? Normally, I love details and research, but for the outside of the car I am okay with basic clean.

Does anyone have a basic supply list and "how to" to share? I'd prefer products I can purchase in person and we live in San Diego, CA (large enough city to procure such items). I need to act quickly because my DH is ready to take the bucket, t-shirt, and Dawn to it this weekend. I can guarantee you he won't bother to even dry it.

Thanks for any assistance!!!
Karin

[Manksgloob]

Well, I just went out of purchased a Mr. Clean AutoDry Pro Series* kit for $40 dollars at a local car shop.
You can also find it at places like Wal-Mart, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, Home Depot, and some grocery stores.

The kit includes a starter container of soap+polymer - good for two washes.
Starter water filter - good for 3 washes.
AutoDry water gun thingy.
Wash mit.
Tire scrubber.
Swiffer wipe-on-a-stick for interior cleaning.

I didn't really care for the swiffer cloth, but boy was the AutoDry system really cool.
The gun attaches to a waterhose and has four settings:
Spray, 5x Spray, Soap, Filter.

So you spray the car, using the 5x Spray for the tough-to-clean caked-on-mud.
Then in sections, soap the car. (The soap supposedly contains a polymer that will cause de-ionized water to bead up and run off/sheet off of the surface of the car, but this doesn't happen until later.)
Using the mit, you can gently scrub off the junk on the car.
Then rinse it off with Spray.
Go around your car until you've scrubbed and rinsed the whole thing.
Then switch to the Filter mode which will essentially mist the car with de-ionized water. "Mist" is too much of an understatement. It's more like a heavy mist or a light, even shower. Make sure to displace all of the unfiltered water with the de-ionized water. After a while the water will just bead up and run off the car. You're done.

Let it air dry. (No streaks!)
Because none of the hardwater stays on the car (it was displaced by the de-ionized water) you won't get spots from the drying
.
It worked really well for me.
Was it worth $40? I don't know, I think so.
I know I'll be using it regularly, so over time the cost-per-wash should drop. It will only be in the cost of refills.
I still recommend it.

It only took 25 minutes to wash the whole car and it looked really nice (not uber-detailed nice, but clean.)

Refills for the system cost 6 and 8 dollars for the soap and filter, respectively.
However, these last a little bit longer than their starter counterparts. Eight washes with the soap (but I'll say 5 to be safe), and ten washes with the filter.

I guess in the end (after several washes), the target would be $2.00 per wash. Plus a little bit more for the initial cost of the kit.

$2.50 for hand-wash? Not too bad.

*: The difference between the Pro and non-Pro is it includes the wash mit, tire scrubber, and the Swiffer thingy. Also, the pro version's water gun includes the 5x Spray setting (which sprays the water at 5x the force as the normal Spray setting) which the non-Pro does not. I forget if the non-Pro is $20 or $30 dollars, but if it's $20, it's almost a steal because the "meat" of the system is the gun+soap+filter contraption.

[Sufferin' Prius Envy]

If he takes Dawn to it, be prepared to wax the car, because it will all be gone when he is finished washing. And if all the wax is gone and he is washing the car with a tee shirt, expect scratch marks on the car.

The list of supplies I would get for a basic car wash:

1) A long enough hose and a spray nozzle so you don't waste water and can quickly rinse the small sections as you finished washing them . . . before the soap dries on the car!
2) Car wash soap. Whatever brand, just make sure it says for all car finishes. (which I believe they all do). P.S. Dish soap should only be used to strip the old wax prior to applying a fresh coat.
3) A wash mitt. I recommend one that fits over your hand like a mitt and is made of microfiber. I had one which had loops . . . it sucked as it caught on sharp edges. The one I have now is a fuzzy type . . . nothing to catch on.
4) A brush for the tires and wheels. (so you don't get that crud on your wash mitt and scratch your paint.
5) A bucket.
6) A microfiber towel for drying.
7) A squeegee (like at the gas station) for quickly drying the windows. (I keep mine in the trunk with a bottle of water for quick window cleanings while away from home/on the road.

That is MY basic list of supplies for a wash job, although I have now taken to using Turtle Wax 1-Step Wax & Dry – Spray & Dry Car Wax and soft cotton cloths (the baby dipper types sold in car part stores for waxing/buffing cars). I use three. One for the wet application of the wax and removing the majority of the water, and the other two for buffing off the light haze [so, it is really a 2-step process, but not much more work than it takes to normally dry the car]. The dryer the buffing cloths stay the better . . . that's why two. I am impressed with the stuff as it definitely helps maintain a high gloss and protection longer than if I just wax the car three or four times a year.


Rinse off all the dirt and grime you can with the hose before ever using the mitt. Start at the top and work your way down. Never let the soap dry on the car. NEVER, EVER use circular motions – only back and forth. If you scratch the car using circular motions, you will see the scratches (swirls) from all angles. Straight scratches are harder to see. Rinse off the mitt with the hose before placing it back in the bucket . . . you don't want to save the dirt and rocks.

I was also going to mention the Mr. Clean AutoDry Car Wash System. I have heard several people say they like it very much . . . Manksgloob is one more to add to that list.
http://www.homemadesimple.com/sites/en_US/.../products.shtml

Pep Boys is a good place to get the supplies you need.
Of course there are other sources on the internet . . . but then, you could also do the "If you use A, then you get B (disastrous results)" and "If you use C, then you have to also do D (long drawn out process)".

Good Luck.

[Oxo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sunnysandiegan @ Jun 8 2006, 11:44 PM) [snapback]268452[/snapback]</div>

All I want is for the car to be clean; not create any damage while washing it; nor to spend an entire day achieving a clean car. We have a young child who will be present during the process and the attention span is only so long, KWIM? Normally, I love details and research, but for the outside of the car I am okay with basic clean.

[/b]

Doesn't anybody use those big automatic car-wash things with big revolving furry wheels above and on both sides? Here I pay about £5 ($8?) about twice a year. But most of the time ordinary rainfall keeps the car clean enough.

[jamarimutt]

You need basic information on how to wash a car?

[Weinerneck]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jamarimutt @ Jun 9 2006, 06:06 AM) [snapback]268501[/snapback]</div>

You need basic information on how to wash a car?
[/b]

Here's the basics..........

Hose
Bucket
Wash mitt
Water
Soap
Elbow grease.............

[tomdeimos]

I like to wash mine the easy way. Got tired of feeding quarters into the car wash machines and got a Karcher.
Now I can wash the car quick and easy. Then I put on liquid glass, also because it is the easiest to use of anything I've tried.

[qbee42]

Mr. Clean Auto-Dry is the easiest way to wash.

Tom

[steventoddcurtis@hotmail.com]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Manksgloob @ Jun 9 2006, 02:51 AM) [snapback]268473[/snapback]</div>

*: The difference between the Pro and non-Pro is it includes the wash mit, tire scrubber, and the Swiffer thingy. Also, the pro version's water gun includes the 5x Spray setting (which sprays the water at 5x the force as the normal Spray setting) which the non-Pro does not. I forget if the non-Pro is $20 or $30 dollars, but if it's $20, it's almost a steal because the "meat" of the system is the gun+soap+filter contraption.
[/b]

I picked the non-pro up at WalMart for around $16. Just the gun, soap, and filter, but good for 10 washes. Great deal and works well.

[mcbrunnhilde]

A few things:

I have Mr. Clean, but because San Diego water is SO hard, I find that I have to chamois the car afterwards to avoid deposits (or maybe my Mr. Clean thing is defective???). I use it anyway, because the de-ionized water probably means fewer spots in the first place.

NEVER use dishwashing soap unless you want to strip wax like OPs have said.

Buy enough car wash mitts so you can use a new one each time you wash the car (while the others pile up in your laundry hamper). A dirty mitt means scratches on the car.

Never wash the car in direct sunlight, and go in sections. Always wash from top to bottom--you don't want the top of the car to get washed with a mitt that has grime from the bottom of the car. You could always have a second mitt (maybe the somewhat-dirty one from your previous wash) to do the very bottom of the car where the grime/dirt/mud is the worst.

The Consumer Reports July '06 issue rates car waxes--it's on page 47.