If you have a place of your own where you can wash it, use a biodegradable non-toxic cleaning agent like Simple Green so that it doesn't foul up the sewer water more than it needs to. I pull the car up on the lawn so that the lawn gets watered at the same time, and when i can, will wash the car in the rain since I need to use much less water. Also, avoid washing your car when it's sunny as you won't need to constantly be hosing down the car due to drying times. For best results, get rid of your car...bikes have less surface area and are easier to clean.
Pros: Uses less water saving you money and if you wash in the rain, will make you a hit with the neighborhood kids.
Cons: Means you can't wash when you want all the time if you are waiting for the rain to come, and your car will most likely end up with water spots
7 comments:
Hey Dave,
Thanks for putting this together! I love it already. This post is great... great ideas, I hadn't thought of these, although I will admit that I rarely wash my car anyway.
You're absolutely right about the bike, and though it's not a practical idea for me at this moment in my life, I will say that in rush hour, even when I'm moving, the bikes are still often faster than the cars!
I'll be sending folks your way :-) keep up all the good work!
You can also use waterless, biodegradable products like Eco Touch or Optimum Car Care. You use maybe a half bucket of water (1-2 gallons), the dirt mess can be poured down the sink rather than street run-off, and you can wash in your garage out of the sun or rain.
I've heard of these but don't know much about them. Have you used them? I figure if i have the soap for another purpose, less packaging than buying another product, but it's always good to have options.
dave
I recently started using the Optimum products and am really impressed with how effective they are. I use 2 capfuls of the cleaner in 1-2 gallons of water to clean my mini-van inside & out. It looks great even after being beaten up by 2 little kids and 2 LARGE dogs. Their towels are really nice, too. I use one to wash, one to dry & the window towel for windows and dusting the console and such. I reuse the drying towel with the tire cleaner on the tires and the black trim. I've not tried Eco Touch and am not inclined to right now since I'm happy with the Optimum line.
Setup a rain barrel (or two, or three...), make sure that the water is well filtered to prevent particles that may scratch your car from getting through, and then use this instead of what comes out the tap. Plenty of other applications for a rain barrel, of course (gardening). My two 55-gallon containers here in CT fill up with just 1/2 inch rainfall.
Do they really need to be washed? I just leave mine out in the rain. It looks fine.
I was reading an article submitted to me by my state water management facility in maryland which says a standard garden hose can use 100 gallons of water for 10 minutes of washing a car. I agree to go to a professional since they recycle the water or you can use a waterless car wash.
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