# Washing car in apartment



## evo77 (Sep 5, 2011)

I haven't personally but it looks like a great idea when the car is dusty and/or slightly dirty. But anything more than that I'd feel better with a stream of water in a traditional wash to force dirt out of the cracks and crevices. I don't think a bucket and a wash mitt would be able clean those areas well which may still show afterwards.


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## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

I have a "waterless" wash that I use, but it seems to be nothing more than a quick detailer. I'd never use it on a dirty car as even the finest grit needs to be flushed away with a good car wash concentrate at the right mix and a garden hose.


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## ShowCar (Aug 29, 2011)

The products work if you use common sense. If the car is dusty waterless wash works great. If the car hasnt been washed in a month or more then the ww products are not for you. 

If the car is dusty you can use a 2.5 gallon weed sprayer from Home Depot or Lowes and fill it with warm water and about 8-16 ounces of waterless wash or detail spray. Either one works because chemically they are the same product designed not to scratch the surface. 

Rinse the vehicle with the sprayer top to bottom and then proceed to wash the car with a bucket and mitt. If the car is really bad go to a do it yourself wash and use the facilty and at least rinse the car with pressure before using waterless wash or detail spray. Ive done these steps on cold chicago winter months with great success. Hope this helps.


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## Mofolicious (Jun 19, 2011)

Check out a product called Optimum No Rinse Shine.

I've been using it for over a year. Great stuff. Eco friendly, leaves a protecting film on the car almost like a wax, but not, and you use a bucket of water or two only to wash the car. Very simple in concept, wash car, wipe dry. I love it for the extra months of at home car washing it gives me after I have to disconnect my hose for the year, and before it's warm enough to hook it back up. Can wash the car all winter long in the garage. A detailer in TX turned me on to it.

A vid from him demonstrating the wax like effect I mentioned:






The first demo vid I found (there are plenty more if you search youtube). I don't get my car as wet as this guy. 






Anyway, no hose, no problem.  Good shiat.


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

wow holy crap that 2nd truck is REALLY clean after he dried it...
I'll have to check this out, this is what I was looking for


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## Kruise (Sep 28, 2011)

I use ONR too. The thing about ONR is that you'd better wipe down every area the ONR gets to with your wash mitt because if it dries on your car it leaves white water spots. Fortunately the white spots are benign and are easily wiped off with any liquid.

I also use ONR as clay lube because I'm a cheap ass. If I make sure to use a gratuitous amount of it while claying, it works well enough.


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## chrisholland03 (Oct 13, 2011)

I recommend washing the car outside of your apartment, not inside


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## Mofolicious (Jun 19, 2011)

They recommend it used as a clay lube. How is that being cheap?


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## Kruise (Sep 28, 2011)

Some people are underwhelmed with its lubricity and would rather buy a more specialized product.

But after looking around more, there are definitely people who love using ONR as a clay lube. I'll take back what I said about onr.


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## ShowCar (Aug 29, 2011)

I dont use ONR because of the white spotting. I like to wash and dry in separate steps. ONR takes longer than the method I described and spots more. Thats where detail spray is a benefit when mixed with water.


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## Mofolicious (Jun 19, 2011)

lol I was thinking about this... wouldn't a quick detailer be a cheaper clay lube?


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

So I picked up the "Optimum No Rinse Shine" a few weeks ago and just used it for the first time. I'm really impressed by it. It took all the dirt off, it was REALLY EASY to use, and it left a little bit of a glossy/smooth surface. Not quite as good as actual wax but better than just a normal wash.

I only had to use 1 bucket of water to do the entire car, wheels and tires although the left over water was absolutely filthy after the wash, so it def did it's job.

So far, A+!


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## Mofolicious (Jun 19, 2011)

:th_coolio:


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

ShowCar said:


> I dont use ONR because of the white spotting. I like to wash and dry in separate steps. ONR takes longer than the method I described and spots more. Thats where detail spray is a benefit when mixed with water.


I haven't gotten any white spots. My car is silver but I pay very close attention to it's paint quality/scratches/etc. 

It's been a few days since I washed it, the paint still looks pretty clean even though it's rained twice since I washed it. The windows are pretty dirty but that's expected as it did rain... overall I'm loving it. It's an easy to use wash, doesn't use more than 1 bucket to do the entire car including wheels, and the glossy effect after wash is great - leaves the body feeling smooth and silky for a few days at least.


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## ShowCar (Aug 29, 2011)

The spotting usually happens in warmer condtions from what Ive seen. Not direct sunlight just warmer than sixty degrees. Its not hard water either. It shows more on dark colors.


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## Ex_midwest (Feb 8, 2013)

I did this for years. In New York city there are places with a slow running fire hydrant where people congregate to wash their cars. Mine was at 125th street and the Hudson River. I kept an industrial paint bucket with a smaller wash bucket inside and an Evian bottle cut horizontally so it functioned as a water dipper. I picked my spot and filled the big bucket with fresh water. Starting at the top, using the Evian cup I poured just enough water to loosen the dirt and crap off the paint. Wet down the whole car just enough. Then I filled the wash bucket with P21S soap, and water in the proper proportions. I re-wet half the roof, used a fuzzy towel rag to use the soapy water to lift the dirt off the paint, being careful because there would be road grit that could scratch the car if you rubbed hard or in circles. You want to get the soapy water to lift the dirt up from the paint; then using your 1.2 Evian bottle to carefully pour rinsing fresh water to let the dirty water run off. Continue process from the top down to the bottom of the car because the grittiest paint was closest to the ground. It took about 8 sub-sections, including windows to wash my Porsche 911. Finally, refill your big bucket with fresh water and use copious amounts for a final rinse. Then I used fresh clean towels to soak up the water and dry the car, never swirling for fear of a piece of grit making a circular scratch. Move the rag in the direction of airflow over the car. Get it completely dry. Then do the wheels and tires with dedicated rags because you wouldn't want road grit scratching your paint. I used Window cleaner on the inside and outside of all glass. If I was up to it, I washed down the leather seats/dash/door panels/headliner first with very light soap and water, then fresh water, then Lexol Leather cleaner and Lexol Leather conditioner. I kept the wash bucket and the various soaps/waxes/and polishes stored inside the big bucket and I had a small spinnaker bag that it all fit in. I washed all my towels in the local coin laundry, dried and folded them and stuffed them in the spinnaker bag which I then shlepped up to my apartment and stashed in a closet. Several times a season I also polished the paint and waxed it with P21S products. Use no product with silicone (e.g. Armorall) inside the car; the summer heat will vaporize it and coat your windows with residue which is **** to clean off. Here it is at 120,000 miles and 13 years old. Not bad for an NYC parking garage kept car!


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

AMSOIL Miracle Wash Waterless Wash and Wax Spray

I started using this in the past year and so far I like the results and how it looks. If the car is real dirty I just use more micro-fiber towels. I usually follow it up with a detail spray and wipe and it looks pretty good. It is great especially when I am not in the mood to get the water and bucket out. Takes a lot less time and get just as good results. But will be doing the old bucket and hose wash because it is time for the once a year clay bar and paint protection applications. Can't wait till the weather warms up.


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## zen_ (Mar 15, 2015)

jsusanka said:


> AMSOIL Miracle Wash Waterless Wash and Wax Spray
> 
> I started using this in the past year and so far I like the results and how it looks. If the car is real dirty I just use more micro-fiber towels. I usually follow it up with a detail spray and wipe and it looks pretty good. It is great especially when I am not in the mood to get the water and bucket out. Takes a lot less time and get just as good results. But will be doing the old bucket and hose wash because it is time for the once a year clay bar and paint protection applications. Can't wait till the weather warms up.


Well, this thread is like 5 years old, but that product looks a little expensive for regular use. A gallon of Optimum No Rinse or Meguiar's D114 (~$35) will dilute to 256 gallons, and I use about 1/3 of a gallon to wash a Cruze using this method with microfiber towels and a pre-soak of the same product. I also use distilled water because this method uses so little water, and no water spots with no minerals. Been doing it for a couple years now in my apartment garage in all seasons, but I sometimes use coin-op car washes to blast off winter muck, and do my wheels and tires before washing the car. 

This is a great way to wash a car in an apartment garage with no hose, in an area with water restrictions, or as a portable system. If I had a hose and a driveway, I'd still wash my car this way when it's not excessively dirty. Once you get the technique down, it only takes about 20 minutes to wash, wax (as shown in the video with spray wax), and dry a car. All the door jambs, and every nook. This stuff is also great for cleaning windows inside and out, so it speeds that up too. Oh, and it can be diluted at a higher ratio to make a quick detailer (spray on, wipe off to clean), and clay lube too...just great stuff all-around.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

I tried the Optimum No Rinse after reading this and watching some videos. My car was not very dirty, and I used 8 clean microfiber towels folded so that I had a clean towel for each swipe. But, I still got some light scratches in the paint. You can only see them when the light is right, but they are there. Now I need to have my car polished. I would never do that again. The ONR did make the tires look nice though.


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