JimGnitecki

We live in a rented cabin in an area where water usage is controlled due to a long-term drought, and so washing the C4 in the driveway is strictly prohibited.

I'm not wild about an automatic car wash, even though one of the local ones is pretty good and relatively gentle on the cars, and of course the Optispark is not fond of water spray, of which there is plenty in a car wash.

A self-service pressure wash place is clearly out of the question for multiple reasons, the most important of which is pressure washing is a poor substitute for hand washing OR automatic car washes, and also tends to get water in lots of places it should not go.

A dedicated detailing place would obviously work, but I like to wash the car once per week, and that gets way too costly using detail places.

So, where could I go to wash my car by hand myself (and sometimes hand wax it too)? Do any self-service pressure wash places also offer a self-service regular water hose stall??

Jim G

Vette Daddy

I'm not trying to be a smartazz....but are you serious?????

JimGnitecki

Yes. Absolutely.

Are all self-service car wash places the high pressure sprayer type or are there alternatives?

And, no, I don't want to saddle any friend with a home and driveway with weekly visits from me. Nor do i want to hook up a hose at odd hours of the day or night to faucets in commercial strip malls.

When I visited Santa Fe a few years ago, the entire city was prohibited from car washing at home, and everyone had to use the commercial car washes, the rationale being that the commercial places recycle the water and also use a lot less per car than washing cars at homes in driveways.

Jim G

mazdaverx7

in the winter, i will go to the self service car wash and bring my bucket, car soap, washing mitt, and "Absorber" for drying. i pump some quarters in and spray the car down really well and fill my bucket with my soap and their water. i then hand wash my car and pump a few more quarters in and use their water to rinse my car. then i use the "Absorber" chamois type thing and dry the car and them i'm on my way.

PLRX

You got to be shi**ing me.

Frizlefrak

Take it to one of the car washes that has the bubble brush and wand. You still wash it by hand, and unless you stick the damn wand up under the harmonic balancer, your opti will survive just fine. It's a distributor for craps sake....it ain't made out of sugar.

And what's with this no hand washing in your driveway ordinance? El Paso is in a perpetual state of water restrictions and we can do it. City just requires you use a shut off nozzle and not let the hose run, which you'd have to be a tool to do in the first place.

If they did implement an ordinance of this nature, I'd wash my car at night anyway and tell City Council to ram the ordinance up their collective asses.

Washing my vette in my driveway with a shut off nozzle uses under 5 gallons once a week to wash the car....far less than Johnny Appleseed down the street and his wife and 7 kids use taking baths, flushing toilets, etc. I'll stack my water bill up against his any day....I bet I use less than 1/5 of what he uses monthly. Why isn't HE being harrassed about water usage? Perhaps if him and his ilk could keep it in their pants or use birth control, we'd all have plenty of water to wash our cars with.

JimGnitecki

So you are forced to use the high pressure spray wand to do the rinse? I don't like that.

Jim G

JimGnitecki

About what??

Jim G

Frizlefrak

Why not? Won't hurt a damn thing.

Frizlefrak

Excellent idea.

JimGnitecki

You are NUMERICALLY correct when you say that washing a car once per week uses far less water than a family uses in a couple of hours. However, it's perception. Car washes seem "not necessary" compared to bathes and peeing.

I'm absolutely serious about our water predicament: Our cabin is in a private development outside any city, and liek most such developments, depends upon a water well that serves the entire development. The well is in trouble because of the long-term drought - Lake Travis at its Mansfield dam is down to only 39% of normal capacity. The water sports based businesses and marinas are all in serious financial trouble as a a result. Home values on the lake have dropped like a stone. Our well draws from the underground aquifers that are depleted as a result. Hence, the "no car washing" rule. Violation would get us thrown out.

Mot every place in the U.S. has ample water supplies. We do not. It's a big political issue here.

Jim G

eaglevision993

I also use the commerical car wash where you get the wand and the bubble brush and wash it myself.
There is no problem concerning the pressure. Since YOU have the wand YOU decide how far away you place the wand. Increasing distance decreases pressure.

That aside, there is no problem using a pressure washer on your car unless you place the nozzle foolishly close to it or under your hood.

I really don´t get your point. The commercial washes even have demineralized water (at least at my place) so you can drive off without drying and still get no stains. It is much more hassle to do it in your driveway. The only advantage is saving money.

Frizlefrak

Perhaps people should be surcharged for overzealous reproductive habits, but that's another topic. Having 7 kids damn sure wasn't necessary.

We stayed at a condo on Lake Travis in 2008. The lake was way down then.....can't imagine what it's like now. El Paso is in the same boat...we get much of our water from the Rio Grande, and upstream, Elephante Butte Reservoir. Google images for Elephant Butte 1990-2013 and you'll see just how bad our situation is. The lake is at under 25% capacity. It depends on Colorado snowfall....which has been tiny the last few years.

But I go back to it....If I'm using 1/5 of the water that Billy Bob and his 7 offspring down the street are, it's none of the city government's friggin business HOW I use it. I'll pull the car in the garage, waterproof a bay, and do it in there if I have to. And then we will vote in new representatives. We have tiered water rates here....the more you use, the more it exponentially costs you.

Use the bubble brush car wash in your case. I use ours all the time if I don't feel like dragging the hose and bucket out at home. Won't hurt your precious C4 in the least.

lkl2005

Bummer for the water restrictions. I would melt if I washed a car outside in Texas today!
My 3 car garage is perfect for washing anything. 24/7 365. Heat, extra lighting. No AC but its like 75 today in WI.
Our water is on a meter (city water). Really the water is cheap, The main charge is for sewage.

5abivt

I do the same thing in the winter I take my bucket and use the water there. I even do it in the summer time if its really late and I can't use the leaf blower without waking someone or p'ing someone off. So say I had to wash my car today away from home.. 2 buckets, Some change, my soap, gas leaf blower, ear plugs, etc etc.. And ill wash it in the bay.

Fyi if a pressure washer bothers you just stand further back. A few feet back and it will hit the car with no more force than a garden hose. I actually like the pressure washer because it removes dirt and grime that I can't remove at home with a hose and it helps keep my wash gloves cleaner.

aklim

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/arti...205060121.html

JimGnitecki

We don't have one in Austin, at least yet . . .

Jim G

RollaMo-LT4

Bring your car to Missouri.

We have enough water here now to do a fine job of washing.

kimmer

Hell you can do a hand....oh, I read it wrong.

QCVette

I use this method too.

In the winter I have to do it this way because any outside hoses at home are frozen up and the water freezes on the car too.

In the summer I sometimes do it this way too, just because it is easy.