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Even if you use a do it yourself pressure washer car wash you still once you get soap on the car need to use a washing sponge. I use one covered ln microfiber. Once you have rubbed over the whole car with it (except wheels and tires use a separate sponge for those) rinse. If you see streaks or other dirt clean again. Once clean. Dry with a chamois. Then clean glass with a non ammonia glass cleaner like Invisible Glass. Use a number of microfiber towels for that.

If you have a water supply at home just use 2 buckets. I used that method carrying a 10 gallon and a 5 gallon bucket from my 4th floor apartment and used a Worx Hydroshot battery operated pressure washer. My current apartment has a car wash area with a hose. I still use the Hydroshot and each wash with the soap attachment uses 2 ounces of car wash soap. I use the same sponge and absorber drying chamois.

I consider it therapy. Takes about an hour to wash the whole car and the Weathertech front mats.

 

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I use the spray-wash booths, but bring my own buckets, soap and wash mitt/microfiber cloth.

One thing you could do is see if you have a professional cleaner near you that will deep-clean the car and apply a ceramic coating. once the car is ceramic coated, it will be easier to do a good quick wash.

Part of the issue is just that white cars show dirt a lot.

If you are using a spray car wash why do you need buckets? Do you have access to water where you and cars live? If you have buckets you can fill them in the bathtub or shower

 

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Just use 2, 5 gallon buckets (or get a cheap battery or AC operated power washer or figure out a way to use a hose (I have seen all kinds of creative ways to add a hose to a tub or sink faucet or for things like dishwashers and sprayers to clean kids). If you own your home, it is easy to add a hose spigot, just make sure to do it properly and use one that is frost proof.)

A neighbor at my old apartment attached a hose spigot to the bottom of a bucket had 3 other buckets and made a stand for the source bucket. You can buy a hose for less than $20 at Walmart in the RV camping area. Sometimes he used just that, other times he used an electric power washer. Use their soap, you are paying for it anyway. Just bring your wash mitt.

When I used the bucket wash method before the Hydroshot I just wiped it down with the rinsed and very wet wash sponge or mitt. Only needed the 2, 5 gallon buckets. Just had to dry it with the Absorber or use a water blade, but they can scratch if you are not very careful. Didn't need a lot of rinsing. You can clean the whole car with 2, 5 gallon buckets, no hose needed.

I have also used waterless car wash products and now keep a bottle of it in my car for bird droppings. You spray it on the panel, wipe very well with a microfiber towel, then polish with another one. When I lived in TX, they had a drought, so car washing was forbidden. Washed my car a year using that method.

You are a smart guy, surely you can figure out something where you pay once and can do a better job. You already have all you need, no reason to go pay a car wash for water.

Furthermore, you rinse it with a very wet wash mitt/wash sponge from your rinse bucket. That is how you rinse it from your bathtub. So yes, you can wash and rinse the whole car with 2, 5 gallon buckets. That is the basis of the whole 2 bucket wash method.

The buckets are so I can use my own soap and wash mitt, but rinse with the pressure washer at the spray wash place... I can't really rinse the soap off with water from my bathtub.

 

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Don't use dish detergent, it is too harsh on the clear coat. 100 ounces of car wash soap is $8 and I use less than 2 ounces per wash session with the Hydroshot. The last bottle lasted 3 years.

Pressure wash alone aka "touchless" is not going to lift off all of the road grime, this is the stuff the OP is describing, any time it rains road grime is going to build up on the car.

I see a lot of good suggestions in this thread, the one thing I would highlight is you can use standard dishwashing detergent with no issue. In Australia we can buy it in bulk at homewares/home-hardwares stores, no need to buy premium soaps to do the cleaning, put the difference you save from the soap into other products like ceramic coatings or waxes.

 

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There are many articles online on how to wash a car without a hose. All you need is either 2 or 3 buckets, a good wash sponge or mitt (or 2) and a small amount of car wash soap. In the first bucket put the car wash soap. Use as little as possible. Wash the car one section at a time. Rinse the car wash sponge in the rinse bucket, then while it is very wet go over the area you just washed to rinse it. Repeat till whole car is clean. Then, if any residue on the car, take a third bucket of clean water and a second wash sponge and rinse the whole car again from the 3rd bucket (Or second one emptied rinsed and refilled). Then dry using either a chamois, an Absorber artificial chamois or a water blade.

You do not need a hose to rinse, it is nice to have one, but it is not needed.

At a commercial car wash, especially the do-it-yourself ones, do not use the brush they all scratch. Any car wash that has anything that spins or rubs against your vehicle will scratch it. We have discussed that before. If you go to a do-it-yourself one with the spray gun, bring your wash mitt and wheel sponge. You do not need buckets or your own soap you are paying a lot to use them might as well get the full advantage of what you are paying for, and I have used them in the past the soap they have in the gun works just fine. Some do-it-yourself car washes have a sign that says do not use buckets.

Many here recommend using dish soap to wash cars that is a bad idea, it is very harsh and is designed to remove gunk from metal dishes etc. and can damage the clear coat. It is better to use a car washing product. You don't need a premium product, but a car washing specific product is gentler, less harsh and do work. Like I said $8 for 100 ounces, and you need very little even if handwashing without a power washer.

If you want to spend money, they are all kinds of ways to make the process easier or faster. For my own situation, I got the Hydroshot Portable Power Cleaners | WORX and the soap attachment. This method needs more water, about 10 gallons for the source(I happened to have that special extra tall bucket), and I have a 5 gallon bucket for rinsing my wash sponge. I keep a very cheap large foam sponge for my wheels and tires. There are pressure washers at all price ranges and usually are used with a constant water supply. My neighbor used a bucket on a stand (he made) he installed a hose spigot to the bottom of the bucket with some plumbing parts. It was gravity fed, and he used 4 5 gallon buckets, the one with the spigot and 3 others to wash his cars.

You laughed at my suggestion to just use 2 buckets, but I have washed cars that way before, and it does work.

 

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Be very careful as to what automated washes you use. You do not want anything that has hanging rags or any kind of brushes, no matter what they are made of. They will scratch. Many people run filthy vehicles though car washes, and they are caked with dirt and salt, which gets rubbed into the next car.

If I could afford it, I would have mine professionally detailed once a year, since I can't, I do it myself. I wash car my car every 2 weeks if the weather is good. Same time frame I use for checking and adjusting the air pressure in the tires.

I still say if you can get 2, 5 gallon buckets, and you are physically able, you can wash a whole CR-Z without a hose and do a pretty good job for very little money and use less water. You just need some very inexpensive tools, car wash soap and a place to wash it.

Using automated washes will only get you so far for so long. Eventually you’re going to need a human touch to get into all the nooks and crannies.

I seldom wash my car myself anymore, mostly because my scoliosis-ridden back prevents me from doing so. I pay to have it detailed a couple times a year.

A long lasting (I.e. 6 months) coat of wax or some type of ceramic coating will make the automatic washes work much better over a long period of time before a hand wash is needed.

 

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Agree to disagree. This has been discussed a lot, and liquid dish soap is too acidic. Your car, your choice. There are lots of variables, I would rather use a product made for the softer paint and clear coat than a product made for ceramics, metal and dissolving grease and baked on dirt.

There has to be some kind of vehicle washing soap there. You may need to do some research or order online. I am not the only one saying to not use dish soap on cars, there are many postings online that say the same thing.

I wholeheartedly disagree;
a) liquid dish washing soap (i am not talking about tide pods or other more caustic products) is gentle enough to not degrade the clear coating.
b) You can't get type of soap at that particular cost efficiency in Australia (where I'm from)

 

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I wish you well. I have owned cars with clear coat damage and do everything I can to prevent owning another one. I can find plenty of opposing clips on the Internet. As I said, it is your car, and you can do what ever you want. Failed clear coat and paint was a horrible experience on 2 vehicles I owned.

Also note it says it will remove the wax, that is part of what is protecting your clear coat and ultimately the paint. Do you really want to do that? Detailers will use dish soap to intentionally remove the wax when they are going to re-coat (wax) the car and repair damage. It is not something that should be regularly done.

The following are those opposing views:

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Encompass Insurance makes protecting what matters easy. From home, to auto to renters insurance, explore all we have to offer.

www.encompassinsurance.com

Can You Use Dish Soap To Wash A Car? - Meineke Blog

A common question is: can you wash your car with dish soap? Just think about what dish soap is made for like removing grease and caked-on food.

resource-center.meineke.com

How to Wash Your Car - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports offers these car washing tips for the do-it-yourselfer to make the paint sparkle without scratching or degrading the finish.

www.consumerreports.org

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T USE DISH SOAP TO WASH YOUR CAR

I know what you’re thinking it's cheap it’s a timesaver and it’s right by your kitchen sink Why wouldn’t you use dish soap to wash your car?

www.turtlewax.com

Breaking Down the Car Wash Soap vs Dish Soap Debate

Pop quiz – when you buy shampoo for your hair, do you opt for the cheapest or one that is formulated for you? Well, funny enough, many car owners choose a soap for washing their car under the same criteria. Some choose the lowest price option, while others use car shampoos that are formulated...

avalonking.com

And many others. You can find anything to support any point of view on the Internet, it comes down to choices. Dish soap is not a choice I would make for routine washing. I would only use it to remove the previous coatings if I was going to change the type of coating and if I was going to evaluate the condition of the clear coat.