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Ways to wash your car using very
little water
It's essential to protect and preserve the general condition
of your car. So you shouldn't feel guilty about cleaning your
car, just do it with minimal water wastage and be sure to
comply with any water restrictions in your area. Here are some
ways to wash your car using very little water.
Your car is under attack!
Damaging elements such as industrial fallout, harsh road
grime, bird and insect droppings, tree sap and pollen, acid
rain and brake dust etc continually attack you car’s
paintwork, trim and wheels. So regular washing, combined
with periodic polishing and waxing, isn’t just for
appearance sake – it’s essential to protect and
preserve the general condition of your car.
Go slow on the H2O
 These days, everyone recognises water is a valuable and
scarce resource and the responsibility for conserving our
water supplies rests with all of us.
“Residential water use” accounts for more than
half of water consumption in urban areas. The easiest way
to reduce consumption at home is to minimise water wastage
and use more efficient appliances and equipment.
To put this in perspective, washing your car the right way,
say once a week, accounts for a relatively small amount of
water consumption compared to other activities around the
home. For example, a family of four taking daily showers
accounts for more than 4,000 litres a week, using the dishwasher
and washing machine regularly consumes around 600 litres
a week, and watering the garden during summer soaks up at
least 1000 litres a week.
So you shouldn’t feel guilty about cleaning your car,
just do it with minimal water wastage and be sure to comply
with any water restrictions in you area.
So how do you wash your car using very little water?
1. Watering Can
 It’s more time consuming and far less effective than
using a hose with nozzle or a high pressure washer, but it’s
the cheapest piece of equipment you’ll ever buy. It’s
also far less wasteful than throwing a bucket of water over
the car.
Average water consumption to clean a car: 50-60 litres.
2. High Pressure Cleaners
The greatest thing since sliced bread!
 High pressure cleaners are by far the most water efficient
devices available for washing your car. They not only use
at least 60% less water than a hose and nozzle, but the high
pressure action pre-cleans and rinses far more effectively
than mains pressure. Reputable brands are now relatively
affordable with basic models selling for around $100 or so.
On average, you will only use about 30 litres of water to
pre-clean and rinse your car. Always do the actual washing
using a wash mitt or sponge with a separate bucket of suds
and water.
There are severe water restrictions in parts of Australia,
particularly in Sydney and regional NSW, which prohibit connecting
a high pressure cleaner directly to a mains tap and insist
on using a bucket or watering can for washing your car. The
good news is that it's cheap and easy to convert your bucket
to feed water to a high pressure cleaner and therefore save
water and comply with such water restrictions. Alternatively,
we can supply you with a bucket already set up as below,
to hook straight up to your high pressure cleaner. Click
here to purchase.
1. Drill a 25mm diameter hole at the base of a large bucket
- 15 Litre size is best. (Fig 1)
2. Fit garden hose fitting with shut-off valve - available
from any good hardware supplier. (Fig 2)
3. Fill the bucket and place it in a position higher than
the machine, so the water will gravity feed. Attach snap-on
connector fittings to each end of a 1m length of garden hose,
and connect one end to the bucket. For the Lavor EKO machine,
we recommend a 3m length of garden hose. Open the shut-off
valve and ensure there is water flow, then connect to the
machine. (Fig 3)
4. Turn on the machine and wait for the high pressure water
flow to the lance and you’re set to go. Take note to
refill the bucket before the water level gets too low. (Fig
4)
Note: Not all high pressure cleaners are suitable to run
off a bucket. We have successfully tested a range of Karcher
machines as well as the Lavor EKO machine from Repco and
the Superworks machine from Super Cheap Auto. The manufacturers
of GMC, Gerni, and Kerrick machines have advised that they
are not designed to operate from a bucket. With any other
machines please check with the manufacturer first.
The best washing procedure
- Rinse car from top down to remove dust and loose dirt
particles.
- Pour Meguiar’s car wash concentrate into a clean
bucket and add water.
- Apply wash solution using a clean Meguiar’s Wash
Mitt or soft sponge, starting from the top surfaces and
working you way down the sides.
- Frequently run you fingers through wash mitt or squeeze
sponge while submerged to release any dirt particles.
- Rinse off suds before wash solution starts to dry on
surface.
- Spray Meguiar’s Wheel Cleaner onto one wheel at
a time. Agitate with a sponge or wheel brush if necessary
then rinse thoroughly.
- Wipe car dry with clean Meguiar’s Chamois.
- Wipe door jams & wheels dry with separate/old chamois.
Helpful Tips
- Wash your car in the shade, especially during summer
- Ensure paintwork and wheels are cool
- Try to wash your car once a week
- Dirt particles from the mitt/sponge sink to bottom of
the bucket, so don’t use last one third of wash solution
on your paintwork
Information and advice
The information contained on this page serves as a guide
only, and should not be used for commercial purposes.
Always check with your local authority for Water Restrictions
that may apply in your area. Here are some useful links:-
Sydney
Water Hunter
Water ACTEW Brisbane
City Council Gold
Coast Water
Melbourne
Water Yarra
Valley Water South
East Water City
West Water
SA
Water Water
Corporation of WA NT
Water Hobart
Water
Meguiar's have been the trusted experts in surface care
since 1901, being the preferred choice of leading car makers,
paint companies, professionals and enthusiasts around the
world. Please feel free to contact
us for any further information
or advice.
Can you wash your car using NO water at all? Click here to
find out... |
