Clean a car without water? Really?
Chris Hogan, 4th April 2016, Motor
We've just been hearing about these new car washing products that don't need water. It sounds like a great idea - good for the environment, less mess and faster. Is it all too good to be true?
The advantage of these products - for example Meguiars Ultimate Wash & Wax Anywhere - is that you don't have to use water to clean the car or rinse them off, making the whole process much quicker and easier.
In fact, rinsing would wash off the protective layer - these products contain polymers that bond to the paint and protect it while you're washing and afterwards.
What's it like?
They are designed to be used with micro-fibre cloths, which are often sold with the bottle. With a product like Meguiars you spray the fluid onto one panel at a time. You then lightly wipe over the panel before spraying the next one.
According to reviews and comments in online forums the results are very, very good, particularly as people are understandably sceptical at first. Online reviews are nearly all four and five stars.
To quote one review for Meguiars: "It works just as well on the glass, plastic trim and wheels giving a great streak free shine on all surfaces."
Spray bottle products
Meguiars comes in a spray bottle and outlets like Halfords stock many similar products, including Turtle Wax Waterless Wash. Using a spray bottle is far easier than a hose or bucket, particularly if you live in a flat or have on-street parking.
Looking at the reviews the sprays also seem to be very good for spot cleaning, particularly things like tree sap and bird muck, as well as washing whole cars.
Eco-credentials
As well as not needing to rinse, you'll use a lot less water than a traditional shampoo. In fact, you use none for the actual cleaning, it's only washing the micro-fibre cloths afterwards that uses any water.
There are also slightly different versions, like Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine, which are similar but use one bucket of water.
You make up a solution with one fluid ounce the bucket then dunk a microfibre towel in it. Use the towel to wipe one panel, then dunk it again. Continue like that until you're finished, then dry the car with another towel.
That's still a lot less water than traditional washing and, even better, the waste water can safely be emptied over a garden or down the drain, without fear of causing an environmental catastrophe.
Good value
It seems expensive at £15-£20 for a 32oz bottle (just under a litre - these are mostly American products) but you only need to put one fluid ounce into a bucket with around one-and-a-half gallons of water. So if you used it weekly a bottle would last three months.
The spray bottle manufacturers reckon that a 750ml bottle will do up to five cars, so that's not as economical but it's a whole lot more convenient. You could even keep a bottle in the boot to get at insect and bird muck deposits before they harden.
It's not magic
The manufacturers of these products warn that very dirty cars need to be washed in a traditional way and that makes sense - we suspect that the no-water method would drag grit across the panels and result in scratches. They specifically mention areas around sills and wheel arches - these products won't remove dried-on mud.
But giving a car a proper wash once in a while, then using no-water products once every one or two weeks seems like an excellent way of keeping a car clean with minimal effort.
According to what we're seeing in forums people are using them on caravans, motorhomes and boats too - although it would be wise to check by cleaning a small, out-of-the-way area first, just in case.
Have you tried this?
These products have been around for about five years and, like many people, we haven't tried them because we were a bit sceptical.
But what about you? Have you used them?
Drop us a line at insurance@cetamail.com and let us know what you think - good or bad we'd love to hear from you.
