Hosepipe ban

[First_Lexus]

I live in the Thames Water area, with a hosepipe ban in force from today. The prospect of washing a car as big as the RX without use of my pressure washer isn’t something I’m looking forward to!

I’m thinking the best option may be to use an APC as a first stage, rinsed off with a watering can, then washed as normal after that. Does anybody have any other ideas?

 

[javadude]

I had to google APC! https://www.detailingwiki.org/detailing-miscellaneous/purpose-cleaner-apc/?quad_cc Sounds like you'd need to wax afterwards?

[Malc]

I'm thinking a commercial car wash business might be Exempt should you be prepared to pay during this temporary ( hopes ) hiccup

Malc

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, First_Lexus said:

I live in the Thames Water area, with a hosepipe ban in force from today. The prospect of washing a car as big as the RX without use of my pressure washer isn’t something I’m looking forward to!

I’m thinking the best option may be to use an APC as a first stage, rinsed off with a watering can, then washed as normal after that. Does anybody have any other ideas?

 

You can still fill a bucket and wash the car with a mitt and rinse down with a watering can. So theoretically you just need a pump sprayer if you want to bother using snow foam / prewash and the rest of the process should be the same bar the watering can to rinse.

 

[Herbie]

2 hours ago, First_Lexus said:

The prospect of washing a car as big as the RX without use of my pressure washer isn’t something I’m looking forward to!

You can still use the pressure washer, just put the water in a bucket and then dip the inlet hose of the pressure washer into it.

They actually use surprisingly little water but because of the pressure it comes out at, we tend to think they're using gallons.

Plenty YouTube videos here.

[javadude]

53 minutes ago, Herbie said:

You can still use the pressure washer, just put the water in a bucket and then dip the inlet hose of the pressure washer into it.

They actually use surprisingly little water but because of the pressure it comes out at, we tend to think they're using gallons.

Plenty YouTube videos here.

Really useful tip, thanks. Shame my 1000 litres of water barrels are currently empty though cause it would be great to run it off that 😞

[dutchie01]

Just dont wash it at all. It will gather dust but as we all know there will be loads of rain around the corner.

[First_Lexus]

6 hours ago, javadude said:

I had to google APC! https://www.detailingwiki.org/detailing-miscellaneous/purpose-cleaner-apc/?quad_cc Sounds like you'd need to wax afterwards?

Properly diluted it will be fine - my car has a professionally applied ceramic coat, so a weak APC spray should act to loosen dirt, that was my thinking.

 

6 hours ago, Malc said:

I'm thinking a commercial car wash business might be Exempt should you be prepared to pay during this temporary ( hopes ) hiccup

Malc

^^ I was wondering about a garage with a jet wash, but can’t find one nearby. Bit of a pain!

 

4 hours ago, Herbie said:

You can still use the pressure washer, just put the water in a bucket and then dip the inlet hose of the pressure washer into it.

They actually use surprisingly little water but because of the pressure it comes out at, we tend to think they're using gallons.

Plenty YouTube videos here.

^^ That I did not know, will investigate! 

Thanks all. I do only wash the car about once a month, but it seems so big to rinse with a watering can at both ends of the process. Ho hum. At least it’ll keep me fit I suppose!

[Las Palmas]

Here the water in our tabs is desalted sea water.

Problem is that it is getting expensive.

In Israel they water fields with sea water (source: CNN) so desalting may not be needed.

Here on the beach palms grow fine on the beach few metres from the sea; and maybe if growing potatoes in sea water you can boil them in less salt.

The places where we get our car washed, the water is for sure reused (does not smell nice) ,and as far as I know they are still working.

 

[Bluemarlin]

I'm the Thames water area too, and it's chucking it down this morning.

Personally, with a ceramic coating I wouldn't bother washing until things were back to normal, and would enjoy the break instead:)

That said, I'm not a fan of pressure washers as my last car had problems with the clear coat peeling. Granted,  it was getting on a bit, but I'm sure the regular pressure  washing didn't help. In any case I've found that, with a ceramic (graphene) coating, snow foam and a bucket and sponge is all it takes to get it clean.

[ALAW]

The Ban starts Friday 26th here in Yorkshire. I gave mine and the daughters a clean today last one before ban starts. That'll be it for me until ban lifted. Like @dutchie says it rain and was dust off. We had a bit today.. On another note I must have misunderstood the rules I didn't think you were allowed to wash the car whether it was a hosepipe or bucket.

[First_Lexus]

I finally cleaned the RX today - last clean was 31st July. The ceramic coating does help matters, but I didn’t find it too bad without my hosepipe or pressure washer.

I did apply a 1:20 dilution APC prior, then used lots of watering can loads to remove as much grit and dirt as possible. I then washed using my wool mitt - two buckets and plenty of water used - dried, and applied a quick detailer before dressing the plastics and tyres to finish.

The end result is very good, albeit took a bit longer to achieve.

Biggest issue is all the ‘nooks and crannies’ that snow foam and a pressure washer deal with effortlessly. The wheel arches and underside will need to be done periodically too, once I find a garage within 10 miles with a working pressure washer!

As I sometimes do, I chose to use a product that I haven’t used for a while for the final dressing - Bilt-Hamber Auto QD. I’d normally use GTechniq c2v3 or CarPro for that, but I have to say the BH has given a lovely glossy finish. Always worth re-visiting those products that have been on the shelf and unloved for a while…

[NemesisUK]

I use this when a hosepipe isn't available or allowed. Just a single bucket of water and a good supply of microfibre clothes. No hassle and leaves a great finish that I sometimes top off with Meg's spray synthetic wax, or even just Meg's Last Touch.

 

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/meguiars-rinse-free-express-wash

 

[Bluemarlin]

From what I read recently, it seems that the Thames Water hosepipe ban may continue until the new year. That being the case I thought I'd look for an alternative solution.

I'm not a fan of overly powerful pressure washers for car washing, but I picked up one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09YRLG17T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

On a quick test, it's not as powerful as a mains pressure washer, but certainly a lot more powerful than a hose, and plenty good enough to wash a car.

It has a longish hose that lets you draw water from a bucket or other water source, or it has an attachment that allows you to fit a 2 or 3 ltr drinks bottles to it, as well as a foam bottle. If the weather's ok I might give it a try over the next week or so.

[Andy B]

On 10/3/2022 at 6:39 PM, Bluemarlin said:

From what I read recently, it seems that the Thames Water hosepipe ban may continue until the new year. That being the case I thought I'd look for an alternative solution.

I'm not a fan of overly powerful pressure washers for car washing, but I picked up one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09YRLG17T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

On a quick test, it's not as powerful as a mains pressure washer, but certainly a lot more powerful than a hose, and plenty good enough to wash a car.

It has a longish hose that lets you draw water from a bucket or other water source, or it has an attachment that allows you to fit a 2 or 3 ltr drinks bottles to it, as well as a foam bottle. If the weather's ok I might give it a try over the next week or so.

Hi Bill, I'm thinking of getting one of these so would be interested to hear what you think of it once you've had a chance to use it.

[Bluemarlin]

Hi Andy, I used it to wash the car at the weekend and it was great. It has a jet and fan spray attachments for the lance, as well as a multifunction nozzle, and all seemed to work well.

It was quite powerful for a Battery unit, and more than enough to do the job. The little foam bottle was adequate to snow foam the car, and then I rinsed off. It worked well with both a 3 litre drinks bottle, or drawing water from a 25 litre bucket. One bucket was more than enough for my snow foaming and rinsing, and Battery life seemed plenty (I got the 4ah version).

Obviously I can't comment on durability, as I've only used it once, but performance-wise I'm really pleased with it, and will probably use it instead of a hose from now on. Definitely glad I bought it.

[Andy B]

Hi Bill.

Thank you very much indeed for your response - very comprehensive and helpful.

Based on your feedback I think I'll order one for myself.

Thanks again - it's much appreciated.

[Bluemarlin]

You're welcome Andy. Hope you find it as useful as I did.

[Andy B]

Just an update on this.....

My unit arrived this week so I gave it a runout on my NX and was happy with it's performance. Admittedly (and understandably) it's not as powerful as a mains pressure washer - the power of the stream of water being only slightly better than what you might get from a hose - but it was sufficient for my purposes.

What I most like about it is the foam pot attachment (for adding shampoo or snow foam into the mix) and the fact that I can use it whilst the hosepipe ban is in force - although, like Bill, I'll probably use it instead of a hose from now on anyway. Washing the car from start to finish used 1 and a half (standard size) bucketful's.

Not sure about the durability\longevity of it but I believe it's from China so who knows 😕