Living in Southern California during the worst drought the U.S. has ever seen is no walk in the park. You have to get creative about how to save water - something I almost never had to worry about growing up in the rain-drenched North East.
Well, I have stopped going to car washes, but have found a faster, cheaper, and totally environmental friendly way to wash your car. The dew wash!
So here's the drill:
- make sure you have two or three of those micro fiber mitts (see above)
- get up between sunrise and before the dew has evaporated from your car's surface
- use the mitts to remove the dew and collected dirt/dust/detritus from your car.
For this third step, I do it in two stages: 1) I use one mitt (you'll need two if you have a van or a truck) to get off the majority of the dew and dirt, and then 2) I use another mitt to get off the last bits of dirt and to fully dry the vehicle.
It takes only 5-7 minutes to wash your car from top to bottom, you didn't have to fill up a bucket of suds, drag out your hose, schlep to a car wash, pay a damn dime, save for the mitts, which will last you like forever!
The only downside is that it looks like you went to the car wash a half a week ago. Well, isn't that better, anyway? Instead of dropping a whole load of cash getting your car sparkling clean, only having the consternation of seeing your car all dingy less than a week later, you get your car quite presentable even if it's not sparkling in no time at all! Plus, if you get a decal from LA Waterkeepers saying you are going dirty for the drought, you have a badge of honor that will ensure that "no one" will look askance at your less than perfect shine! A win-win-win-win!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What is a cheap way to wash a car?
By Brian Lewis from Wonthaggi, Victoria, AU
We wash them at home, with a bucket and dish soap. We rinse with the hose, but keep the hose off when not in use.
I read about this tip; use a tank sprayer (like for bug spraying). The fellow said he filled it with water, wet down the car, I don't think he even used soap.
Old fashioned type here. I use water and soap and sponges. Why not? It's kills 99% of germs, I use this idea throughout my whole house with hot water. Why not kills 99% of germs. Be frugal. Why not settle for something everyone once used. A little bit of bleach in the toilet and tough stains, and rubbing alcohol for the mirrors, a little bit in luke warm water. If your hands are sensitive I suggest using gloves.
This is how I clean. Oh, soon I'm going to start buying sponges and rags instead of paper towels. I'm cheap lately. Good for the economical times.