Mr.Clean Autodry carwash substitute

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

farang

Joined
Aug 20, 2004
Messages
122
Location
Los Angeles, California
The product although worked but it is very costly to refill, replace soap/filter.

I searched some where on the net regarding Mr. Clean carwash and some people suggest use JetDry instead. I even found 2-3 post on this board about it.

Have anyone actually TRIED it? How do you like it? What ratio of soap, Jetdry or method did you use?

My old trick: wash the car with Zymol carwash (cheap stuff, $3 for a gallon), use a 4hp leaf blower with narrow nozzle (to get up to 185mph) to "assist" the water. Finish with a terry cloth.

[ September 16, 2004, 09:10 PM: Message edited by: farang ]
 
I haven't used mine enough to consume all the soap that came with it. The way the dirt tenaciously clings to the wash rag worries me. I'm afraid of scratching the car while washing it.

I like the leaf blower trick, though. I'll probably try that next time.
 
I fire up my backpack blower after washing the truck and the car and in about ten minutes both cars are 95% dry,quick rub down and you are done...Guys forget the Mr Clean,heck you gotta do leaves every fall anyway,(most of us anyway),kill two birds with one stone....
 
After you're done washing and rinsing your car, take the nozzle off the hose and rinse it one more time with a flow of water. On a well waxed car this will sheet off 85% of the water. Then use a large micro-fiber towel and finish drying the car. Quickly dry and no scratches.
 
I love the Mr. Clean car wash but I do put like a table spoon of clean car wash in a bucket and swish the mitt everyonce and a while though and have to problem of dirt clinging to the mitt. I do wish filter and wash was more affordable. I still use my Blue Coral Wash and Wax the stuff that has the wax already in it. I like that more. But for a quick car wash you can't beat the no spots and awesome results the Mr. Clean gives out.
 
I like the AutoDry also but in the year and a half I've been using it, I have modified the procedure quite a bit.

I don't use Mr. Clean's soap at all. Also, I don't like to wash my car with any high pressure water so I really use the AutoDry for a final drying rinse.

This is what I have:

Two buckets - one with water and the other with water/car soap

A low pressure gardening nozzle

Mr. Clean AutoDry device

A 3 foot lenght of garden hose with no nozzle at the end (this is actually a short section cut off from an old garden hose that burst)

I start my wash by rinsing the car with the low pressure gardening nozzle. This wets the car and leaves water beading so it stays wet while I wash.

I wash using the two bucket method (rinsing my mitt in the water bucket before re-soaping it).

I then rinse the car with a no nozzle flood of water to sheet most of the water off.

I then use the AutoDry for a final drying rinse.

An hour to two hours later I have a perfectly dry and spotless car.

Edit to add: I'm using 3 differnt devices on my hose so I use quick connect couplers and a shut off valve at the end of the garden hose.
 
This weekend, I decided to experiment. Saturday, I mixed up a 50/50 solution of Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Wash & water and put it in the Mr. Clean tank. It worked fine. Not great suds but almost as good as Mr. Clean's soap.

Sunday I put undiluted Deep Crystal in the tank and used ot to wash our other car. This gave better suds than Mr' Clean soap and did not clog the device. Also, the car dried without spots.

Before I use Mr. Clean again, the soap might dry and clog the nozzle but I'll report back if it does.
 
You can usually get good deals on packs of the filters and soap at places like Walmart, so I've never been too concerned with finding a replacement soap. If money becomes a concern, I'll probably simply cease using the device altogether.

I've found that the regular rinse setting is not too strong unless you're using it point blank. The upgraded unit has a higher pressure setting which I don't really use, but it doesn't replace the regular unfiltered spray. Also, I don't use the mitt that came with the kit, I get better ones at my work. Even if my mitt DOES become dirty... I've got the Mr. Clean unit right next to me (or more often, right in my other hand). I can rinse the mitt off quickly, maybe throw some soapy water on it too. I do the car in sections so as to not have any soap dry, and then do the final rinse. Does an excellent job every time.

Anyway, I'll second using good brass quick couplers. They make anything involving hoses and nozzles simpler.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Cadude:
This weekend, I decided to experiment. Saturday, I mixed up a 50/50 solution of Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Wash & water and put it in the Mr. Clean tank. It worked fine. Not great suds but almost as good as Mr. Clean's soap.

Sunday I put undiluted Deep Crystal in the tank and used ot to wash our other car. This gave better suds than Mr' Clean soap and did not clog the device. Also, the car dried without spots.

Before I use Mr. Clean again, the soap might dry and clog the nozzle but I'll report back if it does.
Click to expand...
it 's interesting to see some tests to substitue the autodry soap. Maybe rinse with water will help not to clog the nozzle. What i 'm saying is to drain the mixture out of the tank,fill in with water and spray for a few rounds.
 
quote:
Originally posted by jie:

quote:
Originally posted by Cadude:
This weekend, I decided to experiment. Saturday, I mixed up a 50/50 solution of Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Wash & water and put it in the Mr. Clean tank. It worked fine. Not great suds but almost as good as Mr. Clean's soap.

Sunday I put undiluted Deep Crystal in the tank and used ot to wash our other car. This gave better suds than Mr' Clean soap and did not clog the device. Also, the car dried without spots.

Before I use Mr. Clean again, the soap might dry and clog the nozzle but I'll report back if it does.
Click to expand...
it 's interesting to see some tests to substitue the autodry soap. Maybe rinse with water will help not to clog the nozzle. What i 'm saying is to drain the mixture out of the tank,fill in with water and spray for a few rounds.
Click to expand...
That is exactly what I did after I used it Saturday. But, on Sunday I decided to push the experiment an extra level. So, we'll see.
 
I just read on the Meguiar's forum that some posters there use Meguiar's NXT Car Wash in the AutoDry tank. That soap is really thick. If it doesn't clog the AutoDry, I can't imagine any soap that will.

However as I experienced with Deep Crystal, they are also disappointed with the limited suds created. I feel the limited suds are a by-product of the AutoDry's design, not the soap because I've always gotten great suds from NXT and Deep Crystal in a bucket. I'd love to come up with a modification to the AutoDry that would make it produce more suds.
 
Does the autodry thing have a filter in the handle? that would remove most deposits in the water that cause spotting.

Couldn't we adapt a "Brita" filter to a hose instead for a cheap version?
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gotrek:
Does the autodry thing have a filter in the handle? that would remove most deposits in the water that cause spotting.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's the primary basis for their claims. Although, the soap comes off pretty easily and I imagine that helps.
quote:
Originally posted by Gotrek:
Couldn't we adapt a "Brita" filter to a hose instead for a cheap version?
Click to expand...
The Autodry unit also has regular rinse and soap spraying settings in it, so its more than just a water filter. But I suppose you could rig together a filtered-rinse sprayer. You'd have to find a really restrictive nozzle, as the filters really cut flow down.

Would that really save you any money on filters, though? Or just allow you to build a filtering sprayer rather than buy the Autodry unit?
 
I think the Mr. Clean thing uses either a water softener or demineralizer to eliminate spots. Substituting a Brita filter would not be the same thing, I think it is a carbon type filter to take out things that affect taste, not the minerals that leave spots...... The Mr. C thing would remove dissolved solids, such as calcium, magnesium, etc. Being dissolved solids they are not removed by a regular filter.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Cadude:
Before I use Mr. Clean again, the soap might dry and clog the nozzle but I'll report back if it does.
Click to expand...
I used the Mr. Clean this morning again with Deep Crystal. Still no clogging and again spot free wash job resulted.
 
I guess weather conditions play a factor in how well a car dries. Sunday morning I once again washed my car with Deep Crystal in the tank. It took about 3 hours to dry and was covered in spots.

It had taken a long time in previous washes with Deep Crystal but I did not notice any spots. But yesterday it was bad.

Anyway, I poured the Deep Crystal out of the tank, and washed with Mr. Clean's soap. Within an hour the car was dry without spots. This was using the same filter and it was even hotter with less shade so I'd say the Mr. Clean soap is very instrumental in getting a spot-free car and it dries quicker.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Cadude:
I guess weather conditions play a factor in how well a car dries. Sunday morning I once again washed my car with Deep Crystal in the tank. It took about 3 hours to dry and was covered in spots.

It had taken a long time in previous washes with Deep Crystal but I did not notice any spots. But yesterday it was bad.

Anyway, I poured the Deep Crystal out of the tank, and washed with Mr. Clean's soap. Within an hour the car was dry without spots. This was using the same filter and it was even hotter with less shade so I'd say the Mr. Clean soap is very instrumental in getting a spot-free car and it dries quicker.
Click to expand...
I'd rather have clogging than spots! Thanks for the info, Cadude.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top