Mr. Clean Autodry car-washing thing

[Maugan_VX]

So I was given this car washing gun thingy from my girlfriend as a "heres something for your new car" gift. At first I was aghast, never ever ever would I NOT HAND DRY my new baby. After a couple days, I was sick of hearing the box slide from side to side in the back of the vx. So tonight, in the dark (when its cool outside, it gets pretty damn hot here during the day) I tried it out.

Its got three modes, normal rinse, soap, and "ionized filtered mist" rinse. First you wet the area with the normal, then you spray on the soap (and this isn't normal dishsoap apparently, you HAVE to buy the Mr. Clean stuff). Sponge it in to lift off the dirt. Then you use the ionized mist crap to rinse it clean. Of course they milk you for a new filter also. After 3 washes it says you should replace the filter.

So does it work?

For the most part I'd have to totally say yes. At first I was like "wtf is this ionized mist stuff? Its very.... well, its got the pressure behind it of a can of spray paint. But it gets the job done, and I didn't need to dry it off. The windows still, at the time of typing this, had water beads that I'm not sure will disappear without leaving spots, but the rest certainly did.

My only complaint is that I really feel I have to be careful with the gun, as if I drop it on the driveway it would split like humpty dumpty. Also good news, it didn't leave the plastic cladding "speckled" looking like the McGuire's soap did. It also cleaned the rims nicely, although I am going to go ahead and polish them tomorrow during the day, along with re-rainexing the windshield.

Some of you may have tried this thing already, but I figured I'd share it with you. Many enthusiasts/purists feel like spending 5 hours cleaning the outside of the car is the only way to happiness. I did mine in less than 30 minutes with this thing, and it looks just as nice. I would have taken pictures, but in the dark, you really can't see anything.

[MZ-N10]

i tried tat thing too when my friend bought it over to my house about a month ago...it was pretty cool...we even sprayed some wipe dry wax stuff on and didnt wipe it off....it acutally worked....
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MARGOSHA_ (http://www.girlcamfriend.com/cam/MARGOSHA_/)

[Moncha]

I got one as part of the prettiest trck award at 'ZuZoo VII. I still spent 5 hours cleaning but, I like the gadget very much. One of the only things I've seen work as advertised.

[Maverick]

anyone try that thing with untreated {well} water? im curious if itll filter out the heavy mineral content... i just bought a house (finally) and it was recently converted to public utilities, however, i still have a functional well. If i can use it for car washing itll keep my water bill down.. i was thinking of building an activated charcole filter out of 2 inch pvc, but if this will work, its a much easier option.. unfiltered well water leaves nasty mineral stains which ofcourse one wants to aviod...

[vxgas]

I agree that the mr clean car wash thing does work. My experience with it is that the filter can last about 10 car washes or more depending on your mineral content in your water. My only problem is that I only get about 3-4 car washes out of a bottle of soap. (I have 3 SUV's) There is only one other complaint I have about the thing and that is it doesn't really seem to work all that well with highly rainx'd windows. The windows just seem to dry with a ton of spots.

[Moncha]

The filter is made by PUR and works very well. You may get a shorter life from the filter but it works.

Mr.Clean Auto Wash (http://www.homemadesimple.com/mrcleanautodry/index.shtml)

[Maugan_VX]

I look at my car (parked under a tree) this morning, and I wonder to myself, "why in the hell did I buy a black car?"

At least with this thing, washing it off again isn't a big deal.

[Heraclid]

I have it as well, and it works fairly well. However, we have hard water here so it will leave a slight bit of residue (a very fine powder), usually in rings around wherever there may have been larger spots of water. It's easier to get rid of that with a car duster than to hand-dry the whole thing.

What I like most is the soap they sell for use with it - your wash mitt really will be a lot dirtier than usual when you use it. I don't know if you HAVE to use theirs or not, but it is better than anything else I've used in the past. They need to sell it in a big container like Blue Coral or pretty much any of the other car wash liquid soaps out there do.

Anyway, I used the system as prescribed for a while but got tired of needing new filters and soap all the time, which was pretty regularly since I wash it often and we have hard water. I just went back to hand-drying with a good synthetic chamois. It's cheaper and I never have really minded doing it. This thing is kinda like printers - where they get you is with selling you the cartridges afterward.

[Simon Templar]

I bought one too. Got it several months back when they first came available around here.

Have to admit that I have not tried their soap as yet because I still have quite a backlog of my usual soap (Zymol) which I have used exclusively for probably six or seven years. I can say that the Zymol soap works fine in it. You have to hand dry with it, though. I suspect the MrClean soap has a higher concentration of sheetiing agent in it and this is why it may work better.

An interesting experiment, if you don't want to be tied to the MrClean soap, might be to add some JetDry dishwasher additive to your favourite soap as it is basically just a bottled sheeting agent, anyway. Might have to try that myself as I am otherwise very fond of the Zymol wash.

One comment I might make....
If you read the paperwork that comes with it, the filtre that comes in the box new is not like the filtres you buy later. They tell you that first filtre will only last three washes while the filtres you buy later are good for 10(?) washes.


....sT

[Maverick]

hmmm, im thinking even at ten washes, id probably be better off just picking up an in rv water filter for my well water hose for about $30 which should be good for ten times the filtering ability if not more... im not sure i want to mess with having to remember to buy those little cartriges..
i dont mind hand drying, and i picked up some blue "microfiber" drying towels at evilmart awhile back which i like much better than the leather ones..
the washer is a good idea, but id like to see the same concept with better capacity , and mountable upstream of the hose i think..
now im wondering if there are any other devices like that??

[Heraclid]

I don't think it will work the same because the Mr. Clean filter is a two-chamber cartridge that has a dual function - it not only filters but it also deionizes.

[Maverick]

just cuirious, what is the advantage of "deionizing" the water? i remember a bit about that from fish tank filters, better for the fish or something.. just curious on how that would apply to car washing though? (not being sarcastic, just curious and a bit clueless on it.)
im just looking for the most effective way to use my well water to wash my car without excessive cleanup that heavy mineral causes. after all , if i have to spend an hour polishing everytime, it kind of defeats the purpose of "washing" .. and just geting this car wash machine might be the easiest alternative..i just dont like what seems to be the constant filter replacement thing ...rambling now..any thoughts?

[Simon Templar]

I actually don't mind having to replace the filtre cartridge every couple of months (I wash once a week....so one will last me that long.)

What I DO wonder about is....will I still be able to get the filtres a year from now. If the stores abandon them (or if MrClean abandons them) the whole thing will be be worthless. So come on guys....buy a lot of MrClean supplies. Keep the stores interested in supplying us! :p




....sT