Waterless Car Wash, Anyone?

Want to clean your car in any place -- even inside your extremely small garage or office parking lot?

Ever wished you could wash your vehicle without wasting around 80 to 140 gallons of water -- or 40 gallons when you have it cleaned elsewhere?

Are you the type who loves the environment and is into biodegradable (or even organic-made) products?

And do you hate those unattractive swirls and marks when your car's all dried out?

If you answered yes to many or all these questions, then you should try a waterless car wash.

What's a waterless car wash?

Simply put, a waterless car wash cleans your car without water. Instead, it uses a pre-mixed spray detailer that you wipe on your vehicle's surface.

This term can be a bit misleading, though, since there are times when you do need to use water, such as pre-rinsing a very dirty car. Still, it only uses a small amount compared to traditional car washes. Generally speaking, two to four small buckets of water are used even when you're not rinsing your vehicle. And you use them solely to clean your microfiber towels after use.

Why should you try a waterless car wash?

Aside from the benefits we've given earlier, we'd like to add that a waterless car wash is generally more economical not just for your water bill, but also for your auto expenses, as well.

When done correctly and efficiently, it only uses less than 15 ml of car wash detailer, and around 5 ml of tire and glass cleaners per vehicle. And you can re-use them for three to six times more, depending on your cleaning preferences.

But can you really clean a car without water?

Yes, you can -- and you can clean it just as well (or even better in some cases) compared to the traditional car wash with suds.

When done in a systematic way, it can even be faster -- around 30 minutes to an hour, tops.

What's more, many waterless car wash formulations leave special protective layers that not only seal your car's shine, but also prevent dirt from sticking fast on your vehicle.

How to do a waterless car wash

Basically, all you need are two things:

• 2 or more microfiber towels for wiping
• A ready-to-use waterless car wash product / formulation

Step 1:

Get your microfiber towel and fold it in half -- twice. This way, you will have 8 workable sides to use as you go along cleaning small portions of your vehicle.

Simply unfold the cloth when one side gets dirty, and use the cleaner side when you're doing your wash. The idea here is to use as many clean sides as you can so you get the most of your microfiber towel. This saves you from buying more in the long run.

Step 2:

Look at your car and mentally divide it into small panels or sections. This can include:

• The hood
• The trunk
• The rear bumper
• The front bumper and grille
• The tires
• The lower part of the side doors
• The upper part of the side doors
• The roof
• The front windshield
• The side glass doors
• The rear windshield

Step 3:

Spritz at least three times for each panel / section you're cleaning. Add more when necessary.

Step 4:

Don't use a circular motion when wiping  the car. Use only one direction, such as from top to bottom or from left to right. Avoid applying too much pressure when wiping -- moderate pressure is enough for the formulations to work.

And that's it -- you're done already. All you need to do now is rinse out all the microfiber towels you used up earlier, and you're good to go.

Important Tips to Remember:

• Clean your car section-by-section, making sure to start from top to bottom. If your car is excessively dirty and muddy, rinse it off first with water to loosen the hardened dirt. You can follow it up with the waterless car wash solution.
• You can use a coco brush or a soft-bristle brush when cleaning your tire and rim.
• You may want to use one microfiber cloth for each important section you're working on to reduce chances of dirt transferring to other areas. Or you can use it again, but make sure to wash it thoroughly first.