Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Eco friendly waterless car wash products/services

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.

mdh

VIN 2747 P4679
Jul 30, 2012
128
0
Saratoga,CA
The Menlo Park store is recommending Eco Green Auto Clean - Media in Redwood City. They also sell products for the home.

Cherry.com (out of biz... biz model?) used a similar process and I found their results rather amazing and my previous car was black. I am seeing more and more similar products hitting the market. It just seems too good to be true? Wondering if there are ramifications to the paint, etc?

Any thoughts?
 
The Menlo Park store is recommending Eco Green Auto Clean - Media in Redwood City. They also sell products for the home.

Cherry.com (out of biz... biz model?) used a similar process and I found their results rather amazing and my previous car was black. I am seeing more and more similar products hitting the market. It just seems too good to be true? Wondering if there are ramifications to the paint, etc?

Any thoughts?

I have also been looking for a product like this and share your same concerns. Any reviews out there?
 
Used Griot's this weekend on our lovely. Hadn't been washed in two months and over 2000 miles.

Went pretty fast, used a couple of beach towels and didn't bother cleaning the pano. Threw the towels in the wash after was done and line dried them.
 
Used Griot's this weekend on our lovely. Hadn't been washed in two months and over 2000 miles.

Went pretty fast, used a couple of beach towels and didn't bother cleaning the pano. Threw the towels in the wash after was done and line dried them.

Thanks for sharing. Any worry about it having a negative impact on the paint? Have you used this on previous cars before?
 
Thanks for sharing. Any worry about it having a negative impact on the paint? Have you used this on previous cars before?
First time using it ever. I was more worried about scratching the paint with grit, but stuff seemed to work fine -- wipe off the grit with fresh bit of cloth, polish with another fresh bit of cloth then wipe next bit of grit, polish, etc. Tried with microfiber mittens that worked well keeping the windshield free of crud that would collect fog too, those worked fine but I soon ran out of clean material so that's why the beach towels were used for majority of the car.

The wheels really look great too.
 
The Eco Green product is in a category of "waterless" washing. It does use some water (it's a spray), but not in the usual hose and bucket method. There's a lot of choices out there from Ultima Waterless Wash Plus, DP waterless auto wash, Optimum Opti-Clean, Chemical Guys EcoSmart, and so on. Typically waterless washing should be used when the car is not too dirty. You should also use multiple microfiber towels to prevent spreading dirt from panel to panel.

If you car is dirtier from several weeks of not washing it, you should either do a power wash (touchless) or you could also do a "rinseless" wash, which is in between a waterless wash and a traditional wash. Lots of choices in rinseless as well Optimum No Rinse, Duragloss Rinseless wash with Aquawax, and others.

You can always shop at online stores from

http://www.autogeek.net

http://www.detailersdomain.com
http://detailedimage.com
http://autodetailingsolutions.com
http://griotsgarage.com
 
It just seems odd to take a dirty car and wipe and lift the dirt. I don't see how it does not scratch a car... BTW, I had it done to one of my cars via Cherry.com (when they were still around) and they did an amazing job. Somehow it works. Their claim is that a typical hose wash does not really life off the dirt. You have to scrub it off with a spong and soup.
 
The Menlo Park store is recommending Eco Green Auto Clean - Media in Redwood City. They also sell products for the home.

Cherry.com (out of biz... biz model?) used a similar process and I found their results rather amazing and my previous car was black. I am seeing more and more similar products hitting the market. It just seems too good to be true? Wondering if there are ramifications to the paint, etc?

Any thoughts?

I just tried EcoGreenAuto in Redwood City... great job... ask for the owner, Anton. Looks like a very simple process. Picked up a home kit.
 
It just seems odd to take a dirty car and wipe and lift the dirt. I don't see how it does not scratch a car... BTW, I had it done to one of my cars via Cherry.com (when they were still around) and they did an amazing job. Somehow it works. Their claim is that a typical hose wash does not really life off the dirt. You have to scrub it off with a spong and soup.

Modern polymers work great to "lift" the dirt off the paint. A microfiber towel will pick up the liquid and embed the dirt within the microfiber.

The key is using clean microfiber cloths that are free of debri that might mar the paint. I have stacks of microfiber towels and even wind can embed debri from one of my nearby trees into the microfiber. It's a PITA the get all the little bits out of the fibers.

Waterless wash can scratch the paint using bad technique, not enough product, too dirty of a car, not enough towels, etc. It's a good method given the right circumstances. Scratches may not be apparent after the first few washes, but over time, fine swirls could develop. If the car is really dirty go to a place that has a power washer and wash off the large particles, salt, road mud, first then do a waterless or rinseless wash.
 
Waterless car wash is not the safest approach at all. It is not the product itself that is bad it is the method. It is very likely no mater how careful you are that you will scratch the finish. A proper wash always starts by rinsing away as many particles as possible. Additionally, you are always better off washing with a proper soft wash brush versus a MIT or a towel. The individual fibers have less surface contact and can not grind in stubborn debris. As debris comes free they fall up into the fibers and get rinsed away as the brush is dunked in the bucket.

Waterless washes are ok for a car in a showroom that has a small amount of dust on them. If there is any real grime you will definitely mar your finish.

Just my professional two cents.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Waterless car wash is not the safest approach at all. It is not the product itself that is bad it is the method. It is very likely no mater how careful you are that you will scratch the finish. A proper wash always starts by rinsing away as many particles as possible. Additionally, you are always better off washing with a proper soft wash brush versus a MIT or a towel. The individual fibers have less surface contact and can not grind in stubborn debris. As debris comes free they fall up into the fibers and get rinsed away as the brush is dunked in the bucket.

Waterless washes are ok for a car in a showroom that has a small amount of dust on them. If there is any real grime you will definitely mar your finish.
I think the challenge is that in the West, water is scarce and thus the use of water to wash cars is regulated. As an East Coast person myself, the idea of waterless washes seems improbable and suboptimal.
 
I think the challenge is that in the West, water is scarce and thus the use of water to wash cars is regulated. As an East Coast person myself, the idea of waterless washes seems improbable and suboptimal.

I thought as much when I moved from Maryland to Washington 10 years ago. A couple of winters washing the Audi in the garage with Optimum No Rinse disabused me of that. Nary a single scratch or swirl. Stuff is magic.
 
I used to frequent a few detailing forums regularly, and I recall the appearance of Optimum No Rinse as well, and people couldn't believe how well it worked. We have plentiful water where I am so I stick to "traditional" cleaning methods involving water (and two buckets). However, based on the experience of others on those forums I would say Optimum No Rinse is a great product, although I haven't tried it myself.

Charlie -