Portable Washing System

 

 

 

I don't like a dirty car. I don't care what people say when they see me washing my car even if it looks clean to them. During the last drive, this was one of the problem I faced. Luckily, when we were in Phuket, we were able to find a reasonably good car wash but I have never really liked my car to be washed by anybody else except myself. Anyway, this problem got me thinking for a solution. A search on the internet actually came up with many alternatives. The system I was looking for should be light (so that it does not add weight to the car), compact (so that it does not take up space) and reliable. The type that runs on 12V car battery was considered but I figured its better not to tap battery power because I don't want to end up with a clean car but a dead battery. That would really be silly.

So, I settled for the manual pressure sprayer. They are cheap, reliable, light, compact and almost indestructible. I bought a 2, 5 and 8 litres sprayer for different application. The 2 litres sprayer is for small jobs eg. clearing up the mess around the rear windscreen and boot area. The 5 litres sprayer is for a complete clean-up job for the Swift. The 8 litres sprayer is for home use or for Daisy since she has a bigger boot space. Don't be too quick to pass judgement on these pressure sprayers. They may not give you the pressure like the electrical high pressure jet washers but they work well enough to provide enough water to do a proper wash. They also provide a continuous flow of water so you are not wiping the car 'dry'. This prevents or at least minimised the chances of scratching the paint job. I had the wand shortened so that it is easier to work with and only need to top up the bigger sprayers with water when I need to but keep the 2 litres sprayer filled. I also make it a habit to carry water to fill the radiator or other purposes and the sprayer doubles up for the job.

I experimented with them on the Isuzu truck. Unlike a conventional wash, you don't need to hose down the car. I filled up the 8 litres sprayer and added car shampoo. A few pumps of the handle and voila, believe it or now, I have foam coming out from the nozzle. I sprayed the whole car with the foam. By the time I came back to the start point, I could see that a fair amount of dirt has already been dissolved. At this stage, I only used about 2 to 3 litres of water.

Next, I used a micro fibre mitt to wipe the car in situ with the water from the pressure sprayer. So, at all times, the area being wiped is always wet and chances of scratches occuring is minimised. Take note that the whole idea of this car wash system is not for the purpose of detailing a car; it is meant for removing dirt so that it does not build up and makes it harder to remove later. Whatever fine scratches I put on the paint job can be easily removed when I do a proper detailing job when I get back home.

Once the whole car has been wiped (I used the term wipe, not wash specifically), I proceed to dry the car with a micro fibre cloth and using a pail of water to rinse the cloth. This is where the collapsible pail comes in handy. It contains up to 9 litres of water and folds flat for storage. After wiping the car dry, I can even add some liquid polish mixed with the water in the 2 lires sprayer. Spray a thin layer of it on the car and then wipe it off for a simplified polishing job. No more having to hunt around the car park for a tap or hose. Simple and effective.