How can I wash my Yaris on apartment grounds

[vaironl]

Hello Everyone,

I'm wondering if any of you live in apartments where there is no access to a water house. I was considering taking a bucket of water and a microfiber cloth, but I don't know if this is fairly efficient. Any ideas on how to clean my ar easily in my situation.

[catliektheif]

For me, i go to a coin-op diy car wash. They have everything you need and i just pay with quarters that i collect since the last wash

[RedRide]

Yes, just go to a coin-op car wash .....that's what I do.
You can even carefully use the "foaming brush" mode as long as you first blast it with the power wash to remove any grit etc from it..

BTW, I have used a bucket to wash wheels and the engine compartment., etc. :smile:

[bronsin]

Wait till it rains and head out to the car with your bucket.

For best results wear your birthday suit! :w00t:

[cali yaris]

I never wash my car with water.

This is my favorite waterless car wash, but there are many brands to choose from.

http://www.amazon.com/Smartwax-20105-SmartONE-Waterless-Sealant/dp/B0028SH6PE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373736824&sr=8-1&keywords=smartwax+one

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61tmgJ2bSqL._SL1500_.jpg

[vaironl]

I never wash my car with water.

This is my favorite waterless car wash, but there are many brands to choose from.

http://www.amazon.com/Smartwax-20105-SmartONE-Waterless-Sealant/dp/B0028SH6PE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373736824&sr=8-1&keywords=smartwax+one

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61tmgJ2bSqL._SL1500_.jpg

I never even imagined something like that existed.
Thanks!:thumbup:

[harda toenail]

You can also call a buddy who has a house with a hose and use theirs. Clean his car while you're at it and he will never mind you using his hose :)

[ijaen]

I use ONR to wash my car when I'm at the apartment, works the same way as the Smartwax ONE that Cali Yaris posted.
Just be sure the car is not THAT dirty, it works for mildly/slightly dirty cars. Great for touchups.

[quimico]

I need a Coin-op or Self Service Car Wash here... :(

[spammerhamster]

I have a mobile water pressure machine (not high pressure, just 9 bar) which can house 17 liter water and has a shampoo nozzle. (google for aqua2go or nomad)

I use that hose down my car. After that, I use 2 foldable buckets filled with water to do hand washing.

Planning to buy a foam gun too, to make things a tad easier (gloriamaster fm10)

[justjesus]

I've used Smartwax One like posted ^up there. I liked it. I wrote a small thread on it.

Also, this passed weekend I tried something new (for me): the Gary Dean Wash Method (youtube it). I made some small adjustments to his method, but the basic foundation he has will work. My gf lives in a place where she can't use the water hose for washing her car. This GDWM worked and the car looked great (it was fairly dirty, and I was hesitant in doing this method due to the amount of dirt on it - hence, the small adjustments I made).

edit: might as well include the small adjustments I made here

1) I used Optimum No Rinse. Why? Because I got it thru Amazon Prime in two days. I needed it PRONTO. Dean's products would have taken longer than the two days

2) Instead of one bucket, I used two. Essentially I mixed the GDWM and the 2 Bucket Wash together

3) I ended up picking up a 2 Gal bucket (Already had 2 of the 5 gal ones) to make it more efficient. Smaller is less clumsy, and easier to move around. I'll be getting another 2 gal bucket for this same reason. I didn't need 5 gallons worth of water!

4) I used distilled water, knowing her water source was "hard" (used 4 gallons total)

5) I'm not sure what else I did differently. Though, I did try a garden sprayer instead of a water spray bottle. That didn't work out as well as I thought, so went back to the water spray bottle.

[NEexpat]

I have been known on occasion, when I don't feel like doing a full blown wash and wax etc. to take a 5 gal. Home Depot bucket with a lid, fill it about a 1/3 with hot water add my Mequiars car wash soap toss in my car sponge snap on the lid put it on the floor of the passenger side and head off the the car wash.

$1.00 for the water wand get it wet, then out comes the bucket give it a quick hand wash and then a $ 1.50 to rinse.

I don't care for car washes that much except to rinse off my car, brushes, brush less, foaming etc. meh.

My GF takes her FIT to a car wash and for $10.00 you get all kinds of different colored foams, it is like some 70's late night rock and roll psychedelic background going on on the windows.

I imagine this is what it was like inside Timothy Leary's head, very exciting, and again, meh.

I suppose that really didn't answer your question about apt. complex car washing.

Hand wash it at a car wash.

[justjesus]

The bucket to the self-service car wash is next on my list. I plan on doing just that, since there's one just down the street from where I work. Might even do a couple of co-worker's cars.

I did the drive-thru car was with the psychedelic colors for several years. For 6$ and for the decent job it did, I couldn't complain.

The OP should have some ideas as to what he can do now. His question has been answered. :)

[KCALB SIRAY]

...every time I go through the car wash and see the colors of the rainbow, I imagine myself running over a unicorn...
I have been known on occasion, when I don't feel like doing a full blown wash and wax etc. to take a 5 gal. Home Depot bucket with a lid, fill it about a 1/3 with hot water add my Mequiars car wash soap toss in my car sponge snap on the lid put it on the floor of the passenger side and head off the the car wash.

$1.00 for the water wand get it wet, then out comes the bucket give it a quick hand wash and then a $ 1.50 to rinse.

I don't care for car washes that much except to rinse off my car, brushes, brush less, foaming etc. meh.

My GF takes her FIT to a car wash and for $10.00 you get all kinds of different colored foams, it is like some 70's late night rock and roll psychedelic background going on on the windows.

I imagine this is what it was like inside Timothy Leary's head, very exciting, and again, meh.

I suppose that really didn't answer your question about apt. complex car washing.

Hand wash it at a car wash.

[justjesus]

LMAO

That also makes me think of Charlie the Unicorn! (youtube it if you haven't heard of him)

[JudgeM]

I live in an apartment complex too. luckily there is a tap in the carpark, on a Sunday afternoon I bucket wash the car. Sunday is best as less people around and security guard does not come till 8pm.

[justjesus]

My friend has similar, and I went to help him wash on a Sunday. But, damn, his water pressure sucks!!!! It's pretty weak. Not worth the time/effort to do it there.

Hope your pressure is better!

[vaironl]

There are taps in some places but they are for the serivce staff only. Maybe I'll sneak in a wash at 3:00AM

[catliektheif]

I bought some smartwax a couple weeks ago like garm suggested. It works great. It smells great too. Good stuff

[nookandcrannycar]

Wait till it rains and head out to the car with your bucket.

For best results wear your birthday suit! :w00t:

:laugh:

[justjesus]

I bought some smartwax a couple weeks ago like garm suggested. It works great. It smells great too. Good stuff

BE VERY CAREFUL with that. I got careless once and left some minor scratching behind (or swirls, whatever). Best to use PLENTY of micro fiber towels and switch sides constantly.

[catliektheif]

Its probably cause you didnt wipe in one direction. You gotta wipe in one direction first to take off the dirt and then you can buff it when theres a waxy haze. That would explain the swirls

[catliektheif]

I dont believe there are any abrasive substances in the actual spray. Just the dirt you lift from the surface. Could be wrong though

[justjesus]

I forget what i did to get the "damage." But no big deal. It's like you said, it's the dirt.

I know to wipe in one direction. I actually made a post when I first used the Smartwax years ago, so I'm not new to it. Mostly, I think I got careless.

It's no biggie. I'm working on removing all the scratches and swirls. I'll be posting videos (some day) on this site.

[blktiger60]

No way I could ever use a waterless wash. Well maybe in the summer, if it hasn't rained lately. So that's like 2 months out of the year. I recently detailed out my car, shampooed the carpet, cleaned the engine - everything. It was spotless. Took me 2 days, total of 9 hours.

That was just prior to taking it in to get fixed. Drove it home yesterday and it rained, . . . ya not shiny anymore. Still smells good though haha

[justjesus]

hey, as long as it smells good!

Myself, I won't do waterless anymore. Well, maybe on a rare occasion, on a garage kept car, that's relatively clean. I'll mostly use rinseless unless it's really dirty.

My car IS shiny even after it rained for a few days here in So Cal (what? it rained?) Just doesn't smell good. Doesn't smell bad, either, just not good. I'm wondering if it's still shiny due to the new wax I was trying out. Malco's Cherry Flash. Care to try it out, Black? I can send you a sample to try on yours. I'd be curious to see how it holds up in your environment.

[Superfly]

I rock a bucket and cloths. Do I look stupid? Yes. Does it take forever? Yes. Does it get the job done? Definitely.

[justjesus]

don't talk to me about forever. I take long on some of the washes I do. Yikes.

Sunday included a lifted 4Runner. I did the usual 2 bucket wash, scrubbed the tires down twice, wheels, and wheel wells. The owner wanted the wheel wells and suspension to be super clean. 4 hours later, he was happy.