Tips on cleaning for apartment dwellers? - Page 2 - Toyota Yaris Forums

Kioshi · 07-20-2007, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sherryberry

Sometimes, there are apartment complexes and other complexes that will not allow someone taking a hose over to a curb and washing their car. It all depends on apartment complex's rules..

rules suck.....you guys should do it at night unless they shut off the water line at night. Thats what I did when washing clothes because in the day too many people crowd the laudery room~

To steved......Oh really? I think thats what it looked like, not to be offensive or anything. It was a bunch of Latino workers doing each thing at a time and quickly....
Well lessons are learned, not happening again. Thanks for the advice.

denrybiker · 07-27-2011, 05:06 AM

I've learned that if you go to one of those places to wash your hands you have to reach the first to see what kind of work they do. If you see work like an assembly line to wash as many cars as possible, avoid places. If I had to go there take the time to wash the outside and clean the inside and clean the concrete floor before each car enters the garage.

Hamster · 09-08-2011, 01:57 PM

I'm a renter myself, but the solution to cleaning your car is really easy. Get yourself a rinseless car wash. You don't need a hose, and you obviously don't need to worry about paying someone else to scratch up your car. There are several brands of rinseless car washes available, but the one I use is called Optimum No-Rinse. Just do a search on Google if you want to find out more about it, or you can look on YouTube for instructional videos. The product seems to be aimed towards professional detailers, though, so you can't find it in stores. You have to buy it online. I buy it from autogeek.net, but there are several sites out there that sell it.

Klink10 · 09-08-2011, 06:50 PM

Yea I use ONR as a clay lube. I'm not a renter however.

Hamster · 09-09-2011, 10:24 PM

Wow, cool, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one here who uses ONR. I don't clay my car, though, because I don't know how to do it properly. By the way, while you don't need to rinse off the car before using ONR, I'm still super-cautious and I take it to one of those coin-operated places to blast off some of the major dirt immediately prior to using it. I also use the two-bucket method, with a Grit Guard in each bucket. My car is completely free of swirl marks, so ONR works really great. Even if I owned a house, I would continue to use ONR to wash my car. It's just more environmentally friendly. I would feel guilty washing all those contaminants into a storm drain.

Klink10 · 09-10-2011, 05:51 AM

Hamster...stick with AG and check out their instructional videos. There are some on how to clay along with everything else. I get most of my supplies from them as I'm in the business. I find that most folks here neither have the time or facilities or equipment to do a comprehensive detail on their vehicle and prefer to just wash at the tunnel and wax with OTC stuff. Nothing wrong with it but it tends to do damage over time.

Hamster · 09-10-2011, 02:27 PM

Cool, I looked at AG's instructional pages, and I found the videos that you're referring to. Like you, I don't buy anything from the store that's going to touch my car. I buy everything from AG. I get the Cobra microfiber towels from them. In terms of waxes, I stick to Optimum products, since they by coincidence are very easy to use for renters or for beginners like me. I like their car wax, and Opti-Seal is the greatest thing ever! But yeah, it's true, it takes a lot of time. I can easily spend a combined 6-7 hours just to wash, dry (I actually pat the surface of the car dry inch by inch), apply sealant, wax, clean tires and add tire shine, and clean the windows. If I did fancy stuff like claying or polishing, it would take even longer. But it's worth it to me, because the finish on my car is perfect. By the way, I've used a touchless car was a few times, but for the sole purpose of washing salt residue off the car at the end of winter. Rust would be an expensive problem to fix. I would never use a touchless car wash all of the time, though, because my understanding is that it can dry out the trim over time, and it's too strong for the paint.

If course, both you and I are a bit nutty about keeping our cars perfect. For someone who looks at their Yaris and thinks, "meh, it's just a car", well, then I guess all this wouldn't matter to them.

Klink10 · 09-10-2011, 10:01 PM

Very true and yes you could say I have OCD when it comes to my Yaris. I'm an old fart, it is now paid for and it will be my last car.

Marcintosh · 10-18-2011, 01:38 AM

When I was in apartments I'd go to the carwash after midnight and just set up with what ever I wanted to do - wash?-ok wax?-ok detail the wheels?-ok Bring a plastic milk crate to sit on and away I went.

As long as you don't have an "open container" the police usually don't care and if you've bought a wash it's all good.

Only other advice is to go slow at this and get to know the area. Don't try this with dealers sitting in the next bay. Do a wash a few times then a wash & wax.
No Blue Coral paste - Liquid wax only - You'll trust the area but don't push your luck
It would take me a few weeks to trust the area. OTOH, I'm a 6'2" male so that counts for some security.

Word to the wise- don't do this if you have an outstanding warrant.

07-27-2011, 05:06 AM	#20
denrybiker Drives: ford Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: UK Posts: 4	I've learned that if you go to one of those places to wash your hands you have to reach the first to see what kind of work they do. If you see work like an assembly line to wash as many cars as possible, avoid places. If I had to go there take the time to wash the outside and clean the inside and clean the concrete floor before each car enters the garage. __________________ Portland window cleaning

10-18-2011, 01:38 AM	#27
Marcintosh Drives: Yaris Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New England Posts: 8	No garden hose? No problem When I was in apartments I'd go to the carwash after midnight and just set up with what ever I wanted to do - wash?-ok wax?-ok detail the wheels?-ok Bring a plastic milk crate to sit on and away I went. As long as you don't have an "open container" the police usually don't care and if you've bought a wash it's all good. Only other advice is to go slow at this and get to know the area. Don't try this with dealers sitting in the next bay. Do a wash a few times then a wash & wax. No Blue Coral paste - Liquid wax only - You'll trust the area but don't push your luck It would take me a few weeks to trust the area. OTOH, I'm a 6'2" male so that counts for some security. Word to the wise- don't do this if you have an outstanding warrant.

09-08-2011, 01:57 PM	#21
Hamster Drives: 2009 5-Door Liftback Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 333	I'm a renter myself, but the solution to cleaning your car is really easy. Get yourself a rinseless car wash. You don't need a hose, and you obviously don't need to worry about paying someone else to scratch up your car. There are several brands of rinseless car washes available, but the one I use is called Optimum No-Rinse. Just do a search on Google if you want to find out more about it, or you can look on YouTube for instructional videos. The product seems to be aimed towards professional detailers, though, so you can't find it in stores. You have to buy it online. I buy it from autogeek.net, but there are several sites out there that sell it.

09-08-2011, 06:50 PM	#22
Klink10 View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris Liftback Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: 910 Posts: 1,229	Yea I use ONR as a clay lube. I'm not a renter however.

09-09-2011, 10:24 PM	#23
Hamster Drives: 2009 5-Door Liftback Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 333	Wow, cool, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one here who uses ONR. I don't clay my car, though, because I don't know how to do it properly. By the way, while you don't need to rinse off the car before using ONR, I'm still super-cautious and I take it to one of those coin-operated places to blast off some of the major dirt immediately prior to using it. I also use the two-bucket method, with a Grit Guard in each bucket. My car is completely free of swirl marks, so ONR works really great. Even if I owned a house, I would continue to use ONR to wash my car. It's just more environmentally friendly. I would feel guilty washing all those contaminants into a storm drain.

09-10-2011, 05:51 AM	#24
Klink10 View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris Liftback Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: 910 Posts: 1,229	Hamster...stick with AG and check out their instructional videos. There are some on how to clay along with everything else. I get most of my supplies from them as I'm in the business. I find that most folks here neither have the time or facilities or equipment to do a comprehensive detail on their vehicle and prefer to just wash at the tunnel and wax with OTC stuff. Nothing wrong with it but it tends to do damage over time.

09-10-2011, 02:27 PM	#25
Hamster Drives: 2009 5-Door Liftback Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 333	Cool, I looked at AG's instructional pages, and I found the videos that you're referring to. Like you, I don't buy anything from the store that's going to touch my car. I buy everything from AG. I get the Cobra microfiber towels from them. In terms of waxes, I stick to Optimum products, since they by coincidence are very easy to use for renters or for beginners like me. I like their car wax, and Opti-Seal is the greatest thing ever! But yeah, it's true, it takes a lot of time. I can easily spend a combined 6-7 hours just to wash, dry (I actually pat the surface of the car dry inch by inch), apply sealant, wax, clean tires and add tire shine, and clean the windows. If I did fancy stuff like claying or polishing, it would take even longer. But it's worth it to me, because the finish on my car is perfect. By the way, I've used a touchless car was a few times, but for the sole purpose of washing salt residue off the car at the end of winter. Rust would be an expensive problem to fix. I would never use a touchless car wash all of the time, though, because my understanding is that it can dry out the trim over time, and it's too strong for the paint. If course, both you and I are a bit nutty about keeping our cars perfect. For someone who looks at their Yaris and thinks, "meh, it's just a car", well, then I guess all this wouldn't matter to them.

09-10-2011, 10:01 PM	#26
Klink10 View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris Liftback Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: 910 Posts: 1,229	Very true and yes you could say I have OCD when it comes to my Yaris. I'm an old fart, it is now paid for and it will be my last car.