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SphyNxXx
10-21-2004, 07:56 PM
I have been thinking about getting a Mr. Clean autodrying (water filtering) system to use on my Corvette during the winter months. I have ways to wash the car by hand without getting too cold, but drying it off is a different story. Would you recommend using this product?

JasonD
10-21-2004, 08:45 PM
Personally, I hated it. The water pressure was reduced so much when using the dry rinse stage that it took absolutely forever to rinse the car off, and the amount of time lost defeated the whole purpose, and I was left with waterspots anyway.

Setec Astronomy
10-21-2004, 09:10 PM
I agree...it kinda sucks. I didn`t want to use the Mr. Clean carwash soap, so I just washed the car regularly, then used the DI rinse...the pressure was real low, and the water beaded up like gangbusters instead of sheeting off like it might have with the Mr. Clean soap...anyway, seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

Brent13
10-22-2004, 09:22 AM
I used it once and I wasn`t impressed. There`s too little water pressure. Additionally I really thought that it left the finish looking dull and not as shiny as usual.

togwt
10-22-2004, 10:54 AM
~One man’s opinion / observations~



Mr Clean alternative-



Water (Hose) Filtration:

Utilizing standard filter cartridges (9.75-inch x 2.5-inch) housed in a clear polyethylene filter cartridge, which allows you to see when the cartridge requires replacement. Filter connections are standard ¾-inch hosepipe fittings; unit is complete with a filter-housing wrench to replace cartridges and a wall-mounting bracket



To provide spot-free vehicle washing and to remove hard water minerals, unit can be fitted with a sodium cartridge, PW-SOF, which uses standard water softening sodium (salt), with a life span of approx. 90-gallons (dependant upon water chemical content)



The sodium resin cartridge can be regenerated indefinitely using readily available water softening sodium (salt). Place the used cartridge in a container with the water softening sodium / water solution and soak for 12-hours or more. The salt will displace the calcium replacing it with sodium. With two filter cartridges you can use one while the other is in the regenerating solution.



Filters available: Sodium (PW-SOF) standard softener resin removes hard water chemicals, Calcite cartridge. (PW-CAL) to neutralize the pH value and a one-micron carbon block (KX-1) for Chorine removal



http://www.pwgazette.com/gardenhosefilters.htm



~Hope this helps~



Knowledge unshared is experience wasted

justadumbarchitect / so I question everything/ Jon

SphyNxXx
10-22-2004, 05:25 PM
I had heard some good stuff from some people about it, but it may be all hype. I dont want something that will dullen my finish after washing. The ONLY reason I would use it would be to keep my hands warm while drying the car off.

Scottwax
10-22-2004, 05:59 PM
I bought one and use it on a customer`s cars who wants me to use a hose but doesn`t have a water deionizer like his partner does.



The initial rinsing pressure is decent. Not quite as forceful as some nozzles, but more than enough to spray the vehicle down pretty good. The soap seems to work well, no problems getting even his normally nasty Excursion clean. The switching back and forth can be awkward at times but after a little practice, it becomes pretty easy. It is a bit disconcerting at first when the beading goes away when rinsing off the soap, but that is intentional and it will bead again the next time it gets wet.



I agree the filtered rinsing stage doesn`t use a lot of water pressure, but part of the problem is the filter`s base needs to be pushed towards the back of the unit or it doesn`t seal properly and water leaks out of the bottom. If you position the filter right, no leak and noticably more water pressure. It still does take some time to completely displace the non-filtered water though.



Does it dry spot free? Well, spot free air drying isn`t my goal with the product. I use it because my customer doesn`t have a completely shade free spot to wash the cars in, plus they are all black. It is nearly impossible to wash them and get `em back in his garage in the summer and use my vac to blow water out of the body seams without water beginning to dry on the paint, so I used the Mr Clean system to buy me some time. I`ve noticed since a lot of water sheets off, drying times are reduced and no more hard water spots on areas I can`t dry quickly enough.



If you use the Mr. Clean system and leave your vehicle out in the open to air dry, you will get spots, mainly because any dust or pollen in the air will settle on the wet paint. If you have a blower or a vacuum that converts to one, you can probably use that to dry the car pretty quickly.



I did use the Mr. Clean system on a Chevy Silverado 2500 last weekend and allow it to air dry, and you could see on the hood where some dust had settled before it dried completely and some QD took care of that. Otherwise, I didn`t see any noticable water spotting.

joburnet
10-22-2004, 06:13 PM
The ONLY reason I would use it would be to keep my hands warm while drying the car off.





Get a tight cloth glove and cover it with a waterproof dishwashing glove or the like and you should be fine for drying. Do a search and several people have slightly different variations that are supposed to work well.

cwcad
10-22-2004, 06:20 PM
I have used the Mr. Clean system and i have found that it is not worth my while. wash, rinse and use a waffle weave towel to dry my black chevy siverado and get the same thing in a lot less time and less water useage ,too. (i am on a water meter and my wife pays the bill so she is constantly on me about water useage)



it was a good idea and the commercials i have seen made it look great but the results for me were something less than spectacular.

Flying C
10-23-2004, 04:57 PM
I tried it once, and was not impressed at all. The soap dispenser delivered only water with no lather at all. After one use I simply returned it.

AlexRuiz
10-23-2004, 11:54 PM
Well, I may be among the lucky ones. The system works exactly as advertised. In fact, for the occasional person washing a car I would recommend it.



The nozzle is a little hard to deal with, but after a few panels you know how it behaves. The soap doesn`t have a lot of foaming properties, so you have to use quite a lot. The final rinse is slow. No water spots with the exception of the lone dust particle that came into the paint before it dried.



For all those of you who have perfected the art of drying, the Mr. clean will be much slower, but as I mentioned, for the casual user it will be faster.



A big drawback is the cost...... it eats replacement filters like crazy.....

Rudamous
10-27-2004, 10:52 PM
Has anyone tried the cleansing of the filters so they can be reused. I don`t exactly understand how to do it if someone could do a writeup I would greatly appreciate it.

Olorin
10-28-2004, 03:56 AM
I used the system and it wasn`t really all that more convenient. You need to have a bucket of soapy water to rinse your wash mitt in regardless. I didn`t, and the mitt got absolutely filthy. Using the system did do a pretty good job on drying spot free, but due to the time it takes to dry I just dried it conventionally anyway.



I bought some NXT car wash, and I was pretty impressed on how rich and lathery it was. I know lather is just the results of oils added simply for the sake of appearance, but usually nothing lathers for me thanks to my hard water. It makes me think there`s some truth to the formulated for hard water claims.



Anyhow, more to the point, I was impressed with the NXT wash`s sheeting when free hosing. Especially since there was no wax on the paint. As such, drying was easy, and I`m hardly a master of the art of drying. My point is, basically, you will end up doing the things you do in a regular car wash when using the mr. clean system. So, why not just save some cash and do it the regular way. Also, I noticed the mr. clean soap left a filmy residue behind.

kempie
10-28-2004, 07:42 AM
I am going to buy one this weekend to try and get a spot free look on the windows of our house. I`m not so good with a squigee (sp) so I hope this works.

Any one tried it on house windows yet?