Apartment Washing

**liquidiq** · 11-10-2002, 09:33 PM

I am interested in hearing tips from people that live in apartments for washing their cars. I usually take it down to the spray wash places, but that`s not getting the grime and stubborn dirt off. I can fill up buckets, but cannot hook up a hose to the faucet.

Any suggestions besides going to a friends house and bugging them?

Thanks

- Steven

**C. Charles Hahn** · 11-10-2002, 09:38 PM

Please.... I beg you.... use the search function.

Protect-All Quick and Easy Wash?? Did you by chance find this in one of the searches you must`ve ran before posting a question?

:wavey

**thevolvoguy** · 11-10-2002, 09:39 PM

I would take it to a bay and bring soap, bucket, mit and whatever you need to dry. Then just clean it there, and take it back home to detail. :nixweiss

**Redcar GUY** · 11-10-2002, 09:41 PM

Originally posted by thevolvoguy

I would take it to a bay and bring soap, bucket, mit and whatever you need to dry. Then just clean it there, and take it back home to detail. :nixweiss

Ya do this at night also, get a few bux in change and take your time

**liquidiq** · 11-10-2002, 09:48 PM

Thanks for the tips.

I`ll make sure to use the search function before asking a question, as it`s obviously a sin to not do that.

**cerdas** · 11-10-2002, 11:05 PM

A fellow Austinite! My advice would be....move to an apartment complex that has car washing facilities, that`s what I did! North of town there is the Riata apartments, nice inexpensive apartments that have car wash stalls. In the south or Central Austin areas try one of the "Gables" apartment complexes, certain ones have designated car wash areas. There may be more than that but those are probably among the nicest.

I spent a year living in Spyglass apartments that was more like 5 years for my Tbird. I couldn`t wash it, the trees were constantly dumping various crap on my paint, and everyone who lived there took a turn dinging my doors.

Well, if you can`t move, at least try that Quick and Easy wash. I haven`t used it but I trust the opinions of the other, more experienced members here.

**paco** · 11-11-2002, 12:17 AM

If you bring your own wash mitt and bucket, go on the off hours. The owners and fellow customer`s will be very unhappy if you go on prime hours and take more than 3-5 minutes. Especially, if the time is up and your washing / drying away. Be thoughtful of others.

I usually go late at night (after 10pm) and give it a good wash and dry. Then dry it home for a detail in the morning.

Coin-ops using only the spray wand don`t get your car clean. It just wipes the larger stuff of the car. Without the wash mitt, you`re not going to get a good wash.

Bring you OWN soap. Make sure the place doesn`t use recycled water. Go on off hours.

Paco

**shaf** · 11-11-2002, 03:57 AM

Originally posted by liquidiq

Thanks for the tips.

I`ll make sure to use the search function before asking a question, as it`s obviously a sin to not do that.

It`s not a sin, so please don`t feel offended by the suggestion. It`s just much better for you and for everyone to try searching first.

There`s a couple reasons for this:

-helps reduce forum clutter with repetitive threads

-it`s good practice, and you not only free yourself from depending on others, but also almost always gain lots of extra knowledge along the way.

In the past, I`ve found searching to be far more informative and enlightening than if I`d just asked a brand new question. You see more opinions and advice that way! :xyxthumbs

I still have yet to use mine, but unless the car was horribly filthy I`d also use Quick and Easy Wash if I lived in an apartment.

**DrewD** · 11-11-2002, 03:17 PM

From yet another Austinite... I recommend the Protect All QEW. You can wash your entire car with 1 (but I recommend 2) bucket(s). When I moved here I narrowed about 50 apartment complexes down to 2 based on my criteria: a car wash facility, and private garage parking.

**Mindflux** · 11-22-2002, 05:56 PM

Wow, some more Locals. Right on :up

Patrick · 11-22-2002, 09:16 PM

This is "University" correct ? Its where your suppose to come with questions....Ask away....The search function is good, but often requires a lot of filtering.....4DSC is correct in stating "also almost always gain lots of extra knowledge along the way. ",with searching, but if your looking for some quick answers, go for it.....If ya have ample time, try a search...

**imported_BretFraz** · 11-22-2002, 09:48 PM

I bucket washed at coin-op joints for many years and it worked fine for me. You can do pretty much the same quality wash as you would in a driveway. But having to pump quarters into the machine isn`t fun - I usually would go thru $8.00 in quarters at least for every wash.

It`s great to have a pressure washer since you can easily rinse off your engine and wash out the wheelwells quickly. Just be careful during the rinse. And for God`s sake, don`t use their harsh foamy soap. That`ll strip wax in 2 seconds flat.

As PACO said, do it at off hours or slow days. Sometimes that`s at night, always early mornings, and even at odd times like Sunday afternoon when people are doing other things than washing their cars.

It`s pretty easy and you`ll get a routine down quickly. Have fun.

**imported_BretFraz** · 11-22-2002, 09:59 PM

Originally posted by Patrick

This is "University" correct ? Its where your suppose to come with questions....Ask away....The search function is good, but often requires a lot of filtering.....4DSC is correct in stating "also almost always gain lots of extra knowledge along the way. ",with searching, but if your looking for some quick answers, go for it.....If ya have ample time, try a search...

The problems with this suggestion are:

1) Most threads have multiple posts from numerous members who offer a wide variety of comments, opinions, and views. By not searching you never get the full benefit of a greater number of posts. Many threads have links attached that can expand your knowledge even further.

2) While it seems that most enthusiastic newbies are willing to post responses to most threads, the more experienced and senior Autopians have seen the same questions asked over and over and over. If I have answered the same question 10 times, I am less willing to provide answer #11. So the person asking the question never receives the benefit of those more knowledgeable. A search provides that knowledge.

3) It`s disrespectful to the community to create new threads every time you have a question. Chances are very good that most questions have answers already provided. Those who frequently create new threads find themselves persona non grata very quickly.

**nate010753** · 11-24-2002, 10:39 AM

here is my .02 on the subject. I go to an outside car wash in Yonkers I bring my bucket with me and soap and all kinds of stuff. The machine takes dollar bills. even $5`s. As soon as I take the bucket out of my car I can see the eyes roll and I get a few nasty stares from the folks behind me. But the way I see it as long as I am shoveling in the bills to keep the thing going they are just going to have to wait!!! Too bad. Don`t get me wrong I try to speed the process up but hey I try not to cut corners. At any rate living in an apt sucks. THe car wash thing is ok if you want to wash quickly and wax as there are a few spots at this place to pull your car to the side for a quick wash and wax. But if I want to go for an all out detail I take it to a friends place and use his mom`s driveway. As for washing the car and driving it back toyour place to wax I would never do that. Think about all the road grim and dirt that is going to settle on your car on the way back. You would be waxing over dirt and dust. Anyways I sympathize with you guys I am going through the same thing

**imported_chewy** · 11-25-2002, 07:31 AM

I live in an apartment, but had the luck to have been asked by the owner to be his night/weekend manager--I handle any mechanical emergencies. By handle, I mean I call a repairman. Anyway, our contract prohibits washing in the lot, but he lets me use his water and I bought a nice 50` hose. I have enjoyed this small perk immensely--I have no coin operated bays anywhere near me and the alternative was "touchless" washes.

During PA`s water restrictions this summer, I was to only wash on every other weekend--but often got a wash in at 4:30am before anyone was up. Now that the weather is getting colder, I decided to try Protect All`s Quick and Easy Wash. I was skeptical, but many--especially Scottwax--swore by it. I just tried it this weekend and was happy with the results. The car it was used on was not very dirty, but it did a wonderful job of cleaning the paint surface. I followed the directions and used one cap full in two quarts of water. I really had the urge to use more--just couldn`t believe that such small amount would work, but resisted temptation. All you do is wipe down one section at a time and then wipe dry. I used a 100% terry cloth mitt and then dried with one pass using a 100% terry towel, followed by a MF waffleweave towel. Now the directions say you do not have to use a two-bucket method, but I did just to be safe. The water in the rinse bucket got dirty pretty quickly.

Overall, I was impressed with Quick and Easy and will be using it as an alternative to getting the hose out. While I will not give up hose-washing completely, this product is awesome for colder weather and if you are restricted to bucket washing. I found Q&E at a local RV dealer--so give it a shot.