25 min Tesla car wash with 4 gallons of water

Need · Feb 18, 2023

I wash both our Tesla's with ONR with wax (the green one) and just one bucket of water for the last 4+ years. I am lazy and little scratches do bother us. We both need reading glasses to see close up so without wearing them, we can't even see any scratches on the cars LOL.

I also use a window squeegee rubber part to dry the roof. Much faster than trying to dry it with a towel. Yeah I am lazy. I actually bought an electric leaf blower 4 years ago thinking I could just blow dry my cars. Turns out leaf blower is very heavy and really does not dry it any faster than just 2 towels in hands.

ATPMSD · Feb 18, 2023

Midpack said:
I don’t know anyone who washes a car from dry without rinsing first,

Sorry but that is not what I meant. Of course you start by rinsing the car. What I am referring to is then washing with soap.

ATPMSD · Feb 18, 2023

joebruin77 said:
By saving the dirtiest part of the car for the end, you minimize the chance of that dirt causing scratches over the rest of the car.

Agree, if you have only one sponge.

Rotorian · Feb 19, 2023

OlderThanDirt said:
The car now has 200,000 miles on it. It’s been maintained of course but it’s never been treated as a garage queen either.

Off topic, congrats on 200k.

Quick question still original Batt?

That is first goal as my last 2 ICE went to 245k and 265k.

launchd · Feb 19, 2023

I'm thinking about getting a pressure washer to (touchless) wash the car before doing ONR. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good pressure washer + foam cannon?

OlderThanDirt · Feb 19, 2023

Rotorian said:
Off topic, congrats on 200k.

Quick question still original Batt?

That is first goal as my last 2 ICE went to 245k and 265k.

Original battery.. On a winter road trip right now to northwest Minnesota and 90% is 238-240. Just a couple dozen short of 1000 Supercharges. Original door handles also.. It's driven a lot just plain shitty roads but not a rattle, squeak or creak.

We'll be adding a new Model S this summer sometime unless we hang out a bit for a Midnight Cherry

. This one will be staying though. It's a keeper...

gtg465x · Feb 20, 2023

PianoAl said:
Here's one of my Costco multi-fiber cloths after one swipe of the rear bumper from one side to the other. That is, spray rear bumper with ONR solution, make one pass from one side of the car to the other:

View attachment 908653
Note the way it's folded. With this folding I can get sixteen swipes without using the same area twice.

Here's one side of the cloth after eight swipes:

View attachment 908654

How do you even get these clean? Is it bad to put things that dirty into a washing machine? The drain hose for my washing machine is sort of high on the wall (a pump has to push the water up I guess), and it seems like a lot of that heavy dirt would just settle somewhere inside the washer instead of being taken up the drain hose.

SalisburySam · Feb 20, 2023

gtg465x said:
How do you even get these clean? Is it bad to put things that dirty into a washing machine? The drain hose for my washing machine is sort of high on the wall (a pump has to push the water up I guess), and it seems like a lot of that heavy dirt would just settle somewhere inside the washer instead of being taken up the drain hose.

If you have a front loader, there is usually an accessible filter at a low point on the front below the washer opening. This should be cleaned every so often and there is a drain hose to purge the lowest point in the system. On our front loader, this water got pretty dirty. For top loaders, the pump is quite powerful and should get rid of most if not all sediment itself up the drain hose. Also, today most manufacturers have a clean cycle and suggest a monthly cleaning with an appropriate washer cleaner like this one. Should be all you need.

All that said, when I was ONRing my Model 3, before washing a load of “work“ towels and cloths, I tried to get most of the nasties out of them before hitting the washer by rinsing and hand wringing them out. This is especially necessary for towels for the dog coming into the house on rainy days where he manages to find and revel in excessively muddy areas in the back yard. And yeah, I use car washes now so part of the issue has gone away.

Another option is to use a local laundromat. The commercial washers will handle much larger loads and are designed to be much stronger in all aspects.

Need · Feb 20, 2023

gtg465x said:
How do you even get these clean? Is it bad to put things that dirty into a washing machine? The drain hose for my washing machine is sort of high on the wall (a pump has to push the water up I guess), and it seems like a lot of that heavy dirt would just settle somewhere inside the washer instead of being taken up the drain hose.

Heh if you think those are "that dirty", you probably don't have kids who play baseball! My wife washes my car washing cloth separately. And then on the next washer load, she washes all the socks. Maybe the socks could pick up some dirt from the car wash cloth...

PianoAl · Feb 20, 2023

gtg465x said:
How do you even get these clean? Is it bad to put things that dirty into a washing machine? The drain hose for my washing machine is sort of high on the wall (a pump has to push the water up I guess), and it seems like a lot of that heavy dirt would just settle somewhere inside the washer instead of being taken up the drain hose.

They never get super clean. I use a special multifiber detergent (Rags to Riches), but I'm not convinced it's much better than normal detergent. Presoaking helps.

I think that dirt is fine particles and don't think it harms the washer.

joebruin77 · Feb 20, 2023

gtg465x said:
How do you even get these clean? Is it bad to put things that dirty into a washing machine? The drain hose for my washing machine is sort of high on the wall (a pump has to push the water up I guess), and it seems like a lot of that heavy dirt would just settle somewhere inside the washer instead of being taken up the drain hose.

I have always washed my dirty microfibers in my home front-loader washing machine and never had any problems with the drain or the machine.

Here are my tips to keeping your microfibers as clean and soft as possible:

1) Wash your microfiber towels immediately after each wash. Some people like to save up a big bunch of towels to run a large, full load. But the longer the dirt and car-cleaning products sit in the used towel, the more they set and are harder to clean out.

2) For detergent, I recommend P and S Rags To Riches Microfiber Detergent along with a quarter scoop of Oxyclean powder detergent. The Oxyclean gives the wash an extra cleaning boost and the Rags To Riches rejuvenate the softness of the towels.

3) For the wash cycle, use hot water and, if available on your machine, select the "heavy soil" option. This will extend the duration of the wash cycle, giving your microfiber towels more cleaning time before the rinse cycle.

4) Always dry your microfiber towels on ultra low temperature and never use fabric softener. High temps and fabric softener will actually harden the ends of your microfiber strands. If you use this towel on your next wash, it will induce scratches in your paint.

One trick you can do is take out a fresh, new microfiber and compare how your used microfiber feels in comparison. If the old towel feels noticeably less soft and more hard and stiff, you can try rejuvenating the softness by running the old towel through the wash with Rags To Riches detergent. But if that doesn't work, either throw the towel away or use it for something where you don't need a soft towel, such as cleaning the tires.

5) Wash your car on average once a week. This way, your car never has more than a week's worth of dirt and dust on it. It is easier to wash a week's worth of dirt and dust out of a microfiber than say 3 month's worth of dirt and dust.

6) Use your judgment. If your microfiber is incredibly dirty, then just throw it away. For example, sometimes I will spray down my tires with ONR and wipe them down using a Costco microfiber. I almost always just throw towels used on tires away. The Costco ones are so cheap, I don't mind.

airborne spoon · Feb 23, 2023

yall are always so extra with stuff, its a car just wash it like any other car. I get a mop bucket and some Meguiar's soap and i use one of those broom brush things to wash the whole car. hit it with the hose, then scrub, then rinse, doing one side at a time, then go back and hit the rims, and dry it off with an old bath towel.

Kensta · Feb 24, 2023

Definitely interested in trying this rinseless wash now. What are you guys using for Rims/Tires?

joebruin77 · Feb 24, 2023

Kensta said:
Definitely interested in trying this rinseless wash now. What are you guys using for Rims/Tires?

I like Meguiars Non Acid Wheel and Tire Cleaner. It is a concentrate so you dilute it 1:1 or 2:1. A gallon bottle of the stuff has lasted me 3+ years.

I am curious to try the new Turtlw Wax Hyper Foam Tire and Wheel Cleaner too.

Pianist718 · Apr 12, 2023

joebruin77 said:
I have always washed my dirty microfibers in my home front-loader washing machine and never had any problems with the drain or the machine.

Here are my tips to keeping your microfibers as clean and soft as possible:

1) Wash your microfiber towels immediately after each wash. Some people like to save up a big bunch of towels to run a large, full load. But the longer the dirt and car-cleaning products sit in the used towel, the more they set and are harder to clean out.

2) For detergent, I recommend P and S Rags To Riches Microfiber Detergent along with a quarter scoop of Oxyclean powder detergent. The Oxyclean gives the wash an extra cleaning boost and the Rags To Riches rejuvenate the softness of the towels.

3) For the wash cycle, use hot water and, if available on your machine, select the "heavy soil" option. This will extend the duration of the wash cycle, giving your microfiber towels more cleaning time before the rinse cycle.

4) Always dry your microfiber towels on ultra low temperature and never use fabric softener. High temps and fabric softener will actually harden the ends of your microfiber strands. If you use this towel on your next wash, it will induce scratches in your paint.

One trick you can do is take out a fresh, new microfiber and compare how your used microfiber feels in comparison. If the old towel feels noticeably less soft and more hard and stiff, you can try rejuvenating the softness by running the old towel through the wash with Rags To Riches detergent. But if that doesn't work, either throw the towel away or use it for something where you don't need a soft towel, such as cleaning the tires.

5) Wash your car on average once a week. This way, your car never has more than a week's worth of dirt and dust on it. It is easier to wash a week's worth of dirt and dust out of a microfiber than say 3 month's worth of dirt and dust.

6) Use your judgment. If your microfiber is incredibly dirty, then just throw it away. For example, sometimes I will spray down my tires with ONR and wipe them down using a Costco microfiber. I almost always just throw towels used on tires away. The Costco ones are so cheap, I don't mind.

most of the above info is correct, BUT point #3 is wrong ... please do not use hot water for microfiber towels. Ask any expert and they will concur. At most lightly warm water. For drying, dryer is fine, but low heat or even no heat.

joebruin77 · Apr 12, 2023

Pianist718 said:
most of the above info is correct, BUT point #3 is wrong ... please do not use hot water for microfiber towels. Ask any expert and they will concur. At most lightly warm water. For drying, dryer is fine, but low heat or even no heat.

What is your source for this information? I think it is fine and even better to wash your microfiber towels on hot. Hot water cleans better, and the cleaner the towel, the better it performs. You do want to avoid higher temps in the dryer, but hot water in the wash is fine. The hot water temperature in most residential washing machines will not get anywhere hot enough to damage the microfibers.

Check out this video from Griot's Garage. They are a respected auto care supply company and a maker of microfiber towels. In the video below, their rep states that they always recommend washing their microfiber towels on hot:

Also, here is a discussion on the Autogeekonline.net forum. Someone asked this question and a bunch of professional detailers said that washing in hot water is best:

Microfiber and Hot Water

I know you are not supposed to use high heat when drying your microfiber. I have read conflicting threads on weather to use hot or cold water to wash.

www.autogeekonline.net

Hope that helps,
Joe

25 min Tesla car wash with 4 gallons of water

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