A Clean Car Need Not Be a Water Waster

Question: With the drought, I am wondering if you have any suggestions on how to keep my car clean without using a lot of water? Is it safe to just wipe off the dirt with a dry or damp rag, or do I risk scratching my paint?--J. A.

Answer: There are several products that may help keep your car clean and won’t use one drop of water. You can also keep your car fairly clean using a small amount of water and avoiding wasteful practices.

The products include a car cover to shield the paint, and a duster and a spray cleaner, both of which can be used without water. If you use a spray, you will want to be careful to not scratch the paint.

Champions Choice Protect All is an aerosol product that claims it can perform all the functions of glass cleaner, paint polish, wax and vinyl protector.

I tried the product for about six months and found that it performs all the jobs claimed, though with mediocre results.

It really does clean glass, but not as well as an ammonia-based glass cleaner. It does wax paint so that water beads up for several months, though not as well as a high-quality wax. And it does protect vinyl, though not nearly as well as a product like Armor-All.

The advantage to Protect All is that it is fast. You can clean your entire car in about 15 minutes, including windows, vinyl bumpers and interior dash areas. The disadvantages are that you will be doing the job more often and the product isn’t cheap. A can retails for $10. It can be purchased at some auto or recreational-vehicle supply stores or from the producer, (800) 322-4491.

Another nifty product that doesn’t work all that well is a Magic Car Duster, a 100% cotton duster treated with a paraffin wax that is supposed to lift dust off your car without scratching it.

Chauffeurs in Beverly Hills use these dusters a lot. This is a great idea if you park your car in a garage at night, but if it is left outside, dew will dissolve dust into crusty dirt that the duster cannot lift off. Dusters are available from specialty retailers or the distributor, California Magic Car Duster Co. in Van Nuys, (818) 989-4600.

A car cover will do wonders to keep your car clean, but it is a big hassle to use during the day. The best car covers use the new Kimberly-Clark Corp. Evolution 3 Fabric, which allows the car to breath moisture out while keeping rain and dirt off the car. These are available through automotive specialty stores and some mail order catalogues.

Finally, you might consider washing your car with vastly reduced quantities of water. With some care, you can wet down your car with only a few gallons in a pail, wash it with a very small amount of soap in one gallon of water and rinse with as little as three additional gallons.

A variation on this scheme would be to use moderate amounts of water to rinse the car and then follow up with a spray cleaner. There isn’t any reason you cannot keep your car clean with virtually no water.