This was discussed under "General MINI talk" but I'm not sure the right people see it over there.

What do you think of taking a soap bucket and mit out in the rain to clean a car? I'm thinking that by washing during a light to moderate rain, then a quick rinse from a hose after the rain stops, one could get an easy wash using minimal water.

 

if you want to save water how about using Griot's SprayOn Car Wash?

 

I'd say I'm looking to save time more so than water. I'd never wash a car without water. And lots of it. To minimize scratching with a waterless wash, you need lots and lots of towels....which then need to be washed!

 

i've done it on before. I like to wash the Mini every week. Rain or shine, I try to get a cleaning in. I just pull the car in the garage to dry it off.

 

really? i thot rain is dirty dirty...

 

I live in the Northwest. The rain starts tomorrow and will end in May sometime. I wash in the rain all the time. The biggest benefit I see is that I don't have to rush the wash job to be able to rinse and dry my black top before drying begins. Once done with the washing, I rinse with the hose and pull it into the garage for drying.

I have found that "our rain" is much nicer to my car finish than the hard water we have coming out of the taps.

 

On my cars that sit outside, I wash in the rain all the time. Around here, we get a lot of sap from trees and the usual road grime. I find that if I wash off the grime in the rain, the car looks a lot cleaner when the weather clears. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm crazy, but I don't really care what they think!

 

do wat an old NAMMER "chows" did... place bar soap on top of the car while it rains.
done at end of cycle.