What is Rinseless Washing and is it safe?
The two-bucket wash method has long been considered the de facto way to safely wash a vehicle. Water restrictions and a big push towards environmental protection have forced the detailing industry to innovate and find new wash methods. The two most prominent “less-water” wash techniques are known as Waterless Washing and Rinseless Washing.
I use the term “less-water” because the two aforementioned techniques seem to suggest that no water is used – this is not the case. Whereas a traditional two bucket wash can use approximately 20-30 gallons of water per vehicle, a Rinseless or Waterless wash can typically complete the job using only 3-5 gallons of water. Waterless Washing consists of liberally spraying a vehicle with a Waterless Wash solution and carefully wiping with a dry microfiber towel, followed by a second towel to dry the vehicle. This method is only safe if the surface is slightly dusty – typically ~3 days after a full wash for a garaged vehicle.
CONTINUED FROM HOME PAGE... The safer method that we prefer at Performance Auto Detailing is the Rinseless Wash. There are many variations of this technique, but our preferred method is utilizing one bucket with 6-10 high-quality microfiber towels that are soaking in a mixture of water and Rinseless Wash solution (such as Optimum No Rinse or CarPro Ech2O). The first step is to assess the level of dirt on the vehicle. If the vehicle is fairly dirty, we start with a quick rinse with the pressure washer to break-up and rinse off the bulk of the dirt. We can then proceed to Rinseless Wash the vehicle by liberally pre-treating and spraying down each panel with the wash solution (We use CarPro Ech2O diluted 1:15 with distilled water). The pre-treatment encapsulates the dirt, which makes it easier and safer to wipe away without inducing swirl marks or marring. After the pre-treatment, a towel is removed from the bucket, slightly wrung out, and used to wash the vehicle one panel at a time, constantly flipping the towel to a clean side when one becomes dirty. After all clean sides of the towel are exhausted, the towel is discarded and the washed areas are dried with a dry microfiber towel. You can then proceed with another towel from the bucket and work your way around the vehicle.
Aside from conserving water, the Rinseless method is as safe, if not safer than a traditional two-bucket wash method. When utilizing the technique mentioned above, dirt that is removed from the vehicle will never come in contact with the vehicle again, because dirty towels are discarded (to later be cleaned). In a two-bucket wash, you are constantly dunking the dirty wash mitt into a rinse bucket, that contains all of the dirt removed from the vehicle. If you aren’t using Grit Guards and aren’t carefully using the two-bucket wash method, you can reintroduce this dirt onto the vehicle causing scratches.
At Performance Auto Detailing, we strive to utilize the latest methods with the highest quality products. Our methods are constantly evolving with the introduction of new detailing technology to further increase the safety and quality of our work. If you have any questions about Rinseless Washing, feel free to Contact Us.