treehugger had a post about a waterless carwash solution a bit ago and I went ahead and bought it yesterday.
I don’t post many photos of my incredibly cute and zippy swank rocket-ship of a honda insight, but if I did, you’d notice I’m not really very good at the car washing shtick. I mean, I’ve mentioned previously how amazing my car looks when it’s nice and clean – it’s something I’m totally aware of. but part of me has always thought “hey, self. so, your car is made out of aluminum and plastic, which won’t rust, so don’t worry about washing it!” and that’s a pretty bad thing for me to think, because I wasn’t that into washing cars when they were made of ferrous metals that would eventually disintegrate, either. I would justify my inattention by saying they’ve already got that “matte” finish, and I am a big car-life-cycle finisher (aka, resale value is not that important to me), so really, what’s the big deal? I would only wash cars when the salt was starting to flake off in big pieces or when I’d go to michelle’s house, because her dad gently ribs me about cars.
about 9 months ago when people were posting to an insight board I read pretty regularly about types of car washing solution and the best way to do it, and I had an epiphany. it’s not the steel body of the car that the washing protects, it’s the paint. and the paint protects the body, which prevents the rust. Hey! honest, I’d never thought about it this way before. The fact that I had to out myself to hundreds of insight drivers as a car-non-washer to reach this level of clarity, now, that was a little embarrassing.
so after restructuring my thoughts on the rationale of carwashing, I thought I should wash my car more. but with the insight you can’t just run it through an automatic car wash because of the wheel skirts, and I never seem to make it to the local cheap hand wash before they close. being in an apartment means no hoses, and my trips to the family seats should be about FUN, not about carwashing. I can probably say with all honesty that in the last 9 months I’ve washed my car less than 4 times. no, really. (eek.) but this waterless car thing, now, that’s more my speed. I could wash my car in the parking lot at work, if I wanted to! I’ll be honest, I will probably never WANT to wash my car, not after the first time, anyway. but at least this way I can’t tell myself that I just CAN’T wash my car. because you know what, I can. I just DON’T.
I bought the starter kit, which includes 4 microfiber towels and the solution itself, for $20. I’ll let y’all know how it works. I’ll also let you know if I am entirely on-board with the notion that the sufactants in the solution successfully wrap themselves around my car’s dirt particles and prevent the paint from scratching as I rub it down.
*** oh, and in crazy synergy news, I just realized that the dude that posted the treehugger article is also one of the brothers in brotherhood 2.0, which I’ve been enjoying pretty regularly. if my brother had to sit in front of a computer all day long like I do, I might make him gank that idea with me. of course, my brother is more of the strong silent electrician type and when we talk I am the chatty one, so it would probably not flow as gracefully as brotherhood 2.0 does. I’m happy with the pre-7AM chats with my dear baby brother when he calls on his way into work.
