How are you washing your baby after the hosepipe ban?

I had to go to a car hand wash yesterday as an emergency. Boy, did i cring when turned the pressure jet washers on my Fuji. Sad but, i haven't had the time to bucket wash my Evoque after the hosepipe ban. I asked people at the party I attended last night, how they we're washing their cars. To my surprise some said they were still using the hosepipe and were risking being caught! But only if the neighbours complained...
Automatic car wash is a no no for me, and so is the supermarket valet... Not sure about the service station self car wash as I haven't used it yet.
How are the rest of us doing for keeping the RREs band spanking clean for the summer?

Post: #10RE: waterless car wash
Once the hose pipe ban hits East Anglian on 5th April, I will be using rain water from my water butts.
This is filtered from the down pipe to stop leaves from getting in & when I need it placed in a 25Litre jerry can.
Using my pressure washer I have a 10microns filter bolted on the side to filter out any grit. The pressure washer will pump out the water from the jerry can, much the same as if it was connected up to mains water. But without using a hose pipe
There's nothing to say you can't just fill up a jerry can with mains water, as it's not connected up to the mains.
But as I filter my rinse water from the mains down to 30ppm to stop water spots, I thought I would switch to rain water as this is already soft water & should dry spot free, filtering out fine grit is alot cheaper than filtering out mains water to a Pure soft water.
One thing you can use without fitting a filter is to use lady's tights over the opening of your jerry can, this will filter out almost any grit from rain water taken from a roof.
As my car is only used at the weekend & garaged though out the week, it doesn't get very dirty. So for removing light dust. I use a very fine dusting brush & some quick detailer spray to remove dead flys etc.
Using a waterless system in the summer now & again should be a lot saver than in the winter. I'm only against this type of cleaning a car, after watching the guys at a well known supermarket using it. With there manky old cloths & dirty rise water bucket going from one car to the next without changing cloths.

Use a wash MIT, lambs wool & not a sponge & dry off with a drying towel not a leather.
Or just use your hose in the middle of the night
Now a very happy owner (Dec 11)
SD4 5drAuto,Pure Tech.Orkney,Ebony.Black grille, vents & waist finisher.silver front & bull bars.
Pan roof, Xenon, fogs, 20" wheels, privacy, electric folding mirrors. Rear view camera.
(This post was last modified: 03-25-2012 09:32 pm by doug.)

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You need to stop dirt from entering the butt. The best way is to use lady's tights, over the end of the pipe on the down pipe diverter. This will keep the stored water clean.
So that I have no fine grit left on my vehicles when drying, I have all so installed a in line filter before a old shower pump. This way a pressure washer will work as normal, without the pump I found the pressure/flow rate very low. Do low to work a snow gun.

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No hosepipe ban up here.


Not that i use one though, a bucket and a sponge is all you need.

(26-05-2012 08:44am)ED209 Wrote:  No hosepipe ban up here.


Not that i use one though, a bucket and a sponge is all you need.

Sponge!!!!! .................on the Evoque.

I used to use sponges to clean my cars, but I am now a convert to Lambs wool to wash and microfibre towels to dry. So much better and easier to use.

Lambs wool to wash and microfibre towel to dry for me too and an RAC pressure washer.

I work from home so when the neighbours are all out to work I use the hosepipe. I have also washed the car in the garage when the neighbours were home once (double garage so lots of room).

Using buckets to wash my car properly uses far, far more water than the pressure washer so I don't feel bad since I'm effectively saving water!

I will never allow anyone else to wash my cars, that's just asking for swirl marks. Albeit I'll caveat that and say I'd allow a pro valeter to clean it but that is very expensive and I actually like cleaning my car.

"I work from home so when the neighbours are all out to work I use the hosepipe. I have also washed the car in the garage when the neighbours were home once (double garage so lots of room)."

Just FYI, the ramifications are not nearly as severe as some may think. This is taken directly from Sky News, but other news outlets were on a similar path.

Has anyone been fined?
Despite the threat of legal penalties, these have generally not been imposed during previous bans - although one person was reportedly fined under the legislation in the 1990s. Rod Stewart admitted flouting a ban imposed by Three Valleys Water in 2006, by watering a football pitch at his Essex home, but the company said at the time that the singer would not be fined. In 1921, a chauffeur called Joseph Gorton was fined 20 shillings by Metropolitan Water Board for "wasteful water use" after he was found watering a car with a hose. (!)

Monitoring

...No inspector will be sent out to monitor the matter.

Both Thames Water and Southern Water have denied any plans to set up hotlines that people could use to report neighbours flouting the restrictions.


And before anyone says I'm an awful person who belongs in jail, you've all broken a speed limit, probably ran a red light and other small misdemeanours.

(26-05-2012 09:54am)Coolbanana Wrote:  Lambs wool to wash and microfibre towel to dry for me too and an RAC pressure washer.

I work from home so when the neighbours are all out to work I use the hosepipe. I have also washed the car in the garage when the neighbours were home once (double garage so lots of room).

Using buckets to wash my car properly uses far, far more water than the pressure washer so I don't feel bad since I'm effectively saving water!

I will never allow anyone else to wash my cars, that's just asking for swirl marks. Albeit I'll caveat that and say I'd allow a pro valeter to clean it but that is very expensive and I actually like cleaning my car.

you have been reported to the authoritites ha ha

(26-05-2012 10:00am)ED209 Wrote:  you have been reported to the authoritites ha ha

Well, Thames Water can start doing a house-to-house search then for a damp hose within the Buckinghamshire area to find me.

One of my neighbours arrived home with a brand new hosepipe yesterday...

I wash with a bucket and sponge and use a jet was connected to a water butt filled from the roof to wet and rinse. I have not filtered the water but use the washer on low pressure, I've never used a jet wash to blast dirt away.

I just leave mine out in the rain. No effort required to wash it, it doesn't get scratched and you don't get reported for using a hose pipe, although up my way they won't be banning them for a long time .