People in flats - how do you wash your car?

[Shaoxter]

It's annoying not having a running water supply or electricity for a pressure washer so I'm interested in how people wash their cars in this situation. Do you:

1. Pay £5 to the Polish people outside the gym/cinema/supermarket and risk getting swirls
2. Use the jetwash/shampoo/wax at petrol stations
3. Use the jetwash on the wheels and hand wash the rest of the car at home
4. Use the automatic car washes at petrol stations
5. Hand wash/clay/wax etc. all at home, probably end up carrying 6-8 buckets back and forth up to a top floor flat with no lifts.

I probably use option 3 most of the time or 5 when I have some time on my hands.

[Nezquick]

It does my head in.
50% of the time i'll let the local romanians do it for £5 (I don't care about swirls - it's on PCP so will be going back next year)

The other 50% of the time, I drive to my parents house (10 miles away) and wash it there.

[HorneyMX5]

Ground floor flat with outside garden tap here, it's why we bought it. It even has a grass area next to the garden that you can get all 4 cars on to wash them.

[DonkeyApple]

Used to wait 'till it rains and go outside with a bucket of soapy water and a raincoat.

[Spare tyre]

soapy sponge in a carrier bag
wait until it is raining
goto local industrial estate and find a sheltered loading bay (back of big shops is good for this)
Sponge down car

drive it in the rain

works well

i now own a house and a 50m hose

[MysteryLemon]

Don't live in a flat but our house doesn't have an outside tap.

I just use the local jetwash for the actual cleaning part. £4 in that gets all the crap off. Then I dry and wax back at home.

[Xtriple129]

DonkeyApple said:

Used to wait 'till it rains and go outside with a bucket of soapy water and a raincoat.

I used to do exactly the same, you tend to get wetter than the car!

Now I do number 5. Tedious and slow and weather dependant, nicely overcast for the actual washing 'cos otherwise it dries between buckets, which makes it look worse than before you started.

Ground floor flat and bugger all garden so not far to traipse with the bucket.

[Shaoxter]

I always thought ground floor flats should be avoided, who knew they could come in useful for the very important purpose of washing your car

[BigsimonY]

MysteryLemon said:

Don't live in a flat but our house doesn't have an outside tap.

I just use the local jetwash for the actual cleaning part. £4 in that gets all the crap off. Then I dry and wax back at home.

This....or just go to my mums and wash it,clay,wax it, while getting fed on a constant stream of bacon rolls and latte.......mmmm ,think i will wash it tonight

[anonymous-user]

When I was younger it used to be the last one, running up and down the stairs with buckets of water and doing the full polish and wax lark. Up until recently I just haven't been arsed and used the hand car wash chaps or the pay as you go jet wash.

I'm caught up in two minds, its 23 year old paint work and isn't the best and even after a session with the world's greatest detailer there are still going to be obvious starches, but not doing the washing myself is only making the paintwork worse.

[shirt]

34th floor here and due to the plaza and basements my cars are 37 floors away!

our car park has guys with the mobile wash things you see outside supermarkets. they charge the equivalent of just over 3quid for a go over.

petrol station charges a tenner for a jet wash [they do it, car goes up on a hydraulic ram so they can do the arches and underside as well] and interior clean [6 guys, 30mins], its 15quid if you want it steam cleaned including engine bay.

usually go with the garage option followed by clay and polish at home should i be selling a car or just bought one.

[The Wookie]

I let the dealer do it when it's in for a service

[nonuts]

For me it's one of the below, it's rather annoying but at least it's a secure underground carpark.

1) Drive to my folks house about 30mins away if I want to actually see how bad the scratches / rust is and clean it properly.
2) Polish folks that do a good job for £10
3) Drive through proper car wash as I remember seeing they are better than the jet washes from a grit / knackering the paint point of view.

[sideways man]

Mine is a 10 yr old skoda, its gets washed with a bucket and sponge three times a year. Whether it's dirty or not

[johnny fotze]

We just pee out of the window. Sometimes we get our car, sometimes a neighbours. The neighbours do the same so it evens out over time. Community spirit and all that.

[s p a c e m a n]

I just did mine at work today because I finished early but I normally just do it around the back of a petrol station.

Bucket, sponge, soapy stuff, wax and cloths in the boot. Use the tap around the back of the garage to fill the bucket up and wash it, then throw a couple of clean buckets over it to rinse it. Wax it whilst it's wet, drys off whilst I drink a coffee, wipe off the wax.

[Chlamydia]

I park in the car park under Canary Wharf when I'm at work and there's a very good valet company there, so once a month I get them to give it a going over inside and out. It's much better than I could do and the shine lasts for ages even with London's black rain.

[bayemvay]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niYCXj_OOg8

(That isn't me btw )

[bigunit00]

I had one of these when I lived in a flat. Did the job. Just

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi-v-17-porta...

[oilslick]

Jet-wash to get the worst crud off if required, then I just use a waterless wash & wax thing with a few microfibre cloths.