[BruceK]

I am always skeptical of anything advertised on TV. So I simply don' t buy anything which seems too good to be true. But my birthday was recently, and my wife surprised me with a gift of the Mr. Clean AutoDry car wash "system". The supposed benefit is it totally eliminates the need to dry off the car after washing - leaving a spot-free gleaming car.

Well...... it really, really works as advertised!!

I've washed my MINI twice now with the AutoDry system and I am very impressed. I live in an area with very "hard" (mineral-rich) water and no matter how well I'd chamois the car off following a wash, there would always be small, but noticeable streaks and water spots left - especially visible on the windows and chrome.

The AutoDry system consists of three elements: A special hand-held sprayer that connects to the end of the hose, special Mr. Clean car wash soap, and a double water filtering system built into the sprayer that removes all contaminants from the water and de-ionizes it.

Here's how to use it: Using the high-flow (unfiltered) setting on the sprayer, get the car wet. Then switch to the suds setting (actually not really that sudsy) and spray a particular area of the car such as the roof and windows. Then you put the sprayer down and use a sponge or washing mitt as normal on that area. Rinse the suds off with the high-flow (unfiltered) spray and move on the another section and repeat with the suds and sponge. At this point you want all areas of the car to remain wet until the final rinse. Once you have sponged the whole car and rinsed all the soap off, you switch to the low-flow (filtered) setting and your basically rinse the car once more from the top down with pure, contaminate-free water. This water comes out much like a gentle mist that you kind of "paint" your car with. Then you simply walk away from your wet car. After about 10 to 20 minutes (depending on humidity and wind) you end up with a sparkling, spot-free car. It's amazing. I mean my MINI looks just like it has just been polished and waxed. Speaking of wax, the system is supposed to be very wax-friendly - meaning it will not strip wax.

The downside? You must use the special Mr. Clean car wash supplies: the special soap and filter pack. Supposedly the cost comes out to about $1 or so per car wash but I haven't done the math on it yet. I'm still on the beginner pack that came with the sprayer. I can tell you that the soap is very efficient at cleaning and the dirt just seems to float away (my sponge gets much dirtier than with my "old" car wash soap). The soap has some "dry rinse polymer" which helps support the spot-free drying. And the filter pack is made by known filter maker Pur.

I really recommend it. (If you are in the US and interested, I know the AutoDry system is available at Pepboys and WalMart)

Here's an (annoying) TV commercial of the system in action:

http://www.homemadesimple.com/mrcleanautodry/vodeo1.htm

[BruceK]

I forgot to mention another benefit of the AutoDry system: it's quick. I timed myself this evening and the whole car wash, from hose hookup to walking away from a wet-but-soon-to-be-dry car, took about 18 minutes.

Not having to lug a bucket around and not having to dry the car meant it took me about half of my usual time spent washing the car. So I was able to get a car wash done in the time I got home from work before it became too dark to see.

[NEMINI]

Should try some before and after pictures next time ya use it I was waiting for someone else to 'demo' it

[Root Ginger]

Looks cool but they don't do it in the UK

[BruceK]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ginge

Looks cool but they don't do it in the UK

Well, it's brand new here - only been out in stores for about a month or so. Procter & Gamble are a huge international company, so perhaps it will become available in the UK.

[CurtP]

I wonder if I can get just the sprayer and fill it with Zaino car wash

[obehave]

Quote: Originally Posted by CurtP

I wonder if I can get just the sprayer and fill it with Zaino car wash

Great minds

Just a few years back there were deionizing wands on the market. For car wash and for doing windows, particularly the hard to reach 2nd story ones.

They kind of disappeared though

[Dark Silver S]

Quote: Originally Posted by BruceK

... And the filter pack is made by known filter maker Pur.

Hmmmm. I think there may be an idea lurking here.

[Jerseygirl]

Quote: Originally Posted by obehave

Just a few years back there were deionizing wands on the market. For car wash and for doing windows, particularly the hard to reach 2nd story ones.

They kind of disappeared though

Wow, so this would save time washing the MINI and I could use it on the windows in my sunroom as well.

Hmmm... Pep Boys is just down the road....

[MiniDoug]

I would love this in the UK....
The water is really hard in London and leaves huge white water marks if you don't dry it!
Oh to live in Edinburgh or even better where my folks live in Co Down, N. Ireland!

[eddie_DV52_CCZ]

you guys i think this system is actually available in the UK i was watch late night tv on sky and i went to the shopping channel and saw something that sounds the same... i find the best way to dry of the car is to get it wet, get the hose and gently let water flow all over the car... all the water seems to drain off very quickly and no water droplets are left... very cheap and works well!

[BruceK]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cutup

I wonder if I can get just the sprayer and fill it with Zion car wash

Not according to the AutoDry literature. Of course they have a product to sell, and they want to you to stick to their soap. In fact, there are even special instructions on calling their customer support number for help in unclogging the sprayer should you be tempted into using another kind of soap or auto shampoo product.

I think they may be telling the truth as the soap really seems different from any other car wash solution I have used - the dirt is lifted up and floats off - very easy to see this with black brake dust floating off of the silver wheels. And the AutoDry soap is supposed to have a "dry rinse polymer" to support the no-dry feature of the washing system.

[PyroTech]

Would love to get a follow up after 10-20 washes.... I worry that the soap may be stripping the wax from the car, which would be bad. I would love to hear how the paint feels after frequent washes. Keep us updated!

[alanz]

I bought a Mr Clean kit two weeks ago.
I used it for the first time last week, as a precursor to my first Zaino application.

My first wash was to get rid of most of the salt, dirt, etc.

I used unfiltered water, then the Mr Clean cleaner, followed by unfiltered water, followed by filtered rinse.

It was very interesting seeing the filtered water "dance" on the surface...
It left the car reasonably clean, but this was with no sponge/washcloth... just the sprayer.

I followed all that with another washing, this time with Dawn dishwashing liquid (not in the Mr Clean gun), because I wanted to strip off all wax in preparation for the Zaino.

Then applied the Zaino Z18 Clay Bar.

I used the unfiltered water followed by the filtered rinse.

I then applied 3 coats of Zaino Z2 + ZFX (with Z6 after each coat)

Ok, that was last week... today's adventure was a little different.

I wanted to put another couple of Z2 coats on, and dared to replace the Mr. Clean soap with Zaino Z7 car wash liquid. The Z7 is sudsier than the Mr Clean stuff, and the application went pretty well.

However... when I went to filtered rinse, the water beaded up instead of sheeting off the car. Now I'm not sure what caused this. It could be the change in soap, or it could be the underlying 3 coats of Z2 with Z6 finishing coats. The filtered water application looked quite different than it did last week on the naked paint.

Because both the soap and surface changed, I can't pinpoint it yet, so I'm just reporting my findings. I used a water blade to gently sweep the beads of water off the car, and that worked very well.

So, next time I try the Mr. Clean system, I'll go back to the Mr Clean soap and see if that promotes sheeting. If not, it might be the Z2/Z6 that's forcing the beading, even with filtered water.

[Speed Is Good]

It's the Zaino Z2/Z6 that's causing the water to bead up but most of the water should run off the ultra slick surface or dry off with very little effort. I've never seen water on a freshly waxed car bead up and run off like it does after a fresh application of Zaino!

[alanz]

Problem is that it was beading up, but not running off. With my first attempt it was quite entertaining to see billions of tiny bubbles sheeting off the car.

[Cape Cod MINI]

It didn't self dry for me like they claim but it came close.
The think that REALLY made me happy was NO WATER SPOTS None at all.
This is great. Straight to wax, none of the elbow greasing and swearing at hundreds of water spots.

[BruceK]

Quote: Originally Posted by PyroTech

Would love to get a follow up after 10-20 washes.... I worry that the soap may be stripping the wax from the car, which would be bad. I would love to hear how the paint feels after frequent washes. Keep us updated!

Okay. Reporting later sounds like a good idea to me.

I remain skeptical until I've proved it to myself, but the AutoDry literature stresses that it does not strip wax. (and to be honest, it's been a while since I've waxed my car, so I'll need to get that taken care of in order to report back on this topic in any meaningful way).

But again, the product literature stresses that it is wax-friendly. Quote:

• Q. Why are water beads not forming after I rinse? Does this strip wax?
  A. Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash does not strip wax. The sheeting action of the Dry Rinse Polymer™ works with the Mr. Clean AutoDry Filter so that a thin layer of de-ionized water is left on the car's surface, which will quickly evaporate, leaving a spot-free result. Next time it rains, the beads will be back—and you get to wash again!
  
  and
  
  Mr. Clean AutoDry Soap—Cuts dirt to clean your car. Dry Rinse Polymer™ creates a sheet of water to begin the unique dry-down process.
  Mr. Clean AutoDry Filter—Removes water impurities that cause spots. Look for the microbeads as they dance across your car, then evaporate without leaving spots.
  Watch It Dry—What else are you doing with the time you just saved? Windows usually dry first, leaving your car completely clean and spot-free.
  
  
  Q. Is it Safe?
  A. Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash is safe for all car finishes. It does not strip wax, and it helps protect the by cleaning dirt and water spots and leaving a shine on the surface.
  

So.... we'll see....

[BruceK]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cape Cod MINI

It didn't self dry for me like they claim but it came close.
The think that REALLY made me happy was NO WATER SPOTS None at all.
This is great. Straight to wax, none of the elbow greasing and swearing at hundreds of water spots.

Huh? You mean it stayed wet and you went after it with a chamois or towel? Maybe you didn't wait long enough. After my first wash, it was very arid outside the car dried in 10 minutes. Following my second wash I simply parked the wet car in the garage. It was a humid night and it took perhaps an hour for the car to dry off in the closed garage.

So, drying times do seem to vary a lot.

[Cape Cod MINI]

Quote: Originally Posted by BruceK

Huh? You mean it stayed wet and you went after it with a chamois or towel? Maybe you didn't wait long enough. After my first wash, it was very arid outside the car dried in 10 minutes. Following my second wash I simply parked the wet car in the garage. It was a humid night and it took perhaps an hour for the car to dry off in the closed garage.

So, drying times do seem to vary a lot.

I was impatient. Finally got a 42 degree day here on a weekend and I could use the Mr. Clean system. I did use the Cal. water blade a bit on the small amount of water that didn't dry after about 10 mins. and a towel on some of the nooks and crannies. Overall I would rate the Mr. Clean system very high.