Outdoor water use by private parties (not businesses) is banned here, with few exceptions, and a quick check of carwashes is coming up with zip in terms of ones that do any recycling. We have a few rain barrels up front where there are gutters, many large garbage cans out back, and put buckets out to catch rain off the unguttered roof. So far this has served to keep vegetation alive, and to water plants in the green house, but we are now wondering how we could further filter and if needed treat (ph?) the rain barrel water (they already have screens to remove noticeable particles) for use in washing our cars. We're getting enough rain right now that we can spare the water without depriving trees and shrubs. The barrels are full and the Prius is dirty.
May I suggest Optimum No Rinse? All you need is two buckets of water - one with the ONR solution, the other as a rinse bucket. That's it!
Re: Drought,rain barrel water, and Prius Thanks, will research it as soon as I find out what I need to do to the rainwater that will have to go in the two buckets you mention. Although unlike Atlanta, our city has an excellent water use and return record, we still have to pay the price for Atlanta and its burbs sins and outdoor water use (from the city's supply) is strictly banned here . So, till the ban is lifted, saved rainwater is the only way to go. Thanks, though, I have made a note of ONR. tante b
You should double check to see if local car washes do recycle. Ours do. Also consider saving your washing machine gray water.
I'll call some more car washes tomorrow, that would surely ease the chore, although if rainwater was useable we'd be cleaning more often. I'll double check, but I believe we are in an are that bans grey water use also, although we still, to some degree have done it prior to getting the barrels set up. Thanks for the response. tante b
Get two grit guards for your two wash buckets. They trap sediment in the bottom if that is our concern. I use them to trap the dirt I wash off the car when I'm rinsing my mop. Grit guard I use two, one in the wash and one in the rinse. I use a white bucket and an orange bucket from Home Depot. That way I can tell shampoo from rinse.
Sounds good. I'm just worried about what's in the rainwater. I mean it has to condense on a particle (CCN) in order to.. well form into a droplet and then it'll grow by collision and coalescence. So I don't know if you want all that stuff in the atmosphere that the droplets picked up used on the car. On the lawn, that's fine or even washing the sidings. I know it's no different than leaving the car in the rain but if you can filter the rainwater, that'll be nice.
Ok, that will help, now and when they lift the ban. Will order two.Thanks. Still need to figure out if I need to do something to treat the, for instance Ph of the rainwater, or, if it is no worse as is than Joe Blow's car wash procedures. Again, thanks. tante
My concern as well, I guess one thing I should have done is tested the Ph. I don't really know what else (or how), to test for or to do. The screening in use on the barrels is pretty fine, so the particles in the saved water are finer than those on the car from road debris. Acid? As in acid rain?? I really do appreciate your's, and Godiva's responses...I might have sounded snippy but that was far from the intent. tante
I suppose a quick pH test would work just to be safe. Really, the rinse bucket doesn't have to be same size or filled with the same volume of water as the solution bucket. Just enough water to rinse the dirt/sediments and other crud off the mitt so you don't transfer it to the ONR solution.
Don't wash your car in the sun or when it's real hot. No danger of that now, I suppose. After you rinse, dry it with The Absorber. It really cuts down on spots. Then use a good wax. The Absorber The Absorber at amazon.com
