Hello everyone, I live in an apt complex and I'm wondering how I should be cleaning my car. My previous vehicle was a 2000 Honda CR-V which I only washed about twice a year when I drove to WV to visit family. 1) How often should I clean my vehicle? 2) How can I do it myself (preferred)? 3) If I cannot manage #2, what sort of a car wash facility should I look for?
As far as keeping it clean the Prius is the same as any other car. Once the newness wears off most people revert to their own basic standard of cleanliness.
In California we are in a water crunch so even though we have a designated spot for washing in our condo complex I prefer to use a car wash place that reclaims water.
I live in an apartment complex in Manhattan and do not have easy access to either a hose or a car wash. I, and a lot of other people who are similarly situated or reside in water restricted areas (no car washing with a hose, no lawn watering, etc.), use Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine to hand wash our cars using either one bucket or two buckets of water. Personally, I tend to use the one bucket method because I'm lazy and would rather lug only one bucket of water down from my apartment. If you want to give it a go, I would suggest ordering the 1 quart size rather than the 1 gallon size. Google Optimum No Rinse to find places that sell it online (I got mine from Amazon) as well as demonstration videos and reviews.
Definitely Optimum No Rinse. A bucket, a couple of soft mitts, a few towels, and you're all set. Search YouTube for demos.
How should I get rid off bugs stuck on the hood and front of the car? I drive everyday on a highway that has tons of bugs. And every week when I wash it I see the front side of the car is almost covered by dead bugs dried up and and stuck on it. And I find it little difficult to get rid of them.
Sounds crazy, but spray the front of the car with armor all or similar product after washing and before hitting the bugs, Pam the vegetable cooking spray works as well, or at least it does for love bugs. Doesn't keep you from hitting them, but sure makes getting them off easier. Hasn't hurt paint either
Besides cooking spray oil, I understand that many car owners like Rejex -- a high polymer wax first developed for aviation (helps to keep bugs from sticking to or make bugs easier to clean off propellers/wings) -- including Floridians and other Southerners who use it on their cars in their fight against love bugs. Here's one thread that talks about Rejex (I think it's also mentioned elsewhere on PriusChat): http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-.../38522-does-anyone-use-rejex-their-prius.html You can get it at Amazon, among other places: http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B0006V0LNY?tag=priuschatcom-20
I'd recommend ONR for your situation, its perfect for your needs. I did a pretty extensive writeup about it and the process which can be found here: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ng-process-without-hose-described-inside.html
Thanks, everyone for the advise! I'll definetely try them out soon. And I hope now the weather is getting colder and those bugs will go away for while!
I just did my first ONR (Optimum No Rinse) today. I have to say now that I've used it, I prefer washing this way rather than the traditional way. It is WAY easier. The reason it's easier is the drying.The 2010 Prius just plain sucks to dry when it's hose washed. By the way I've been using Zaino on my winter gray but When I bought my ONR they sent me a sample of their syn wax. It sprays on and and drys with a microfiber cloth. Waxing is even easier than the Zaino (which I thought was pretty easy).
Pretty cool huh? If you want even better results try spritzing each panel with a quick detailer or Eagle One's Wax-As-U-Dry before you dry the panel.
