Mr Clean "Auto Dry"?

[PW01]

I picked one up today at Home Depot for $18. I live in Louisville Ky (read super hard water), so I got it mainly for the spot-free rinse function. I was wondering if the soap was any good. Does It strip wax? Has anybody substituted another car wash "shampoo"?

 

[CBDFrontier06]

It was my experience that the soap indeed strips wax, so the water will 'sheet' and you supposedly get a spot-free shine. I assume you can put in any soap you wish, and I strongly advise against using the soap that comes with it, unless you don't like water to bead on your paint.

I use a method that still requires towel drying....after washing the car, use the garden hose without a sprayer and let the water run over the entire car...it takes most of the beads off with it and cuts drying time in half.

 

[Cadude]

I used one for a long time and do not believe the soap strips wax. Sure, it encourages the water to sheet but that does not mean the wax is gone. You can use other soaps but before you do, be sure to empty the MR. Clean soap completely from the tank. Then put water in the tank and run it though the system to completely flush the Mr. Clean soap out. It's when the Mr. Clean soap mixes with other soap that it turns to a gel that will clog the system. I quit using the Mr. Clean system because I don't have a garage. If you are going to let your car air dry, it needs to be in a shelter so that every piece of dust and pollen that blows by your car doesn't stick to it.

 

[NYEngineer]

I love the Mr Clean stuff. I have a black Yukon and not all the time in the world to clean it. I find that the Mr Clean soap works best if all the steps are done properly. My truck even stays cleaner longer, in other words, dust doesn't seem to stick as easily. I also installed a water filter in my water line so the Mr Clean filter would last longer. It works.

 

[Cadude]

There is one thing that about the Mr. Clean system and other deionized water systems that bother me. When I read about this, I put Mr. Clean away. However, I think I may have a case of a little information being a dangerious thing. So, if someone can educate me, please do so. Here it is.

Mr. Clean's filter is really a deionizing filter which as I understand means it removes the suspended minerals in the water. A regular filter can remove solid minerals but not the suspended minerals. As I understand it, the Mr. Clean filter removes the suspended minerals like a water softener does. Something about an ion exchange process using sodium (water softeners use salt/sodium). When I read this, I wondered if I was spraying salt water on my car! Well, more investigation reveals the level of salt is very low and no more than tap water in many locales. But, further investigation led me to read that deionized water is very corrosive. Because the minerals have been removed, when deionized water contacts metal, it leaches the minerals from the metal. On painted surfaces, this is not an issue but what about the water contacting brake rotors, exhaust parts, and many other unpainted metals on your car.

If this is a problem, most people might never encouter it if they keep their cars only a few years. But, I keep mine 10-20 years so this bothers me.

If anyone can educate me that deionized water is not an issue, I've love to gain knowledge.

 

[Scottydog]

Unless you use distilled water all water will have dissolved salts. But it's not like sea water where the sodium content is very high.

Yes the deionizer exchanges the dissolved calcium ions for sodium. It's the calcium that makes the white water spots on your car. Softer water has less surface tension, therefore it "sheets". It doesn't mean it's stripping the wax. Regarding leaching I seriously doubt that would be an issue. It would take an acid to do that. Calium water spots if left on can "etch" the paint, and may never come off.

 

[John K]

Cadude - you should substitute the word dissolved instead of suspended. A filter would have no effect on the dissolved solids. Usually when a it is described as a deionizer it means mixed resins, although strictly speaking a softener is a deionizer but it only uses cation resin regenereated to the sodium form. When a mixed deionizer is used the cation resin is regenerated to the acid form, i.e. H+. The anion is regenerated to the OH form, that the ions that are removed are replaced by H and OH, i.e. you get pure water. While pure water is more corrosive that water that is high in dissolved solids, it is usually due to oxygen pickup. When washing a car I would think it wouldn't make any real difference.