Today's Sponge........

[day1si]

So who here uses a sponge for washing purposes? ?
Most car guys like the mits, but I for one do not. I hate having it on my hand, they are relatively expensive if you buy the ones that don't fall apart, I don't like the thought of using a dirt collector more than once on my car, and they don't seem to trap any more dirt or prevent any more scratches than a sponge.

My thing is to only use a sponge once, always use a rinse bucket, check it on each panel for large trapped debris, and just keep it nice and suddsy.

Works well for me, and I'm a detail nut!!!
So any reasons I may not be aware of, that would change my ways??

[ October 21, 2003, 04:13 PM: Message edited by: day1si ]

 

[SPITMAN]

A wool wash mit is soft and flexible, not to mention fluffy thus allowing you to get into tight spots, hollows, nooks and crannies to ensure everythig is clean. Also, you can run the hose from inside the mit to rinse out any debris that may have gotten into the knap. I use three mit in three different soap solution containers to wash -- #1 for wheels and inside fenders only, #2 for lower body where most of the road spray collects, and #3 for the upper body. New mits enter the process at position #3 and work there way down as the old wornout mits exit the system at position #1.

I just want to get my hands on the car and feel its surface when I wash

.....

 

[tweeker43]

if you are using a "today sponge" to wash your car:

1. it has been banned by the fda
2. you are misusing the sponge
3. i'd think the spermicide would smear
4. you must have quite a stock
5. hopefully you are using some other method of birth control

never mind.

i use a furry mit thing and wash it after every use. i had a big sponge that i used, but it didn't really do that great of a job on the road tar type stuff that gets on the car.

there are better uses for the "today sponge."

 

[4DSC]

I think I'll still stick to my sheepskin mitt.

While the sponge material itself probably isn't able to scratch the paint, it's always the dirt that people fret about. Sponges (even sea sponges) tend not to be favoured very much by most people I know for the same reasons why leather chamois cloths aren't favoured for drying. The problem people see with such things is that they don't leave anywhere for dirt to go other than to stay on/near the surface. With a little pressure you can get a mild sandpaper-like effect from this.

Personally, I'd also be worried about how well I can squeeze/rinse the dirt out of it, since most sponges I've seen can probably trap dirt in the foam cells. Being able to "fluff" out the dirt from my sheepskin mitt is one reason I like it so much.

Some other personal views:

1) Suds are overrated because they clean very little and just look pretty. Think: laundry detergent, automatic dishwasher detergent.
2) I just use the mitt to loosen the dirt mainly, not to try and remove it from the surface. It then either gets rinsed off or emusified in the soapy water.

JMO

 

[Dr. T]

I thought sponges were "banned" by pro's because they have very little (the tiny holes) particulate surface absorbance of dirt and debris, but rather smear and scratch it across the surace of the paint.

 

[day1si]

The "Today Sponge" was intentional.

All I could think of is the Seinfeld episode on it!! Ha-ha "Are you sponge worthy"

Well almost all the points brought up about the sponge could be said of the mitt also. What's so magical that keeps debris locked in the knap of the mitt? ? I can just as easily see debris hiding in the mitt fibers and working it's way out as you move it down the side of a panel. I do agree that it may contain an easier path to catch your basic dirt a little better, but I'm still not sold. Also where do you guys get your mitts? ? All the ones I see at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Advanced Auto etc look like crap and are visibly not so well made. They look like they coulnd't withstand one washing.

I have found natural ones at car shops and online, but for the price, I think I will just keep buying new sponges every time.
The sponge holds dirt and dust in just fine and rinses right out. The big stuff you catch when you rinse it out, and if it doesn't rinse out then I just open a new one. I also never wash my whole car at once, I do each panel separately and wash as I go. So I never end up running the sponge down my whole car or dragging the dirt too far. I rinse a lot and scrub the big debris areas last and individually. (door edges, Qp edges etc….) I also can see what is on the sponge and feel it also.
Flexible it is too……….Maybe not as versatile as the mitt, but I never have had a problem
I maybe I just haven't found a good mitt yet, I don't know? ?

 

[VaderSS]

I use a sponge with a terry cover to wash the car(Zaino soap) and a Fieldcrest towels to dry the car with a final wipe from a microfiber towel to completely dry the car. I use a duster between washings, as long as it has not gotten treesap or been rained on.

Today Sponge is back.