RagingReview: Mr. Clean AutoDry Car Wash System

[ragingfish]

PRODUCT REVIEWED: Mr. Clean AutoDry Car Wash SystemPRODUCT SHOT:MANUFACTURER DESCRIPTON: The Revolution Starts Now! Introducing the patented 3-part system that delivers significantly better carwash results in less time! Part 1: Mr. Clean AutoDryâ„¢ Precision Device - Lightweight, easy to use, all-in-one unit that sprays water, soap, and rinse. Part 2: Mr. Clean AutoDryâ„¢ Soap - Gets Suds On Demand - Cleans without reusing dirty water. The Dry Rinse Polymer sheets water off your car for fast drying. Part 3: Mr. Clean AutoDryâ„¢ Filter - Eliminates water impurities which cause spots. Leaves cars spot-free and clean. There is no need to hand dry! The Color-Change Indicator tells you when the filter needs to be changed. Here's what Mr. Clean AutoDryâ„¢ Carwash delivers:Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash Guarantees a Spot-Free Shine! Spot-free results -- Guaranteed! Touchless drying - Helps prevent scratching. Safe for all car finishes. Does not strip wax. Helps protect clearcoat. Also for use on windows, body, mirrors, chrome, wheels, and tires. PURCHASED AT:TargetMSRP:$19.99 US (about $26.68 CAD)DATE PURCHASED:Wednesday, March 3, 2004COMMENTS:The soap provided is nice. Seems to bite at the dirt a bit more than traditional car wash solvents. Also, not having to use a bucket is nice. No wasted water, and soap mixed as needed, inside the gun.Main issue: cost of use. The starter filter is good for about 3 washes. Refills last 10. Filters are $8 each. Soap is $6 a bottle. You can't use traditional car wash with this or it will clog. And the filters get tossed. I am not a fan of products that are used and then thrown out. These filters looks like they could be even partially recycled, and I'd like to see Proctor & Gamble take the initiative to provide a recyling option instead of just making another disposable item. Like we don't have enough of those in this world...The bottom line: a good idea for quick washes, and when you just don't feel like really getting into it. RagingRating: _________________________________________________________RagingRating Scale: = Excellent, Highest Recommendation = Recommended = Performed Adequately = Not Recommended = A Waste of Time And Money!

[scherry2]

Ragingfish what would we do without you.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by scherry2 »Ragingfish what would we do without you. Spend money on stuff that sucks apparantly!

[millster]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »Spend money on stuff that sucks apparantly! Yep. I had thought about trying this. Thanks to you, I won't. Good review!

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »Spend money on stuff that sucks apparantly! I think genvibe should hire you as a tester for the sake of us genvibers who all want the best for our vibes.

[joatmon]

yeah, but how did it do on the waxed cladding?

[ragingfish]

It's just common car wash solution. Had no effect on the wax.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »It's just common car wash solution. Had no effect on the wax.I know, I was just having some fun. hope you didn't mind

[ragingfish]

Not at all, lol. Was actually kind of confused as to why you mentioned it! LOL! Unfortunately, bad weather for hte next few days, so I won't know if the clay bar worked even until next week sometime.

[ArcsVibe]

Thanks Mike from saving me a bunch!!

[ragingfish]

Thank goodness for return policies, that's what i say!

[MYKIDSGT]

Thanks and ........That Sucks !Wont be buying anytime soon. Way to go on your details.

[Stang2Vibe]

Thanks for the review, Mike! Good job!As for that wax on the cladding, you have to stop near me sometime again in the future. Next time you plan on making a trip to Washington, PA, let me know ahead of time. I'll meet up with you down there and get that damn stuff off your car once and for all. This is probably driving me as crazy as it is you. I'm curious as to whether my idea will work. I'd happily ship you some Prep-Sol to try at home, but the Postal Service generally frowns upon sending highly flammable/explosive liquids through their system. We've got about a gallon and a half of it at work now, and we probably won't use any until next winter. Nobody would miss a few ounces of it.

[ragingfish]

I'll likely pass through on my way to the Michigan meet!I'll keep ya apprised if the clay bar actually works...thanks for the (continuing) offer!

[Stang2Vibe]

No prob there, Mike. I plan to go to the MI meet also, so I may just pack a can of Prep-Sol for the weekend trip. I would have to find a self car washing place up there the morning of the show to wash the car after driving up there. If you were planning to do the same, I could probably give you a hand then or even at the show. This wax removal issue is like my nemesis now. I'm on a mission to conquer it. Now, it has gotten personal!

[vibecrxsi240sxse]

Do a google search for revolutionizer, water, deionization, spot, free and if you find a link to a long blue chamber which attaches to the hose, you found a winner. I've used about 5 of these filters over the years and they DO work. I do not work for these guys so take my experiences with the revolutionizer as a first hand tester over the years.

[cool vibes]

Thanks for posting reviews on the AutoDry i have been eyeing thisproduct for some time thinking this works great , i think i will save my money" and yes this product is not yet availalbe in Canada thati know of.

[RoundUp]

Thanks Mike! I'm gonna throw out that $5 coupon I got at the autoshow.

[hman33]

thanks mike, i've been waiting for $5 coupons to come in the mail. guess i don't have to wait ant longer. thanks for being the guinuea pig and trying it, and thanks for the review.

[mwebb]

Thanks for the heads up- Sorry it cost you- But I will not be purchasing one now

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish » = A Waste of Time And Money!Must work better on a Matrix than it does on a vibehttp://www.matrixowners.com/mo...19553

[ragingfish]

Hard water from a well here.Still didn't think it was worth the money.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »Hard water from a well here.Still didn't think it was worth the money.Doesn't sound like it's worth it to me either. But then again, I wash my car a lot less than some. And, having Satellite, hard water stains arer a lot harder to see than they would be on an Abyss.

[drummerdude]

I have an abyss, and I will try this product and try to write a similar/high quality review like raging. We'll see....

[Mr. Poopypants]

Thanks for saving me money Fish.

[ragingfish]

Followup.This product MIGHT not be QUITE as bad as I initially reported it to be. I tried it again today. Wanted to give 'er a quick wash and shine. So I used it again, and quite frankly, the product DOES do what it says. Lets you wash the car wihtout drying.The shine was pretty nice actually. It was somewhat cold the day I did the initial trial, so I've decided to alter my rating above to reflect a second trial of this product.

[ragingfish]

Photos from today's wash session: A shot of my kickass tires: (For a bigger, closer up shot of the sidewall, click here.)And a shot with flash of the front end, to show that I FINALLY got my Hellas reinstalled! They've been out since my deer hit in November... YAY HELLAS!

[philndz]

Mike, Did you use anything on your cladding...it looks very dark and glossy...i like it! I'm thinking mine needs something now.-Phil

[MJN2]

Thanks for the review, Raging. Was seriously looking at purchasing one of these. I've got extremely hard water at home (well) and was thinking that Mr. Clean system would help when I wash my car.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by philndz »Mike, Did you use anything on your cladding...it looks very dark and glossy...i like it! I'm thinking mine needs something now.-PhilI used Stoner Trim Shine.

[philndz]

cooo!

[ragingfish]

Some better daylight shots to show you how slick she looks: And a closeup on the shiny trim!

[AKLGT]

mike, that looks pretty good!

[cieglo]

I picked up this set last week, but my hoze was froze, then I ended up waiting until yesterday.Here's my quickie review.Caveat: I hate carwashing, but I'm too cheap to pay someone else. If this helps me get the job done with seemingly less work, then all is well.Construction: seemes fairly sturdy. I dropped the unit twice (ok, really I threw it once as I dropped my cellphone in order to make a ninja-like catch of the nextel) and the only result was the ionizer cartridge door fell off without permanent damage.Usability: Pretty simple. Put cartridge it, put soap in, close lids, plug in hose (I put a quick-connect fitting on the end for my hose) and go. Large water/soap/rinse knob turns easy enough but I found I would over-turn it or miss the right spot - but it seemed to work ok. The water on/off switch looked like it was in an odd spot, but turned out to be easy to use. The plain-water jet had good range but I thought it would have more force behind it. The soap applies nice and even. The soap does take a few seconds to come out after the water is turned on.Washing: The kit I bought at WalMart came with a bunch of doo-dads like a washing glove, duster and febreeze upholstery cleaner. So, I used the included glove to wash with. A few seconds of squirt soaps up the glove real nice. Soap seemed to work well.Rinsing: plain-water rinse is very easy.No-spot rinse: very short range, with wide fan. It goes on easy and you can sort of see the bubble up, but its hard to tell if you've washed all the regular water off or not.Final result: Now, I am a terrible car-washer. I ALWAYS miss spots. It wasn't until the next day (because it was almost dark when I finished) I saw I missed an area. Did it dry spot Free? Yes and no. After I finished washing the car, I must have splashed other water on the car and it those areas there were spots. There were a few spots on the moonroof glass. Other than that, yes, the car was more spot free than when I usually wash. Did it get everything off the car? No, of course not, you need tar remover or other products for the tuff stuff, but it got all the road salt and other dirt'n'grime off. Evey my plastic trim looked good.Tip: Wash the entire car and keep it all wet as you wash, like re-spray areas to keep it wet until you are done washing the entire car. THEN use the no-spot rinse on all the surfaces. I found myself repeatedly re-no-spot-rinsing areas because I kept overspraying plain water where I didn't want it. I used almost the entire included soap cartridge in washing my Vibe 1.5 times and my wife's Windstar van. When I did her van using my tip, above, there were no spots on the car. Not sure how much of the no-spot-rinse cartridge I used, I can't see the color change. Was it worth it? It was neat, felt cool holding a "gun", felt like it saved time, left nearly-no spots, I didn't have to hand-dry, and for the $18 I paid for the kit, I liked it. Will it be worth it in the long run, buying Mr.Clean soap and cartridges? Only time will tell.I see on the product website http://www.homemadesimple.com/...shtml there is a pro version with more pressure and a handy carrying case. I haven't seen this in stores yet, but I would probably like it better.