How to Wash a Car Without a Hose

It’s actually not hard at all to wash a car without a hose. With the right chemical solution, you can clean a car without a water source entirely! 

Waterless wash sprays are solutions formulated to break down and lift out dust and contaminants from a vehicle’s paint so they can be wiped away easily with a microfiber towel. Using this kind of product makes a hose totally unnecessary for cleaning a vehicle. 

In this article, we’ll explain in-depth how to wash a car without a hose using a waterless wash.

Step-By-Step Instructions

The instructions provided below are a fast and safe approach for cars that are only lightly dirty. If your car has heavy levels of dirt and road grime, try to avoid waterless washing if at all possible.

1. Spray the waterless wash onto a body panel until drips appear. If the panel is large, only apply to half the panel at a time. 
2. Fold your microfiber towels 4-ways and make a single swipe over the panel. 
3. Flip the towel to the other side and repeat with a fresh swipe over this panel and overlap a little into the first swipe.
4. Repeat this process folding the towel to a clean side for each swipe over the paint.
5. With the average size microfiber towels, folded 4-ways, you’ll get 8 sides to wipe with. Once you’ve used all 8 sides of a single towel, place this now-dirty towel into a clean bucket and switch to a clean, dry towel.
6. Repeat on each panel.

Important Things to Remember When Washing Without a Hose

Washing a car without a hose in a way that cleans the vehicle completely without scratching can be a challenging task. Make sure you keep the following tips in mind:

• You May Scratch Your Paint: Keep in mind a waterless wash is not as safe as a traditional bucket wash in terms of preventing wash-induced scratches. The fact is, a towel wiping a spray solution has much less lubrication than a wash mitt gliding across a bed of soapy foam, so you will get some level of scratching using a waterless wash. 
• Never Reuse a Dirty Towel: The best way to reduce scratches while using a waterless wash is to use a lot of clean, uncontaminated microfiber towels. Dirty microfiber towels are much more likely to scratch than clean ones. 
• Wipe Carefully: You’ll also need good wiping technique to safely and effectively clean over a wide range of different shaped body panels. Be sure you’re following the above directions to a T, otherwise you may damage your paint. 

While washing a car without a hose isn’t the most ideal way to clean a vehicle, it’s definitely possible with the right kind of car washing solution. Just be sure you’re using clean, uncontaminated towels and practicing proper wiping technique as you clean. And be sure you’re never using a waterless wash solution to clean an extremely dirty car! If you can remember all that, you’ll be A-okay washing your car without a hose.