Wrong car wash dilution

[EPHIOS]

Is there any side effects of putting more car wash solution, lets say 6oz on a 5 gallon water, other than wasting the car wash solution? My Home Depot orange buckets do not have lines that indicate how many gallons of water I have put in it. Any tips you can share with me? Thanks!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Wrong car wash dilution

Being off by a small amount isn't going to hurt. It's people who use the "glug glug" method of adding soap who run into trouble. They don't realize it but they often end up using 3 times the amount of soap they should, which can then become difficult to rinse off (or just take more effort than needed) and is very wasteful.

Just keep in mind that you almost never fill a 5 gallon bucket all the way up. Most people tend to fill a bit over halfway, so figure somewhere between 2.5 and 3 gallons. The amount of soap you use should be proportionate to how much water is in the bucket, not simply the size of the bucket.

[dreamps]

Re: Wrong car wash dilution

this may sound crazy to you guys, the way i measured out my HD buckets was taking an empty gallon bottle of water/milk(whatever you have) and then doing one gallon at a time and marking the outside of the bucket with a sharpie

i went 1-5 gallons in 1 gallon increments and made 5 marks on my wash and rinse buckets. hope this helps!

[Mary S]

Re: Wrong car wash dilution

this may sound crazy to you guys, the way i measured out my HD buckets was taking an empty gallon bottle of water/milk(whatever you have) and then doing one gallon at a time and marking the outside of the bucket with a sharpie

i went 1-5 gallons in 1 gallon increments and made 5 marks on my wash and rinse buckets. hope this helps!

I think I'll do that on my HD buckets too, because I don't know exactly how much water I'm using either.

I did use the sharpie method to mark the 5 ounce mark on a cup to measure out the shampoo.

[Shawn T.]

Re: Wrong car wash dilution

I use an old spray bottle that has premeasured markings on it. I simply cut off the top of the bottle so its smaller and easier to use. I have to try marking the bucket too.

[imacarnut]

Re: Wrong car wash dilution

For years I've been using a clear laundry cup that comes on top of the liquid laundry detergent and I poured 3 ounces (that's the amount of soap I use since I don't fill the bucket all the way up) of water in it and remembered where it was on the cup (it has little lines on them) and now it's pretty much idiot proof to use the correct amount when I pour the soap in.

[dood786]

Re: Wrong car wash dilution

Certain soaps like nxt wash have a high ph rating so using a too high mixture will end up stripping wax off the paint.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Wrong car wash dilution

Just measure how much water you pour into the bucket.Mark the bucket. Now in a plastic solo cup. Measure the appropriate amount of car wash soap. Mark the solo cup. Now you have a fool proof system.

[chevyman]

Re: Wrong car wash dilution

Just measure how much water you pour into the bucket.Mark the bucket. Now in a plastic solo cup. Measure the appropriate amount of car wash soap. Mark the solo cup. Now you have a fool proof system.

I filled a "SOLO" cup with 5 ounces of water, and it measured to the top of the "L", so I just always pour my UWW to the top of the "L" and there you have it!