Rinseless washing is the act of washing a vehicle without having to rinse any product from the vehicle before drying it.
Everyone knows the old-school way to wash their vehicle; a bucket of soap and water. The soap and water wash has been around for generations and still has its purpose in certain situations. Just like everything today there are new technological advances all the time and this includes automobile maintanence. Even though rinseless washing has been around for many years now, it is still a new concept to many people. There are pros and cons to using soap on a vehicle, but for me the cons outweigh the benefits. That is where rinseless washing comes in to play.
Most of us have been there, washing our vehicle on a nice sunny day and before you can finish drying the vehicle there are already water spots. This happens because the water has evaporated from the surface of the vehicle and left behind minerals. The technology of a rinseless wash product solves this issue because of its encapsulating polymer technology which encapsulates the minerals in the water as well as the dirt from the vehicle. This encapsulation also prevents scratching of the paint without relying solely on lubrication like regular soap does. If any of the rinseless product does dry onto the paint it can easily be removed with a damp microfiber towel.
Without any rinsing involved, this also makes these products eco-friendly. A typical car wash with soap uses around 10-15 gallons of water. A rinseless wash can be done with only 1 or 2 gallons of water. This also allows people with water restrictions or no access to a hose, such as at an apartment, to safely and effectively wash their vehicle.
Another plus about rinseless proucts is they do not require a drying-aid. (A drying-aid is a product used after washing a vehicle with soap to prevent scratching while drying the paint.) This is because any product left on the vehicle is a lubricant. You can still use a drying-aid product such as a spray-wax to apply protection if wanted, but it is not necessary.
The most important aspect for me professionally about rinseless products is the amount of time saved to wash a vehicle. If a vehicle is maintained with rinseless washing it only takes minutes to quickly refresh your vehicle’s appearance. This time-saving aspect comes from not having to thoroughly rinse any soap off a vehicle and rush around to stop any waterspotting. I can wash my personal vehicle, a Toyota Matrix, in about 15 minutes using a rinseless wash.
There are certain situations where a basic rinseless wash is not enough to clean a very dirty vehicle. The way to solve this deosn’t have to be resorting back to soap but to thoroughly pre-rinse the vehicle. Even though it is called a rinseless wash doesn’t mean you can’t do a pre-rinse. The way I like to pre-rinse is by using a rinseless product with a pressure washer. This blasts any heavy dirt off while also helping to encapsulate and emulsify any leftover dirt and not leave any water spots.
There are several rinseless wash products on the market, but my favorite is Optimum No Rinse by Optimum Polymer Technologies.