Lucky Earth: Wash your car with ZERO water

Each year people waste tons of excess water washing their car. As a home owner this not only raises your water costs but also runoff caused by the hose can allow chemicals from your car into your yard, driveway, and if you walk in that water, into your home via your shoes. One option that can keep your car clean without the negatives above is a waterless car wash. There are lots of waterless car wash brands on the market, but they’re not all the same. I recently tried Lucky Earth Waterless Car Wash and here’s the inside scoop…

Lucky Earth “Waterless” Car Wash is Lucky Earth’s signature car care product. It’s made with just water, natural surfactants (the cleaner) derived from coconut, and silicone. According to Lucky Earth, “The surfactants break up and lift the dirt from the vehicle’s surface, while the silicone allows the dirt to be easily whisked away without scratching.  The silicone leaves a smooth feel and glossy shine on automobiles, boats, and all types of motorsports and watercraft.” View the MSDS product sheet (pdf) which notes no toxic ingredients.

I reviewed the 32 oz. spray bottle of “Waterless” Car Wash which provides enough product to wash your car about 7-10 times. The wash doubles as an interior car cleaner, and can be used on the dashboard, leather seats, doors, and any other non-fabric surfaces. This product must be used with microfiber towels and I also got a set of those to review along with the wash.

What I think:

The directions were posted on the bottle and were simple to follow. You spray the wash onto a microfiber towel and the section of the car you’re cleaning. Wipe the section in a sweeping motion with the damp towel then buff the area slightly with a second, dry microfiber towel. The directions also say to lightly pre-rinse areas that are heavily soiled, muddy, or sandy before you use the wash. One, my car doesn’t really get muddy, and two a rinse defeats the whole “waterless” issue so note that I did not do this.

What I liked:

• It worked super well both inside my car and out. My car not only looked clean but nice and shiny; polished. Actually my pal saw my car and thought I did take the time to polish it, but no, I had just used the wash.
• It didn’t scratch, stain, or otherwise harm my car’s exterior or interior.
• Once you do the first round of wiping on a section, a light film appears which is nice because it shows you where you need to buff.
• It was windy out and when I sprayed I’d get a little on my hands but I wasn’t concerned like I might be with a toxic product because of the natural ingredients.
• The towels had enough mass to almost wash my whole, semi-dirty car. In all, I’d suggest you get three to four towels per normal sized car, because I had two I believe, and could have used a third.
• The product is VOC free.
• The towels are reusable and you can hang them to dry.
• The packaging; including the product bottle and the cardboard around the towels is recyclable. PLUS they actually print a recycle reminder on the packaging – you’d be surprised at how many eco-products I review that don’t do this small thing.
• It’s a value. It costs about $15 for a 32oz bottle and at 7-10 washes that’s a steal over water use or commercial drive-to car washes. The bottle was barely used after I washed my car once, and I think my car is small enough that I’ll get about 9 or so washes.
• It’s portable. Take it on an eco-friendly road trip.
• They offer a refill size which is cool because it saves on packaging.
• The company donates 1% of net profits to Heal the Bay and has other company eco-practices in place.

What I didn’t like:

• It’s hard to clean your hubcaps this way. It’s really time consuming. I did a total slacker job simply because I got bored. What I think you should do is grab a spray bottle of water use a little bit of that first on the hubcaps only, then wash.
• The whole process is more time consuming than washing with water. I’ve seen some sites where people say, “Oh waterless car wash takes about 15 minutes.” NOT true. I have a little car and it took me a good hour, and I likely could have done a better job if I took an extra 30 minutes. NOW just to point this out, I listed time as a con, but I don’t personally find it an issue. I know some people will, but I think it’s worth it to save water. Plus my arms got a killer workout with all those sweeping motions.
• You have to use a different cleaner for your windows and carpet. So you do need to buy more than just the wash, but even factoring those costs in, it’s still a good deal.

Overall this product has a few cons, but far more pros and I’d recommend it as useful, eco-friendly, and pretty darn easy if you’ve got the time – and really what’s an hour? I like that it gave me time to chill and think; we’re too hurried in this society anyhow.

What I’d suggest is buying the Starter Kit which comes with “Waterless” Car Wash  32 oz., Tire Shine  16 oz., and 4 Microfiber Towels. As noted, you can’t wash your fabric or car window with any of this so you might also want to get the Upholstery & Carpet Spot Cleaner from Lucky Earth. They don’t offer a glass cleaner, but I like Earth Friendly Product’s Organic Lavender Window Cleaner.

Visit Lucky Earth to learn more.