Yesterday, in order to prepare our 2003 Pontiac Aztek for sale, I drove to Harbor Freight to buy a foam cannon for my cheap electric pressure washer. It was my first experience washing a car at home with anything more than just a hose and a bucket, and it was a game-changer.
You’ve probably seen foam cannons, as they make for satisfying Tiktok clips. These contraptions are just a way to spray a bunch of fluffy, cloud-like soap onto the outside of your filthy car. The soap alone only does so much to clean your machine, and, I found, the pressure washer with the soap is still not enough to get it perfect — you are likely still going to have to do some scrubbing with a towel.
Still, just look at how fun this is; you basically get to turn your car into what looks like a giant foam sculpture.
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Setting things up takes a bit of time. I had to grab my extension cord and my pressure washer from my shed. I then hooked up the extension cord to the wall, unfurled my hose, and then hooked the cord and hose to my pressure washer near my car.
I then hooked the wand up to the pressure washer, filled the soap bottle on the end of the wand, turned on the water, turned the pressure washer on, and then boom, we were making foam.
There are two ways to adjust the foam canon – you can adjust the foam amount and you can adjust the spray pattern — with the former adjusted up top and the latter adjusted right at the nozzle outlet:
Now, the question is whether it’s worth it; I bought my Ryobi Pressure Washer for $75; with a foam cannon attachment, you can be all-in for roughly $100. Add some soap and it’s maybe $120. How much does a typical car wash cost? If you’ve got a coin-op one near you, you can probably get by for about $5 (back in the day $2 used to be enough!). Do that once a month for two cars, and the pressure washer pays for itself after a year.
You might be thinking: But what about the water use? Doesn’t that cost? And is it worth the setup price over just using the hose with a standard garden-nozzle?
Pressure Washers Save Water And Money
The greatest thing about a pressure washer is that it can blast the bejesus out of a deep brake-dust stain on your aluminum wheel, revealing the shiny, glistening alloy beneath. The soap application, while not really that much more convenient than wetting a rag, is also fun. But one of the greatest advantages of a pressure washer is the water savings.
The Maryland Department of The Environment breaks down just how important an automatic shut-off nozzle is in a regular garden hose nozzle, and then points out how much more efficient a pressure washer is over that standard nozzle:
A standard garden hose uses about 10 gallons per minute. This means you use 100 gallons of water with only a 10-minute car wash. When you use an automatic shutoff nozzle on your hose, water does not flow continuously while you wash your vehicle, saving as much as 70 gallons per wash.
Using a power washer can conserve even more water; power washers use, on average, about 2 to 5 gallons per minute, with a potential savings of up to 80 gallons over using a standard house without an automatic shutoff nozzle.
I noticed this while washing the Aztek. By the time I rinsed, foamed, and then rinsed the Aztek again, the tiny amount of water flowing down the street from my wash hadn’t even managed to make it to the gutter before evaporating.
Given that my Ryobi power washer is a 1.2 gallon-per-minute unit, and I can foam my car in probably 20 seconds, that’s 0.4 gallons — I’m not even sure I could use that little water with a soapy rag in a bucket. I can also rinse the thing in well under 9 minutes, so the wash might take me 10 minutes overall. That’s only 12 gallons.
This table from the Maryland Department of The Environment shows that a typical hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle will use 30 gallons, and with no automatic shutoff it will use 100 gallons.
Meanwhile, a coin-operated self-serve car wash will use 15 gallons, while an in-bay or conveyor-style automatic wash can use between 30 and around 85, depending upon whose numbers you believe.
Of course, comparing these methods based on a 10 minute wash when they’re all flowing different amounts of water seems… dubious, but based on my eye-test, my little Ryobi used very, very little water to the point where I noticed it enough to look up the data above.
It’s worth noting that the data shows the total water used; it doesn’t factor in the fact that many car washes recycle their water. In fact, here are the rules in California when it comes to car washes recycling water, at least starting in 2014:
10951. An in-bay car wash or a conveyor car wash permitted and constructed after January 1, 2014, shall do either of the following:
(a) Install, use, and maintain a water recycling system that recycles and reuses at least 60 percent of the wash and rinse water.
(b) Use recycled water provided by a water supplier for at least 60 percent of its wash and rinse water.
But that rule only applies to in-bay and conveyor-style washes, which we know aren’t as efficient as rinsing a car yourself with a spray-gun/wand, so really, buying a pressure washer is both a great thing for the environment and a great thing for your pocketbook. Because boy these car washes are getting expensive.
Wait – are people just wetting their car and leaving the hose running? I just turn off the water.
Have you met people?
They are just like what you see on TV but smell funny, aren’t nearly as organized, and poop a lot more.
Oh, and generally none of them have subtitles which can lead to misunderstandings.
The lack of subtitles must make life in Scotland so difficult.
My favorite comment of the day
I snorted
If you don’t assume the stupidest possible alternative the shiny new thing you’re trying to sell doesn’t appear like an improvement.
Also someone somewhere is definitely doing the stupidest possible alternative.
They forgot to include the scenario where you open a fire hydrant to wash your car
Too fancy to wait for rain now, I see.
This is perfectly fine content, but if those commercials are accurate, you may want to consult one of those life coaches about avoiding becoming your parents.
David lives in LA. If he waits for the rain, Delmar (not his real name) will be in college by the time he can wash the Aztek.
It’s a new video game genre: the First Person Soaper
https://images-stag.jazelc.com/uploads/theautopian-m2en/IMG_8935.jpeg
PowerWash Simulator could use an Aztek-in-the-driveway mod.
Before I had a downstairs tap (not a sexual metaphor) I used to wash my car using a bucket of water with car shampoo in it, then two trips with a watering can to rinse it off. Cheap and very low water use.
I live in what is technically a desert, but every morning at sunrise, my car is covered with distilled water, and if I am so inclined, a quick wiping down with a bath towel leaves it spotless with no residue..
Usually, I’m not so inclined, and it gets covered with cat footprints and general filth, but the day after I wash the car I wipe it down, otherwise the alkaline water residue will mess things up.
BTW, pressure washers are great for washing stuff out from under trim that is held onto the car by studs. Conversely, it’s great for removing decorative trim from cars that is held onto on by adhesive, or even the paint on old Mopar products.
The first time I used a pressure washer I destroyed the front number plate. Our plates are plastic with the actual number applied to the back face and held on with an adhesive film. Hit one at the right angle and it delaminates.
I washed the V in Volvo off the back of my mom’s S40 the first time I used the pressure washer.
Good numbers but my dad me e this trick for washing a car with a hose. He had this old timey tool he called a nozzle. When you didn’t need water you could turn the water off. When you did need it you could adjust it from a mist to hard but less than a pressure washer stream.
Same here. Run it enough to wet and rinse the car. Mist then dry. I use a car squeegee for that.
Though a foam cannon look like fun.
I dunno. Now instead of just a hose, you’ve got to wheel out your pressure washer, hook up two hoses and an extension cord, and then drag that whole contraption with its three appendages around your car while you wash. I feel like I could be done bucket washing my whole car the old fangled way with a $5 sponge just in the time it takes to get all that noisy stuff out and put it away. Seriously, it’s like a 7 or 8 minute job…?
Or you can be like some of us who take this to the extreme and mount the pressure washer to the wall, install a hose reel, and have everything ready to go at all times.
I got a shelf for my Active 2.0 pressure washer, got 75 ft. of hose on a reel, and tapped into my outdoor spigot supply that was running down the inside of the garage wall. It’s quite the setup and I love it so much. I can be washing a car nearly right away.
Awesome. I have hot and cold spigots in the garage with a hose reel mounted next to them (pressure washer lives elsewhere tho!). There are also floor drains under each bay, so I can wash right there in the garage. First time I walked in and saw this setup I was like, “honey, I think this is the house for us.” Hadn’t even seen the upstairs yet.
Floor drains rock! I would say the same thing too before I even saw a single bedroom.
You’re so right – I fully admit, as much as I love this whole setup for washing now, it’s kind of a ‘big deal’ to get everything out and then put it all away when I’m done, I’ve actually found I don’t wash my vehicles as much as I used to (also I now have a 4 year old kid, that may have something to do with it to…..)
Yes, pressure washer, foam cannon, and then also 2 buckets one with soapy water and one that cannot tell a lie, I mean a rinse bucket with a dirt trap, and a wash mitt, and then nice towels to dry, preferably with a quick detailer spray onto the paint so your towels don’t scratch the paint.
I ceramic coated both of mine so now I can get them completely dry with a regular leaf blower. The only thing that touches the paint is the wash mitt.
This is the way! This talk of rags and $5 soap sponge makes me cry for these folk’s paint jobs.
A coworker gave me one of those Ryobi pressure washers and it has been unkillable.
Green Ryobi tools are legit. Cranky old geezers whose opinions about the world were frozen 30 years ago when Ryobi was blue and crap don’t realize that.
Foam cannons are fun, but for a quick wash I switched to rinseless, specifically Wolfgang’s Ceramic Rinseless. Two gallons of water, 15 minutes start to finish. It’s a game-changer.
Rinseless is the best technique, yet nobody knows about it.
Rinseless is fantastic. I’ve been using the Optimum No-Rinse for many years.
Welp, off to the Google rabbit hole I go
Don’t go on Reddit’s detailing sub. You’ll never break free.
I have no external water hookup at my apartment, however I’m lucky to have a fire hydrant across the street for me (no, not for the water but place to park with room to other cars). I have the cheapest 500ish psi model of the ryobi 18V pressure washers and an adapter so I can use my milwaukee batteries with it. My experience is I need 3 buckets for 2 gallons of soapy water, 6-7 gallons of clean water, and about 6-7Ah of battery. Wish I could add a soap cannon but I seem to get by just fine letting the pressure washer draw out of the soap bucket
Look into doing a rinseless wash.
I already have, thanks to the comments here…
I still break out the foam cannon and 2 bucket wash for old times sake on occasion. But I’m much quicker with the rinseless wash.
I still like my bucket and a soft brush on pole. I can wash the car without bending over or getting wet,
Yeah, if you want to avoid paint swirls and scratches, this is not the way.
I cringed at this one, as well as the commenter using the silicone blade to dry.
Love your handle, owner of an ND II RF myself.
I love the RF. Mine’s a ’95 M Edition.
My 2 year old car has not a single scratch or swirl on it. I must be doing something right.
Tempting as it may be, do not wash your baby with a foam cannon. Two year olds are fair game, they wobble into the path of the foam thingy and only a gentle pressure wash gets the foam off.
You’re telling him this NOW?!?
Sure, who knew DT would actually spend money on a power washer when it rains for free<g>.
Foam cannons are great and all, but if we really want to shorten wars we should use foam cannonballs, too.
That is all well and good, but you still need a bucket and sponge, as already mentioned.
Next, invest in a clay bar or the hottest thing, the clay bar towel! Then finish up with a leather towel to dry with no water marks.
At this stage you are ready for a hand wax or invest in an orbital polisher.
I have a DA! And I have a clay bar! And bucket/sponge.
But do tell me about this clay towel (?).
Skip the wax and just buy the ridiculously cheap turtle wax ceramic coating that’s roughly $15. 16oz should be enough to do about 15 yearly applications. Just be very picky when washing the car beforehand otherwise you won’t get any remaining stains out for about a year and a half. Personally I prefer the clay mit, it just seems the quickest and easiest to use.
Turtle Wax Ceramic is legitimately great. I switched from Griot’s 3-in-1 and can’t believe how much easier it is to use.
It’s great for a vehicle that’s not very dirty; I would need to pre wash it first. You have to dry it off quickly too. It is great though.
I go nuts with the wash beforehand each time as that makes the difference between it lasting 6 mo and 2 years. Even go as far as wiping the car down with about 25% rubbing alcohol to get rid of any grease or wax.
I went to it after seeing Project Farm’s test. It is legitimately good.
The downside is it doesn’t POP like other products. I used to clay bar, then use Poorboy’s World White Diamond glaze followed by a synthetic sealant and Megiuar’s Ultimate Quik Wax. The car seemed to glow in the sun, and you could see reflections from a long distance way. It was incredible.
But, now I barely have time to wash a car, so long-lasting, less-exciting solutions are my jam. Also, my Sonata with white pearl paint is delaminating along the hood, so I tend to care less.
Ugh, that sucks. My Forte GT is Snow White Pearl and I’m paranoid about this happening.
It’s a real issue that Hyundai naturally doesn’t care much about.
I use Meguiar’s, it’s not that cheap but I have only waxed the car twice, so ROI is high. Also I rarely even wash it, I just rinse it off every once in a while.
The staining or applying on a blemished surface is why I recommended the wax. Tinted waxes do great to slap lipstick on that pig if you have the right color available. But agree that ceramic coating is an amazing technology.
I found it on Amazon. Saw it on social media. Haven’t tried it yet. Supposed to allow clay bar clean without worrying about dropping the clay bar making it unusable.
When washing an Aztek, any investment greater than waiting until it rains is excessive.
Yeah but real Aztecs practiced human sacrifice to make sure it rained in a timely manner.
I’ve been using Optimum No-Rinse for over a decade now, probably use a gallon of water to mix it in (and thats mainly to get the water above the grit guard in my bucket). You should give that a try. The labor savings alone make it so I don’t mind washing the whole fleet at once.
Rinseless is the way. 15 minutes per car from start to finish leaves so much more time for the interior, wheels, etc.
I’ve read about ONR but I don’t know how it works. What labor are you saving with the no rinse?
As the name implies, you skip the rinse step. Mix with water as directed, wash with a mitt, wipe dry. Fancy people often have a second bucket with clean water to rinse the mitt between panels.
IMHO, it’s not much of a labor savings and it’s not really intended to be. It’s meant to be more convenient to clean for those in situations where one may not have a ready supply of running water. Cities with water restrictions, apartment/condo dwellers, winter time in salty areas, etc. Or if they simply don’t want to drag the hose out.
I used Optimum Wash&Wax all the time when I lived in an apartment and I use it now in winter when it’s too cold to deal with the garden hose.
100%. ONR is great stuff. Been using it for years to great success. Only time I go old school is if I have a ton of salt or dirt-road on the vehicles.
Part of me wonders if this is the first time you’ve ever washed a car. You are known to own rusted out things where water might end them.
not to mention the damage a pressure washer could do
I have another comment about both pressure. Washer is in the blowers for washing and drying. Careful with all that power.
I try not to get too close to the rocker panels.
I didn’t want to ask, but you may be on to something.
Next thing invest in a very long pressure hose and mount the compressor somewhere safe in the garage, so you can keep the (electric) compressor FAR from splashes. It will also be that much easier to just “go wash” the car without having to set everything up every time.
I tried this a few times, but the soap always started drying so quickly, it was like washing the whole car twice.
I’m still a lifelong “Hose, one bucket, one sponge” guy and haven’t found anything I like better. Keep the hose running so you can rinse the sponge, of course. If you want a little bit of soapy pre-soak, just drizzle the soapy sponge over the panels first.
And this is partly because if I have 20-30 minutes free to wash the car, I’m not tying up the first half of that just setting up gear. I think it’s a great idea where you have water restrictions or limited space, but I just never came around. Hardcore detailers seem to love it, so it makes sense to set it up for a bunch of cars in a row.
I do half the car and then the other half, dry the whole car at the end. This is the only way I avoid the soap drying specially on windows.
Summer in the Sun Belt, I’m lucky to get two panels done before the soap starts to dry 🙂
So I end up doing two panels, rinsing the sponge, wetting the whole car down again, and continuing. If I get really lucky, I can wash the whole car in one go on an overcast day, or with light rain. In the Southeast, there is almost never light rain, though…it’s like a spigot, ON or OFF.
This.
Very, very true.
Huh, I too purchased a foam cannon from Harbor Freight last week, however I bought this one because I don’t have a pressure washer already. The foam may not be as luxurious as yours but I was pretty happy with the result for the price.
https://www.harborfreight.com/extreme-foaming-spray-gun-57457.html
Getting an electric leaf blower was the game changer in car washing for me. I don’t have to hand dry my cars anymore.
Genius
I saw a guy who was a roommate of a friend with a Merc and did pro driving and blew headlight module with a leaf blower/drying. Careful with power!
I do this too, but just to get 90% of the water off then dry with a towel or it gets spots.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHNG4DL8 this thing is amazing. I use it for drying the car, blowing leaves off the sidewalk, cleaning up after woodworking, getting rid of spider webs in that pesky ceiling corner 8′ above my head, etc.
I have so many questions.
I thought pressure washers were really bad for the clear coat and not meant to be used on cars?
Is it legal to wash your car in your driveway where you live, David? In my chunk of southern California it’s not because they don’t want the stuff that comes off your car going into the ocean, which it will when the water flows out of the driveway. I realize you’re saying it evaporated before doing that, but down here we have to be at a car wash, even if it’s a self wash, because they have the proper drainage that doesn’t go directly to the ocean. Storm drains do.
Then separately from the storm drain business, is the draught business, which I know you’re saying the pressure washer uses very little water. But aren’t there still water restrictions in effect?
I guess what I’m wondering is, are you trading in “too many cars at your house” citations for “car washing at your house” citations?
Still completely legal in my suburb of San Diego provided the hose has a shut off nozzle.
another benefit to the Optimum No Rinse IMO… so little ends up on the ground it won’t get to the storm drain AND you can do it in the garage with the door closed if you had to.
My pressure washer isn’t remotely powerful enough to cause issues; it’s significantly less powerful than the self-serve car wash power washers.
And yes, it is legal to wash my car. I only do it once ever few months, to be honest.
As I suspected. This was only for content, and you have your lackeys hand-wash the i3 until Delmar (not his real name) ages into the role.
They can be if you have too powerful of one or are too close. Basically just stay the same distance away as what feels comfortable on your skin.
Stick with low PSI electric washers and stay away from gas powered washers. I use the broad fan tips as well (the white tip for paint, the green tip for wheels). But even then, don’t get them too close to the paint and you’ll be fine. I’ve been doing it this way for years now and haven’t seen any issues with paint damage
Does this method also work for washing cats?
Only the slow ones.
Works fine, but for the remainder of your cat ownership, your cars will be covered in dirty cat footprints.
My cars are already covered in dirty catprints. They’re either sleeping on top of the car or underneath the car, where I’m convinced they’re gnawing on the brake lines in some undeveloped plan to collect the insurance.
Ours did the same. We keep the cars in the garage and occasionally the cats would meander in there if so inclined. Their go to was the white Honda, then the gold Subaru. Walk all over each then hop down dirty up the feet, maybe a roll in the dust, back up on the car for a walk about and nap. Evil little devils, cute and cuddly though.
We put a catflap in the side of the garage so they’re in there quite a bit to rest and recuperate between sessions of spreading their bullshit around the neighborhood.
Ours used go out only when supervised. We live in a rural area surrounded by forest and the cats might survive a day or two before becoming predator dining. When out they’d alternate between the drive and the cars in the garage or if the cars were out, they not hesitate in using them as sleeping pallets.
Ours was a stray in my mother-in-law’s garden for several weeks before we brought him home, since he’d already lived life as an outdoor cat he doesn’t really enjoy being indoors. He’ll come in to eat and maybe hang out for an hour or two then insist on going back out.
The other one just showed up like 6-7 months later and decided to stay. She’s even less likely to come inside but will happily hangout on our back porch or garage and eat the other cat’s food. They’ve finally become friends and share a single brain cell which is frequently misplaced.
David, I already was my cars with a pressure washer, but this foam cannon business has my attention. Do you think it’s worthwhile to apply soap and lather in a touchless manner? Typically, I just get a lot of soap in the bucket and use my wash mitts to drop lather on the car after rinsing the dirt off.
That’s a very common thing to do. I think some people will even foam it, wait a few minutes to let the soap drip and pull loose debris off the paint safely, then foam it again and hit it with the mitt.
Foam cannons are great because they allow the soap to dissolve dirt and lift it off the paint before you take a wash mitt to the vehicle. They aren’t necessary, but they are nice to have.
Just a few tips:
-You still need to use two buckets. Rinsing your mitt in a bucket of rinse water will ensure you aren’t rubbing dirt back into your paint.
-Foam from the bottom to the top. Otherwise, foam will roll down from the top and negate the benefits of using a foam cannon.
-The foam shouldn’t be ultra thick. If it’s too thick, gravity will pull it down and negate the benefits of using a foam cannon. Crazy thick foam looks good on Tik Tok, but it has no practical application irl.
-You don’t need to use a dedicated foam gun product. Regular car wash shampoo will do just fine. I like Meguire’s Hyper Wash the best.
Geez. Dude has one baby and suddenly it’s all LOOK AT MY FOAM CANNON!
You should see my grill!
What do you need a grill for? Aren’t you vegan by now?
Vegan burgers! (kidding; my wife eats those, but I want beef or turkey).
and your new apron says turn the meat over on a jeep grill, just like the windshield stickers.
“No meat, and only thrice the fat of regular hamburgers!”
… says DT as he proudly shows off his 8 slot XJ grill that only managed to squeak through QC checks on the 47th week of 1991. You immediately realize that something’s off but can’t quite put your finger on what it is.
I bet he gets his propane from Hank.
“Taste the meat, not the heat!”