I am mighty frekin angry about the water regs and whilst understanding the neccesity of moderation in water usage fail to see how this squares away with frekin earth rootin gardeners pouring water into the ground for up to three two hour periods a week when I am going to be fined for using 2 buckets (40ltrs mebe) twice a month to rinse down my 43 year old car .
Unlike gardeners who seemingly delight in pouring water into the ground I hate washing a car so you better believe it's only going to get done when it needs it.
This further agravates the shit out of me when for $50 I can have the the car washed in my very own driveway useiing ---yep you guessed it ---my very own water.
As many old/vintage and resprayed/restored car owners(not just we Vee Dubbers) would be well aware car washes are far from a satisfactory option, our cars were just not made to cope with water pressures such as are generated in a modern car wash and as for rotating brushes and re-sprayed paintwork--no matter how good--good luck.
Is this situation annoying anyone else as much as it is me ???

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH:puke

Al.

Yes, I have six cars to look after... not including the vehicles I am required to keep clean for work. Having said that, I'm happy to use my local pressure car wash to wash all my cars, inlcuding my Cabrio, using a Meguir's 'mitt' :thumb

[ Edited on 7-6-2007 by VWCOOL ]

That sucks. I'm glad we can use as much water we like down here to wash my cars.

It's been flogging down rain here all day today we have plenty of water.

[ Edited on 7-6-2007 by rose ]

Bowdens Own, the waterless detailing stuff, bit pricey but worth it.

Not cheap if it's for a daily driver and won't take road tar off, but their gel product is awesome for normal washing.

I take mine over to a mates place who has water tanks with a complicated de-ionising filtration system for his fish tanks.

I'm with you.
I went to the local car wash on the weekend. One had a sign up "For customer convenience no bucket wash 9am -5pm Sat & Sun". Considering only half the bays were occupied, I don't see who I would have inconvenienced. Drove on to the next car wash "No bucket washing". Well I'll be fucked if I'm washing my car with the caustic recycled crap they pump out of their brush. It's bad enough I have to pay to use their water.
Considering we don't water the garden, ever, I don't see how my one 10L bucket and 1min of rinsing equates to what I could legally pour onto the garden twice a week. Stupid laws are meant to be broken.

I wasted heaps of water washing 2 of my cars on the weekend...then let the kids play under the sprinkler for an hour or so.What makes me laugh is that when you equate how much "Brisneyland" people used per person per day..we use less than that up here!!! No need to whine about it...it rained so just go out in the rain and wash them!!Have the pollies got you drinking out of the toilet yet???:beer Have you thought of filling up your own water containers and just washing your own car at the carwash..say at midnight...when no one is looking and the thought police are having donuts and coffee??? I heard you have a strip joint carwash down there...would it be worth going for the show and a wash??:bounce:bounce

yeah i agree..
a 'mate' of mine washes his 3 cars occasionally when no-ones looking.. depending on how dirty they are
and then he gets his rates notice with
'congratulations! you use less that half the cities average on water you are a commendable resident.. blah blah BS'
what a freakin joke..
all he can say is that a lot of ppl in the shire must waste shite loads of it everyday thats for sure..
n how about industry.. dont get me started on that rort..

Ok well as i work in the water resources sector i think we should actually be on level 6 or 7, with no outside use. not topping up of pools and a sliding scale water prcing scheme far higher than what we currently have. and don't get me started about the rest.....


But from a car lovers point of view there are ways around it....
1. use rain water from a tank.....
2. wash it in the rain....
3. park your car on the garden and "water your garden" in the correct hours........
4. use grey water.....
5. wash it in the garage......
6. use water less car wash.
7. have a mate in one of the areas which is not on level 5, and go visit him with a six pack......

i wash mine with a bucket of grey water n carwash then drive wet down to the local carwash to rinse it, seems the best system, as she gets all the time necessary to get the cr@p off the paint at home then the high pressure later, also means no scratches from those nasty looking brushes.

I live in a unit run by a body (dodgy) corporate. The great thing is that all of the units are fed water through the 1 meter which means
1. our water bill is divided by 30 and we pay a flat rate regardless of how much water we save.
2. no one is game enough to dob anyone in as if the meter is set to a trickle, it affects everyone including the dobber.

I just wash it with a bucket, and if anyone asks it's grey water from the shower. I figure I don't run a washing machine, dishwasher, or any other such gadgetry; so I should be allowed to use a bucket or two to keep my 'investment' clean.

What really gives me the shits though, is not even being allowed to use the high pressure water gun. IT USES LESS THAN ME THROWING A BUCKETFULL AT THE VAN!! GRRRRR!!!

And hear hear to all who mentioned the 'No Buckets' rule at those carwash places. I just went in at 2am and used a damn bucket... Save water, but make sure you do it by using our water gun continuously.. Money grabbers!!

[ Edited on 7-6-2007 by fekkinell ]

I do mine with a watering can, I can do a full wash for about 45litres, then a chammy gets rid of any sticky bits and it looks tops. We are changing to tanks and solar this year so I'll be splashing more around soon.

Tassie is great.. we don't have any restrictions most of the time! :bounce

THATS WHY I LOVE THE RAT !

dirty rat phatratpat he he

What's more important, washing your 43 years old car or securing the world for a 2 years old kid?? You decide

Seeing as the government is a bit slow on the uptake of the rainwater tank issue, every homeowner should recieve a GENEROUS rebate from their council for taking measures to save water by installing one, wash your car, thoroughly with fresh water and apply several generous coats of good quality wax to your cars exterior, the next time it gets grubby you should simply be able to wipe off the grime and bugs with a chamois or microfibre, until the powers that be pull their heads out of their arses and help Australians help themselves, put a garbage bin, preferably a clean under your rain drain that falls from your roof gutters and wash your car with the runoff from the next downpour, you can filter out bugs and foliage by putting a tap at the bottom of the bin and throw a stocking over the hole or go to your hardware store and splash out on a filter screen... If you neighbor or some prick from the council dobs you in for using water when you are forbidden, tell em that it fell from the sky and if they want to tax you for that?I guess you can buy bottled water or just drive a Rattty VW. for those unfortunate souls not lucky enough to have generous rainfall figures, keep on pestering your local member to take a stance on the ever present and rapidly diminshing water supply............................. but that's just one way of looking at it, what ever you do, don't use one of those bloody abrasive brushes at car washes, they scratch the crap out of ANY duco, once again, you could develop a love of the ratty patina of a character filled Dub keep on Dubbin though

that and the bloody cows = methane factories.
zero population growth from 2010 will be the only way of sustaining the planet.
But the human virus will continue to grow because all our economic staples are based on consuming (wanting) more & more.
All those indoasians want to own a vehicle just like us.