My HOA just said we are not allowed to wash cars in our driveway any longer b/c the drainage requirements do not comply with code. The property has been around for over 10 years and all of a sudden they decide to do this. I know there are maybe 2 or 3 people that wash their cars in my community so I'm assuming that everyone else rarely washes their cars or takes them to a carwash twice a year.

Is there any way around this? My first thought was to contact the city (Kirkland) and find out if they have actually cited anyone for this. Also, the city offers a "car wash kit" for free that they lend out to groups that are organizing car washes.

It's irritating being the only "car guy" in the neighbourhood. Not everyone wants to drive a Prius or CR-V...

Are you serious?!?! Wow.. whats the world coming to. You got to draw the line somewhere! Isn't there more important things to focus on..

I would challenge this one. If you drive through downtown you will see that brick building having the pressure washers remove the paint. All of that is draining into the storm drains. If Kirkland cared that much, they would shut that down. I live in Kirkland too and I've not heard of anything to limit car washing. My house is less than a year old but I still read the Kirkland newsletter. I'd also raise hell with the city as if there is such an ordinance, it's someone with too much time on their hands and I think we could get enough people raise hell.

Many apartments and condos don't want car washing because of how it makes the property look. That's usually the primary issue. Also, the Rose Hill Shell station has a touchless car wash that does a hell of a good job. I've alway had black cars and that's where they go. I take the Lamborghini to Parkplace where they do fairly decent hand washing.

I'd wanna see that one in writing.....

I would like to see what's on writing.

I believe you are safe/ and being environment friendly as long as you drain the soapy water on your lawn instead of storm drain. Some people started to position their car on top of the lawn and wash their cars that way.

Asking to see the documentation is reasonable.

Time to open a second shop in Kirkland it sounds like. The Brown bear car wash is going to be killing it.

I think the bylaw has been around for a while. I'll be calling the city to see if we can use environmentally friendly soap or something.

Why not use a product such as Optimum No Rinse? It would be a fantastic alternative to the typical hose-and-bucket method. There would be no run-off, you can dispose the water in your bucket down the sink where it will be treated, and your towels will be washed in the washing machine (who's water will soo be treated as well). You can find it on www.detailersdomain.com

Your next option would be to find a highly-qualified detailer in town who either a.) uses Optimum No Rinse or b.) Uses a water-reclamation mat, eliminating all water-runoff issues.

Best of luck

Wow, neat product. Can even wash it in your own garage. Do you have to pre-rinse the car to get the surface wet? Is this only available online or will a local auto store carry it?

I'm 99.9% sure a local store won't carry it unfortunately. All of the major online retailers (Autogeek.net, detailedimage.com, and detailersdomain) carry it. Just play around with the shipping costs and discounts and see which retailer gives you the best price!

As for a pre-rinse, what I like to do is use a pump-sprayer with either plain water, or water with 1/4 capful of ONR. DetailersDomain has a fantastic hand pump sprayer, but at $40 it's a little pricey for my taste. The best one for both the money and build quality is found at Ace Hardware. I think it's < $5 and is made well. A little unstable, (top-heavy) compared to the one on DD, but as long as you're carefull it shouldn't fall over. A larger stand-up pesticide sprayer can also be very useful and possibly prefered. It should give you a more pressurized spray, and the pressure may last longer in the larger, stand-up pesticide sprayers.

'Scottwax' a detailer in Texas is probably one of the best, and most well-practiced users of ONR. He uses it on virtually every job he does. Here's a cayenne...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLIGQ...e=channel_page
And an older video..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYOAy...e=channel_page
Here he is using Optimum Power Clean before using the ONR. You shouldn't need to as long as your wheels aren't too dirty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSgdM...e=channel_page
Just be sure to stock up on quality microfiber towels (stay away from cotton and terry towels).

I've never tried the Shell station b/c I thought it still had brushes touching your car. I tried the one across the street (Flamingo I think?) and was not impressed. I paid extra to have my wheels cleaned and they didn't even touch 'em!

Only touchless one I've been going to is in Kingsgate near the hockey rink and that seems to be good at getting the dirt off the dirt.

Touchless carwash systems use harsh chemicals which damage your clearcoat I'd stay away from them.

Wax maybe , clearcoat I really doubt that..

Thank you local tree huggers for that one too..