How do you fill your buckets for washing?

[flyinion]

When you're doing a regular wash, i.e. not waterless or rinseless, how do you fill your buckets up? Now I'll admit, I'm still using one bucket :o and I have always put the soap in first then stuck the sprayer in there and filled it up. This usually results in varying ratios of water to foam though. I'm think maybe I should be putting the soap in after filling (like mixing up ONR) but how do you get the solution to foam up then? Or is the foam just totally overrated?

[CaneCharger]

I fill up my rinse bucket (you really need to get 2!!)

I fill my wash bucket up and then I dump the soap in and swirl it around with my arm both clockwise and counter clockwise...Then the last half gallon I spray "on jet" inside the bucket for a little suds...

[Flash Gordon]

I still just use 1 bucket. I rinse the mitts before throwing them back in the soap

2BM is overrated IMO. False sense of security IMO

[1MZsLastForever]

I pour in my soap, drop the hose in, and fill 'er up. Then I put the grit guard in and I'm good to go.

[shoeless89]

I fill up my rinse bucket (you really need to get 2!!)

I fill my wash bucket up and then I dump the soap in and swirl it around with my arm both clockwise and counter clockwise...Then the last half gallon I spray "on jet" inside the bucket for a little suds...

I do the exact same thing.


I still just use 1 bucket. I rinse the mitts before throwing them back in the soap

2BM is overrated IMO. False sense of security IMO

When you use 2 buckets and look at the rinse bucket water you will change your mind.

[Flash Gordon]

When you use 2 buckets and look at the rinse bucket water you will change your mind.

No I won't

The Grit Gaurd doesn't remove as much debri as me rinsing the mitts between usage

[flyinion]

I still just use 1 bucket. I rinse the mitts before throwing them back in the soap

2BM is overrated IMO. False sense of security IMO

Hrmmm, now I'm not sure what to do lol. I ordered a grit guard in the last order that's on its way. Had planned to toss it in the bottom of my wash bucket, because I just swirl my mitt in it to rinse it out right now in between panels (man that just sounds like a bad idea now that I type it). I think I'll swap to the fill it most of the way and spray in the last 1/2 gallon or so method. I did mark my bucket for gallon marks last time I did an ONR because I was tired of guessing how much I had in there.

I think what got me wondering about how to fill the bucket was that I ordered Dodo BTBM to try out since I was out of the Pinnacle stuff I bought last year. I'd heard the Dodo didn't foam much anyway and it got me thinking that maybe foam isn't all I thought it was and I should just fill the bucket and dump the soap in.

[silverfox]

When using non-rinseless products, I prefer low foaming, very high lubricity shampoos...I don't see the advantage of foam and suds, all over the place.

I first fill my designated wash-only bucket 3/4 full with water, then pour in shampoo (and I always add 1/2 oz of ONR to the mix)...then stir with one hand, then continue filling until I have 4 total gallons. The ONR cuts water spotting a minimum, and also adds lots of lubricity to any shampoo. Once I started adding ONR to my conventional wash routine, water spotting has been almost entirely eliminated, and it gives the shampoo an extra kick with added protection.

I want that wash pad to glide over the paint without any pressure whatsoever.

[Flash Gordon]

Hrmmm, now I'm not sure what to do lol. I ordered a grit guard in the last order that's on its way. Had planned to toss it in the bottom of my wash bucket, because I just swirl my mitt in it to rinse it out right now in between panels (man that just sounds like a bad idea now that I type it). I think I'll swap to the fill it most of the way and spray in the last 1/2 gallon or so method. I did mark my bucket for gallon marks last time I did an ONR because I was tired of guessing how much I had in there.

I think what got me wondering about how to fill the bucket was that I ordered Dodo BTBM to try out since I was out of the Pinnacle stuff I bought last year. I'd heard the Dodo didn't foam much anyway and it got me thinking that maybe foam isn't all I thought it was and I should just fill the bucket and dump the soap in.


Now that you've ordered it, might as well use it. Before tranfering the mitt to your wash bucket, swirl it around in the rinse bucket

Before you put it in the soap bucket, blast it with the hose lol

[shoeless89]

No I won't

The Grit Gaurd doesn't remove as much debri as me rinsing the mitts between usage

I didn't say anything about a grit guard. But I guess if you rinse out your mitt with a hose between each panel that works too. Just seems like a bunch of extra work. But to each their own! :dblthumb2:

[Flash Gordon]

I didn't say anything about a grit guard. But I guess if you rinse out your mitt with a hose between each panel that works too. Just seems like a bunch of extra work. But to each their own! :dblthumb2:

I don't like lugging around 2-40lb buckets. Everyone has their own method and I agree, to each his own :props:

[alko]

I fill up my rinse bucket (you really need to get 2!!)


I fill my wash bucket up and then I dump the soap in and swirl it around with my arm both clockwise and counter clockwise...Then the last half gallon I spray "on jet" inside the bucket for a little suds...

:iagree::iagree::iagree:-especially with needing 2 buckets.

I follow the same steps as Cane. I use a hose to fill up my bucket 3/4 of the way. I put the measured amount of soap in, and with my pressure washer connected, I blast the bucket to create a good amount of suds, until the suds reach the top of the wash bucket. I then drop the grit guard in the both buckets.

[Flash Gordon]

This is a 5 star thread :)

[flyinion]

This is a 5 star thread :)

LOL did I create a monster?

[Hoytman]

Flash,
While I understand you don't like juggling buckets, let me throw this out there for you to ponder.

Try and invision seeing a person under water in a pool. If that person has hair (LOL) it will usually float upward, and/or side to side as the person moves around. Their hair suspends and doesn't lay against other hairs.

If we apply this analogy in the same manner to fiber washing mitts, only on a much smaller scale, this suspension allows the fibers to have more space between other fibers. The dirt particles when agitated against a grit guard then tend to float free and away from the fibers.

Blasting with a hose, while it could work to remove some of the heavier particles of dirt, will not remove the lighter particles of dirt trapped in the fibers. The only way to free them would be to place the mitt under water, suspending the fibers, and at the least sloshing the mitt around if a grit guard isn't available. In fact, along with agitating against a grit guard or something similar, I would add that I think it's also important to slosh the mitt around after contacting the GG.

Call it over thinking things, but if you add dirt to a glass of water and then slosh the water around, some of the dirt particles will remain high in the water column until being allowed to settle, which will not happen in a short amount of time.

Depending on how particular you, or a customer would be, determines your approach. I prefer to err on the side of caution.