Has anyone used Optimum Big Red Sponge?

[demis34gt]

Hi. I bought BRS. I read the articles and the opinions for the BRS. My problem is before i use it for RW, if there is something to do. I feel that it is not so soft as i thought. Should i leave it for a day in bucket with water and ONR in order to be softer?
The other is, when i do not use it, how to keep it in good condition? To let it dry? To wet it and put in a bug? I wash my car once a month....
Thank you!

[oneheadlite]

I got one a while back; I think I remember that being the recommendation - let it soak overnight before using it. Then it was recommended to just leave it soaking in the solution between uses. (Use distilled water to keep it from going funky)

If you're doing once per month washes, I'd just wash it with the rest of your towels, let it air dry, and keep it in a bag until the next use.

[Bruno Soares]

I never kept mine in water and it feels plenty soft once I dunk it in the solution (I use N-914 instead of ONR). I let it air dry after I’m done and have rinsed it a couple of times in the wash solution.
My BRS is a couple years old and still looks brand new. But I normally only do rinseless washes in the colder weather, otherwise it’s bucket wash outside.

[The Guz]

Hi. I bought BRS. I read the articles and the opinions for the BRS. My problem is before i use it for RW, if there is something to do. I feel that it is not so soft as i thought. Should i leave it for a day in bucket with water and ONR in order to be softer?
The other is, when i do not use it, how to keep it in good condition? To let it dry? To wet it and put in a bug? I wash my car once a month....
Thank you!

Optimum recommended to leave it in a bucket of ONR but that is not needed in my experience. Toss it in your bucket as you are getting your stuff ready. By that time it should be sitting in solution for about 10 min which is fine. I have no issues doing it this way with whatever rinseles solution I am using. I ring it out and put it an empty bucket and it will dry out until the next wash.

Clean it with some APC every so often.

Since you are doing once a month washes I would do a bucket wash rather than a rinseless wash. Unless your car is stored inside.

[Eldorado2k]

Drying towels are part of the cleaning process, as they will remove the suspended dirt in the left over ONR on the surface.

Did anyone else get turned off by reading this?^

[DUBL0WS6]

I have found that in my hard water, ECH2O and Duragloss rinseless wash work better and leave a nicer surface than ONR. I didn't like how ONR was sticky and kept the dirt stuck to the MF which I was using.

[RippyD]

Did anyone else get turned off by reading this?^

If you're not going to rinse what's the alternative? Soap holds dirt - that's how it works. If you're not going to rinse the soap on the car will have dirt suspended it in. The dirty soap has to go somewhere.

[Eldorado2k]

If you're not going to rinse what's the alternative? Soap holds dirt - that's how it works. If you're not going to rinse the soap on the car will have dirt suspended it in. The dirty soap has to go somewhere.

When I do a waterless or rinseless wash with towels the dirt gets wiped off by the towel and my drying towel stays clean.

[RippyD]

When I do a waterless or rinseless wash with towels the dirt gets wiped off by the towel and my drying towel stays clean.

Fair enough. I use a BRS often and haven't noticed any scratching relative to using MF. Of course I also use on the cars I care less about, so I'm not inspecting them closely for scratches. On a very dirty car I'll hose or pw the surface first, and sometime go over the same area twice with a BRS (with a clean sponge both times, of course).

[The Guz]

Did anyone else get turned off by reading this?^

Not really. The BRS will pick up a majority of the dirt and the rinseless will carry some of it away. The towel will pick up a little. No different that a waterless wash like what you are used to doing. The BRS does not scratch if used properly.