If I just have a few pads I will spray with pad cleaner ( currently McKees or PB Tornado), massage in with my fingers and rinse under the sink. Squeeze water out and lay pad velcro side up on rack in my garage.
If I have a lot of pads:
- throw them in bucket of Snappy Clean. I squeeze them in the solution when I first toss them in to get the solution working inside the pads
- when done, I use a Pressure Washer and my ghetto pad washer to clean. This gets them very clean
- to rinse, I use a 2 gallon bucket and let the hose run in it. I keep squeezing the pad until no more residue comes out. By having having the hose constantly supplying fresh water from the bottom of the bucket I always have clear water to keep rinsing the pads
- Squeeze water out of all the pads and face velcro side up on rack in garage.
- Even with this method it seems I still sometimes get dust from the pad when I first use them again. This drives me crazy but I can't figure out what else to do to rinse better. We have very hard water here so I am wondering if that has something to do with it.
Hope you find a method that works for you. By the time I get done detailing I am whooped so I don't feel like entering a marathon pad cleaning session. Plus, these days I use way more pads than I use to as the newer generation pads need to be rotated out more often. My goal is to get the pads clean in the quickest and safest manner. I use to throw them in the washing machine but the wife wasn't thrilled with the residue that was left in the washer :-)
Was there actually residue in there or was she mad about "theoretical residue"??? I wash my pads in the washing machine with the powdered yellow pad cleaner BUT I spray and rinse them in the sink first to get the bulk residue out.
It would definitely be a bad idea to throw them in there "as is" after you use them. That could wreck the machine. I haven't had any problems rinsing them first. You just have to be careful with microfiber pads the machine can rip them.
Was there actually residue in there or was she mad about "theoretical residue"??? I wash my pads in the washing machine with the powdered yellow pad cleaner BUT I spray and rinse them in the sink first to get the bulk residue out.
It would definitely be a bad idea to throw them in there "as is" after you use them. That could wreck the machine. I haven't had any problems rinsing them first. You just have to be careful with microfiber pads the machine can rip them.
There was actual nasty residue. Yes, I did throw them in "as is" and we're talking pads that been worked out hard with a full correcting cycle. I was actually cleaning out the tub when she saw me. This was back in the day when I first started detailing.
For me, if I am going to take the time and energy to prep the pads prior to the washing machine it is far easier and efficient to soak in snappy clean and then use my ghetto washer to clean them.
A funny story to share from the early days.... I had just gotten some brand new white CCS pads and used them on my car. This was the first time I had purchased mulitple quantities once I learned you need more than one pad to do a car! There is nothing like having new pads when detailing. Anyway, I threw all my pads and some MF towels in the washer with some MF cleaner. I had a bunch of orange Sams Club MF's that I had used but had not prewashed. My brand new beautiful white pads turned orange from the dye transfer! After that I had to take a sharpie and write "white" on the sides of the pads so I didn't mistake them for my orange ones.
Pad washers seem to reduce the lifespan of pads with the friction of the spinning pad on the grit.
I've got the Lake Country pad washer so it's not like spinning it on a grit guard. It's a late wit ridges on it so it's more like squeezing the pad as it spins. I started to order the AG pad washer, but I was kind of thinking the same thing you mentioned so I went with the LC.
2015 F-150 Crew Cab Lariat
2016 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS
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Originally Posted by Route246
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