Customer Reviews

Mr. Clean AutoDry Car Wash System Starter Kit

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

As at least one other person has said, this is really a car drying system to replace hand drying. It is not a car wash system to replace hand soaping. The inclusion of the soap spray is really just so P&G can sell you car wash soap. They could have just as easily made this system a final-rinse-only device that you attach to your hose AFTER you wash and rinse the car. Being able to spray soapy water onto your car from the device is meant to be a convenience, but it certainly is not a required step, and all the normal rules of car washing still apply (i.e., wash in sections, do not wash in direct sunlight, keep your sponge clean, etc.). The point is, you still need to wash your car with a wash mitt or sponge and bucket pretty much as you normally would.

The soap they include supposedly helps bead water off the car's surface, helping it to dry more quickly. I didn't find a significant difference between that and regular car wash detergent. If you've used the included soap, have to clean out the device pretty well before using regular detergent as something in the included soap interacts with the regular soap to form sticky polymer deposits that will stick onto your car (they wash off, but it's still a pain) and potentially clog the machine. But once that stuff is cleaned out, regular soap will spray through the device without problem and I still get a spot-free finish.

Having said that, I have successfully used this product for several years and found it to be quite effective at leaving the car spot-free after a car wash. And for less than $20, this product is well worth the savings in hand-drying effort. I do wish it had a higher pressure spray at all settings, though, and the soap fill cap does leak if you do not store the device upright or with the filler hole facing up. Those drawbacks lead to a 4 star rating instead of 5. Nevertheless, a worthwhile product.

To those who think that an $18 investment is going to make your car look like it has just been detailed, you will be disappointed. But this product does work and it works well! The best benefit to me is that I can wash (and dry) my car in about 5 minutes. That is worth the price of the consumables to me. I often need just a quick wash before I drive off somewhere. I enjoy waxing my car, as it needs it, but this product is great for quickies. I paid about $10 more for this kit at Walmart. Buy it!

I am surprised no one has mentioned it and I think it is mentioned in the instructions, but I have found that I get less spots (usually none at all) if the car is left to dry in the shade. Here in Las Vegas, I usually use the system at dusk, and it comes out perfect everytime. If I do it in the sun, I get spots all over the car. This is a wonderful product and it saves me the trip and expense of a car wash.

I've been using MCAD (Mr. Clean AutoDry) since it first came out. First keep in mind this product is about drying. You still wash the car. And though you use MCAD for washing along with a good mitt, the washing process is still getting you to a hands free dry car. The MCAD process is a substitute for other drying methods. It keeps you from rubbing towels or blades across the finish which can lead to scratches. You could also use a leaf blower to dry your car, but they are noisy and can blow grit at your paint at 200+ MPH.

The only change to the MCAD directions I offer is to keep a bucket of clean water nearby so you can rinse your mitt between washing car sections. This will help remove gritt from the mitt than can scratch your paint. You might even put some car wash soap in the bucket other than Mr. Clean's to reduce the use of their soap and therefore the cost.

This product works great, you just have to read the instructions. The heavy rinse is not filtered, so if you rinse your car after you soap, you will get spots. We have really hard water, and I washed my black car last night and it dried perfectly, just as advertised. You have to 1. Heavy Rinse; 2. Soap; 3: Light filtered rinse. If it can work on a black car, it can work on anything.

I read all the previous reviews and decided to try this product myself. It worked great! Just follow the simple directions and your car will come out clean. Yes, the refills are a little pricey but they are worth it.

I have bought a lot of car cleaning products in the 18 years that I have been driving, and most of the ones that promised making the job easier did nothing of the sort. I got the AutoDry for fathers day and I have to say that I had my doubts that it would do exactly as advertised.

I finally tried it out today. Following the directions, I rinsed first, washed in sections (using the regular rinse after each section), and followed up with the filtered rinse on the whole car. I was surprised to see that the car, windows and all, dried with absolutely no spots. I have particularly hard water, and usually have to hand dry very quickly to avoid spots.

As far as those who have not had the same results, try making sure that you follow the directions to the letter, make sure that you work in sections and get all of the soap off each time, then follow up with the filtered rinse.

After reading a few reviews on the system, it became evidently clear that the system worked if you followed the directions explicitly.

So, I bought the system, followed the directions and it worked very well. Was it perfect? No... but what product works perfectly? I was very happy with the results and my Jeep had not been washed in about 6 weeks.

Follow the directions and it works.

I have washed a couple of cars with this kit. Here I will summarize the negatives and positives of this product.

POSITIVES:
1) It saves time in the sense that you have the water and soap right there at the end of the hose at the twist of a knob.
2) It really does leave the MAJORITY of the car spot free.
3) It also saves time you take to dry the car as it's magic de-ionized spray removes MOST of the water spots.

NEGATIVES:
1) You still have to wash the car manually by hand.
2) Even with the special spray, you will leave the car with a few spots, mostly on windows and mirrors (esp. side view mirrors).
3) You have to continually pay for the special soap and special filter.

OVERALL:
1) It's a nice compromise between completely washing your car by hand and getting it professionally washed.
2) Even with the soap and refill it's still a lot cheaper than bringing it in to a car wash.
3) And it does save you time with the soaping and the drying.
4) However, if you need your car completely perfect, then this isn't the kit for you.

I haven't had any water spot problems. I think the reason I haven't is because of the method I've used for the spot free rinsing. If you spray until you can't physically see water spots anymore then I don't think you'll get water spots. This is, however, tedious because it takes a while to make sure you've spot free rinsed every inch of your car. While it's taking you that extra time, you're also wasting the filter that is used in this process (and the reason the water pressure is so low in the first place).

My only other complaint is that I don't have a bucket. Nothing beats pulling out a mitt or a rag from a giant soapy bucket and washing your car with all that extra soap and what not. I tried to soap down the rag I was using with the unit itself, but it just wasn't the same. It would be nice if the soap spray was a bit thicker as well.

It is convenient to be able to switch from soap to spray quickly though. It helped me blast off a couple of spots that a regular hose nozzle might have more trouble with.

Overall, it takes a bit longer to use this wash method than the conventional bucket of soap way. In the time it takes to use this chances are your car will come out a lot cleaner anyway...