*UPDATE – As of 2012, Lucky Earth appears to be out of business.
Review summary: Each year people waste a lot of excess water washing their car. If you’re a home owner this raises your water costs. If you’re a planet dweller you should know that car washing also causes runoff from the hose and chemicals on your car to drain right into the yard, driveway, and street. If you walk in that water you drag the runoff into your home. Waterless car wash can help keep your car clean without the negatives above. There are lots of waterless car wash brands on the market, but they’re not all the same. After using Lucky Earth Waterless Car Wash I found it to have a few cons and many pros making it a sensible waterless car wash choice.
Product: Lucky Earth “Waterless” Car Wash from Lucky Earth. I also got a pack of Lucky Earth Microfiber Towels along with the wash.
Use: Washing your car sans H2O. The directions were posted on the bottle and were simple to follow. You spray the wash onto a microfiber towel and the section of the car you’re cleaning. Wipe the section in a sweeping motion with the damp towel then buff the area slightly with a second, dry microfiber towel.
Cost: A 32 oz. spray bottle of “Waterless” Car Wash is $14.99 and a 2 pack of Microfiber Towels is $6.99. This is enough supplies to wash your car about 7-10 times. For me it’s looking like it’ll be about 8 washes (I have a small four door) so cost works out to about $2.74 per wash – a little more if you add in a green glass cleaner, which you”ll need.
Ingredients: Lucky Earth “Waterless” Car Wash is made from purified water, coconut-based surfactants, silicone emulsion and environmentally-safe preservative. Lucky Earth reports that the wash is non-toxic, VOC free, dye free, paraben free, phosphate free and fragrance free. Lucky Earth used to offer their MSDS sheets at their website, now I can’t for the life of me find them (obnoxious). I got tired of looking but did find the Car Wash MSDS sheet at Healthy Home.
Eco-perks:
- You save water and don’t create chemical runoffs in your neighborhood.
- As noted above the ingredients are non-toxic.
- The wash doubles as an interior car cleaner, and can be used on the dashboard, leather seats, doors, and any other non-fabric surfaces this means fewer overall bottles of product which lowers your plastic footprint.
- The towels are reusable and you can hang them to dry.
- If it’s windy or you want the kids to help you wash, you don’t have to worry about product getting on you as much because it’s less harmful than conventional cleaners.
- All packaging including the product bottle and the cardboard around the towels is recyclable. PLUS they actually print a recycle reminder on the packaging – you’d be surprised at how many eco-products I review that don’t do this small thing.
- There is a larger refill size available which saves on packaging.
Positives:
- Lucky Earth Car Wash worked well both inside my car and out. My car was clean and also nice and shiny. The first time I used this, my pal saw my car and thought I did take the time to polish it, but no, I had just used the wash.
- It didn’t scratch, stain, or otherwise harm my car’s exterior or interior.
- Once you do the first round of wiping on a section a light film appears which is nice because it shows you where you need to buff.
- The towels had almost enough mass to almost wash my whole, semi-dirty car. In all, I’d suggest you get three to four towels per normal sized car. I had two towels but could have used a third.
- At about $3 per wash, this car wash is a much better deal than water and soap car washes or or commercial drive-through car washes.
- It’s portable. Take it on an eco-friendly road trip.
Negatives:
- This is not a 100% water free wash. The directions also say to lightly pre-rinse areas that are heavily soiled, muddy, or sandy before you use the wash. My car stays mostly clean so this wasn’t an issue for me, but it could be if your car is always in the mud or on the beach.
- Hubcaps take forever to clean unless you use a little water. I simply spray a little water on with a small spray bottle and it makes it easier.
- Waterless car washing takes time. I’ve seen plenty of reviews and sites that note, “Waterless car washing takes about 15 minutes.” This is a huge fib. I have a small car and waterless washing takes me an hour alone and about 30-40 minutes if my son helps. NOW I should point out, that while I listed time as a con, I don’t personally find it an issue. I know some people will, but I think it’s worth it to save water. Your arms get a killer workout with all those sweeping motions, you have time to think, and frankly people rush around too much anyhow. Chill and wash your car.
- You have to use a different cleaner for your windows and carpet. So you do need to buy more than just the wash, but even factoring those costs in, it’s still a good deal and not too many more containers.
Overall score:
4 out of 5 trees. Overall this product has a few cons, but far more pros and I’d recommend it as useful, eco-friendly and pretty darn easy.
Purchasing suggestions:
I suggest buying the Starter Kit which comes with “Waterless” Car Wash 32 oz., Tire Shine 16 oz., and 4 Microfiber Towels. As noted, you can’t wash your fabric or car window with any of this so you might also want to get the Upholstery & Carpet Spot Cleaner from Lucky Earth – NOTE I have not tried their fabric cleaner so I can’t personally recommend it. I have tried Eco Touch Carpet + Upholstery Cleaner and it works well and is non-toxic.
Lucky Earth does not offer a glass and window cleaner but you can easily make your own glass cleaner. If you want to buy glass cleaner my favorite store bought brand is Earth Friendly Products Window Cleaner, Organic Lavender
Helpful links…
- Learn more at Lucky Earth
- Follow Lucky Earth on Facebook or Twitter
- Buy at Amazon: Lucky Earth “Waterless” Car Wash – 32 oz.
and Lucky Earth Microfiber Towels
See my green product rating system and green product rating criteria or read more green product reviews.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Where and how can I buy the refill for the waterless carwash? I can’t find it anywhere
From what I can tell, it would appear that Lucky Earth has either totally gone out of business, or possibly temporarily gone out of biz. You might want to try Eco Touch Waterless Car Wash – I’ve used this waterless car wash as well and like it. http://ecotouch.net/