And the Autopians nearly got me commited!

A

abbeysdad

New member
I'd been leasing vehicles for several years (3-3yr lease deals) and then bought a 'new' one and caught the new car fever back in June and it hasn't broken. I found my way here for therapy because misery loves company.



The electric B&D leaf blower hangs in the end of the garage always at the ready to 'sweep' the driveway. After ready posts here, I thought, hey, I'll give the SUV a blow dry after the wash, before I finish with a wipe down.



Well, I live on a somewhat busy country road and I couldn't help but look up as some cars came up the hill to see a very surprised look on the faces of some folks riding shotgun. I'm guessing it's not too often they see a fella blowing off his car.



Now I have to say the blower does a good job of removing a lot of the water making the final wipe much faster. I wouldn't buy a leaf blower just for this purpose, but if like me, you already have one, it's another detailing tool.
 
Yeah, I've been doing that for a while, it works great. When I finish a wash, I usually just grab my gas blower and dry the wheels, tires, and lower half of the vehicle. I can then ww dry the rest of the vehicle.



Keeps the wheels from spotting, keeps from dirtying a towel to dry tires, and keeps me from bending over and I get the whole car/truck dry.
 
Yup, using a blower is definitely the best, quickest, and safest way to dry a car. It won't cause any marring and will dry the water quickly before the dreaded water spots form. But I don't have one :(
 
Hmm...and it just hit me (partly from another thread about vaccum/blowers) that if the air temp is warm, the leaf blower might even make a good dryer for shampoo'd carpet.

(shampoo'd my wife's carpet last Saturday and it was still wet on monday - although it was cooler and we had rain).

Sorry, rambling on.
 
For carpet, you may want to invest in a wet-dry vac. You won't be battling the weather and taking the chance of molded carpets. :) A wet vac will suck the water right out. And I don't have a wet-dry vac either :(
 
i got my 6.5 horsepower rigid for under $100 bucks. with it's detachable 265 mph blower, the thing is a godsend!



i love my wet/dry vac. I don't know how i detailed without it :D
 
I've been using my leaf blower for a few years now. It is simply the easiest way to dry your vehicle. I must admit though, I have received some odd glances from the neighbors!
 
i don't find and use a leaflblower as a total drying tool (can get water spots easy). i mainly use it for the nooks and crannies (air vents, window & rubber seals, side mirrors, in & around emblems, tires & wheels, etc) and anywhere else where water tends to hide. oh... and for the lawn too! :chuckle:
 
imacarnut said:
i don't find and use a leaflblower as a total drying tool (can get water spots easy). i mainly use it for the nooks and crannies (air vents, window & rubber seals, side mirrors, in & around emblems, tires & wheels, etc) and anywhere else where water tends to hide. oh... and for the lawn too! :chuckle:
Click to expand...





same here, I use it around the tail lights, gas cap, wheels, etc that hold water and will 'leak' after you have finished your normal drying. I use a WW to dry the rest of the car
 
I bought a leaf blower just for the purpose of drying my car. I've been using it for almost two years now and LOVE it! Since I wash my car either early in the morning or at sundown, I don't usually get much if any spotting. I usually finish up with a QD like z-6 anyway.
 
mikebai1990 said:
For carpet, you may want to invest in a wet-dry vac. You won't be battling the weather and taking the chance of molded carpets. :) A wet vac will suck the water right out. And I don't have a wet-dry vac either :(
Click to expand...

I do use a wet/dry shop vac for carpet, but it's still real damp after. Not an issue if it's a warm day, but when it's cool or rainy (Northeast !) it's takes forever to totally dry. Perhaps not practical, I was just thinking the blower would get the air moving around and hasten drying of the damp carpet. Maybe the vac hose will hook to the vaccum exhaust for that purpose.

I know a hair dryer/blower would work, but I'm trying to minimize 'extra' car care stuff.
 
If you have a wet/dry vac, hook the hose to the exhaust port and then you can use it as a dryer.



I use the wide pick up attachment on the end of the hose to widen the air distribution.



If you have a car, you need a vac and why not a wet/dry. Not everyone needs a leaf blower



:getdown :getdown :getdown
 
nick49bear said:
If you have a wet/dry vac, hook the hose to the exhaust port and then you can use it as a dryer.



I use the wide pick up attachment on the end of the hose to widen the air distribution.



If you have a car, you need a vac and why not a wet/dry. Not everyone needs a leaf blower



:getdown :getdown :getdown
Click to expand...



My point was more in using something already available to accomplish the task. Niether the leaf blower nor the wet/dry vaccum are really effective dryers... and although off topic, I can think of many appartment dwellers with carpet vaccums that probably wouldn't have a wet/dry vaccum.
 
Maybe your wet/dry vac isn't strong enough? I've heard good stuff about the Ridgid 5 hp vacs. They supposedly are so strong, the user has to be careful not to rip the carpet off!
 
Some leafblowers can be dangerous to paint. (read this in an older post on this site)

Can blow grit straight at the paint although I agree they are good at water removal in crevices, around the side mirrors etc





I don't dry tires nor shampoo them either.
 
nick49bear said:
If you have a wet/dry vac, hook the hose to the exhaust port and then you can use it as a dryer.



I use the wide pick up attachment on the end of the hose to widen the air distribution.



If you have a car, you need a vac and why not a wet/dry. Not everyone needs a leaf blower



:getdown :getdown :getdown
Click to expand...



My 2.5HP Shop Vac (which I feel has plenty of suction for vaccuming and extractions) doesn't have an exhaust port to attach to. Even extraction with commercial equipment leaves the carpet damp. But damp is still to wet to put the mats back in and be done with it. On a warm day, it takes care of itself pretty quickly. My recent experiance was in the garage on a cool, rainy day and the (only slightly) damp carpets just didn't want to dry. Although I think the leaf blower is safe to remove most of the water from the exterior, I'm now thinking it wouldn't be practical for carpets. If your wet/dry vac has exhaust ports, you can use that...otherwise it's air dry or a hot air blower.
 
My Electric Toro has been a workhorse for several years now. I do find times where my mini-compressor works better, but the leaf blower helps move water very quickly!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top