By V. Shourabh

Mysuru:  Studies and surveys have revealed that India’s current per capita water consumption is at 150 litres a day. The country is expected to suffer persistent water shortage by 2020 with the per capita accessibility of water coming down to less than 1,000 cubic meters.

One source of water wastage is vehicle washing and this number is set to soar as more vehicles get on the road. Mysuru has over 3 lakh private vehicles and assuming 10 litres of water is needed on an average for a single vehicle wash, the wastage of water is humongous — nearly 30 lakh litres of water every day.

In what could be tagged as a pioneering initiative to provide an environment-friendly car wash service in Mysuru, a group of automobile enthusiasts have started ‘Clean Our Car’ — Waterless car wash. This group consists of four friends who have studied engineering — Vikas Raj, Chetan Somashekar, Sachin Srikanth and Ganesh Prasad.

Vikas and Chetan have done their Master’s in Automobile Service Technology from Germany while Sachin has done his Master’s in Surface Technology (Germany) and Ganesh Mechanical Engineering in Malnad. These like-minded friends have quit their jobs and thus ‘Clean Our Car’ took birth in Mysuru.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Vikas Raj said, “Lots of water is being consumed for washing cars and during summer and drought situations, washing cars and scarcity of water is a huge concern. We are related to the automobile industry and were experimenting with this idea from Sept. last year. It became a reality in Nov.”

About water savings, he said, “This can save lots of water. A normal car wash in service stations requires about 160 litres of water per car and so does the traditional and automated car washing techniques. The latest foam wash method too consumes about 90 litres of water for a single car. We wanted to change this concept. We use only about 3 to 5 litres of water per car and we provide door-step service to customers. The response in Mysuru has been very good.”

The team uses a biodegradable solution to wash the car. The surfactants in their formula helps remove dirt and suspends it from the car’s surface. It creates a thin film between the paint surface and the dirt, which helps clean the surface without scratching it. The solution dilutes mud, sand and dust particles rather than dissolving them.

Their formula contains active agents which lift dirt and grime from the pores, encapsulating it and making the surface easier to clean. The solvent is a protector-cum-shiner. It contains natural wax which protects against dust and ultraviolet rays, preventing fading of plastic and fibre parts.

Clean Our Car ensures that your car is neat and clean within one hour. Though the team has their office set up in Kuvempunagar, customers can ask for door-step service. And the prices that they offer are reasonable. They charge about Rs. 260 for a basic car wash, around Rs. 290 for exterior as well as interior car wash and Rs. 320 for a special exterior and interior plus car wash. They also have several other packages.

Vikas adds, “We use this biodegradable formula which has no harsh chemicals and thus it does not damage the surface of the body. The dust does not stick to the surface of the car as the solvent has the formula of a blend of wax coating.  Customers can use Clean Our Car App. Once registered, with just a click of a button we will be there at their doorstep to wash their car. We have services like exterior cleaning, interior cleaning, interior polishing, tyre dressing, wheel shine, interior vacuum, door sill cleaning, door pads cleaning, etc.”