How much water mobile detailing uses depends on your wash method. On an average car, a rinseless wash takes us less than 10 gallons. A traditional wash off a water tank takes about 25 gallons.
Water use by wash method
| Wash method | Water per average car |
|---|---|
| Rinseless wash | Under 10 gallons |
| Traditional wash from a water tank | About 25 gallons |
Those are our numbers on an average car. Bigger or dirtier vehicles will use more. Going rinseless cuts your water use by more than half.
What that means for your tank size
Our mobile detailing equipment list covers the water tank along with the rest of a mobile setup.
It is worth working backward from how many cars you want to do before refilling. Example math, using the numbers above:
| Tank size | Traditional washes (25 gal) | Rinseless washes (under 10 gal) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 gallons | About 2 | 5 or more |
| 100 gallons | About 4 | 10 or more |
We would leave some margin rather than plan to run the tank dry.
Don’t forget the weight
Water weighs about 8.3 pounds per gallon. A full 100-gallon tank adds roughly 830 pounds before you count the tank itself. It is worth checking your truck or trailer’s payload rating before you buy a bigger tank.
Check your local runoff rules
Many cities don’t allow wash water to run into storm drains, and California is especially strict. Before you run a traditional wash on a customer’s driveway or the street, it is worth checking your city’s rules. Some areas expect you to contain or recover your water. A rinseless wash leaves little to no runoff, which makes it easier to stay inside those rules.
Overall
Overall, how much water mobile detailing uses depends on your method. On an average car, a rinseless wash takes us under 10 gallons and a traditional wash off a water tank about 25 gallons. Bigger or dirtier cars use more. It is worth sizing your tank from those numbers, checking the full weight against your payload, and checking your city’s runoff rules before you wash on a customer’s driveway.