Now spring has sprung, formula for the perfect car wash revealed

As the car-washing season finally arrives in the UK, the formula for the perfect way to clean your motor has been revealed.
 
Boffins at Citroen, together with an applied mathematician, devised that E = 1/t + 1W, where E is efficiency, t is the time taken for the car wash and W is the amount of water used.
 
As Official Car Supplier of Arsenal, Citroen decided to test out the calculation by asking first team players Per Mertesacker, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud to create the ‘premier’ car wash for Club captain Thomas Vermaelen. To watch the video click here: youtu.be/32B-d6DUXs0
 
In researching the formula, Citroen’s various vehicles were washed by people of differing heights in a selection of weather conditions, ranging from 4 to 20?C. The average amount of water used and the time taken was then calculated to suit the outside temperature.
 
For example a 6ft 4in car washer, such as Per Mertesacker, should take 31-minutes to clean a supermini-sized car in a low, ambient temperature of four degrees centigrade with 24-litres of water.
 
The research also found that, if the vehicle hasn’t been cleaned for up to three months, or has visible road grime on more than 40% of its surface, an extra 2.5 litres of water and an additional five minutes of elbow grease will be needed.
 
Citroen has devised five top tips to help ensure the car wash remains efficient, yet effective, by reducing unnecessary water wastage with either a bucket and sponge or a hose:
 
1. If possible, wash your car after a rain shower to avoid using additional water to rinse the car first
2. Find a shady spot to wash your car to avoid drying marks and repeat cleaning
3. Always wash the body of the vehicle from the top down
4. Wring your sponge or chamois out over the bucket
5. Use a sponge to wash down with one hand and, a chamois in the other to dry off immediately
 
Arsenal captain, Thomas Vermaelen, said: ‘We had good fun filming the video for Citroen. It was great to see the lads hard at work even after training had finished, getting the DS3 Cabrio spotless. I was pretty impressed by their cleaning skills, and control of the sponge balls!’
 
Professor Kenneth Dickens said; ‘This is the time of year when we want to spend more time outdoors, making the most of the sunshine and what better way to do that than with a good old-fashioned car clean. The formula provides the perfect ingredients for a car wash taking into account all the variants – of course the formula doesn’t account for the water wastage from family water fights!’