Here's a inexpensive gift idea for the upcoming holidays.

Product Review: Mr. Clean Auto Dry Car Wash "For a Spot-Free Clean and Shine with No Need to Hand Dry!"

You've seen the commercials, you've seen the ads, you've probably seen it in stores and wondered; does this thing really work?

As one that is always looking for a faster, easier (and hopefully) better way of doing things I wondered the same thing - does this thing work in the real world or is it just another gimmick that only works in a controlled environment that the engineers who designed it set up?

I wasn't having any luck finding anybody that has actually tried one so I figured I'd have to try it myself to see. And with a one year satisfaction guarantee I figured what the heck, why not?

The Claim: 1) A Spot-Free Clean and Shine with No Need to Hand Dry. 2) Cleans glass, wheels, etc. 3) Saves time. 4) A dirtier than normal sponge.

First lets see what you get to achieve their claims: The starter kit will eat up the more usable part of a $20 bill and includes the sprayer assembly, one bottle of starter soap, one water filter and an owner's manual. The starter soap, which contains the 'Dry Rinse Polymer', and the water filter, to remove impurities, are good for approximately 3 washes - refills are available for around $5 each and are good for approximately 10 washes.

To use the thing insert the filter, fill the soap tank and hook the sprayer to a garden hose. Set the assembly dial to Rinse and wet the entire car, turn the dial to Soap and wipe down the car with a wash mitt or sponge. Wash the car in sections, rinsing each section before moving on. Once you've soaped, scrubbed and rinsed the entire car turn the assembly dial to Autodry and, starting at the top, spray the entire car. You'll need to keep the sprayer within one foot of the car during this process. Once you've covered the whole car that's it, you're done. Let it dry.

The Results: In the TV commercial it's a matter of 5...4...3...2...1...poof! the car is dry. During this test it was around 65-70 degrees and with my AMX in the shade it took about 20 minutes to dry - granted I'm not shooting a 30 second commercial with time-lapse. The windows dried first, then the whole car. Once done the results were surprising...........it not only works but it works amazingly well!

No spots - not on the glass, the wheels, the paint - none anywhere.

And yes, it saves time too. Especially if you're washing more than one car for a show. You'll have two done in the time it usually takes to wash and dry one using traditional methods.

As for a dirtier than normal sponge? Yes, it fulfilled that claim as well.

The end result was my AMX really did look a LOT cleaner than when using a 'normal' car wash soap and traditional washing method. It's a product that works as advertised and if you try it I'm willing to bet you'll be pleased too.

See www.mrclean.com for more information.