Would you be surprised if we told you that half the battle of washing a car is just being aware of the problems that can happen when one carries out the task haphazardly? Considering that cars cannot clean themselves and automatic car washes aren’t perfect, here are five dos and don’ts to be aware of:
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Image by James Lee
- Don’t wash your car when it’s baking hot: Heat causes the soap and water to dry fast, leaving streaks on the paint and potentially making the whole washing process more difficult. Do the washing in the morning when the weather is expected to be hot, otherwise park the car in the shade to keep its sheet metal as cool as possible.
- Don’t use a household detergent to wash your car: Sadly, this is one of the most common mistakes made by car owners. Dish soap, laundry soap, and household cleaners are usually too harsh on a car’s paint. They are quite capable of stripping off the protective wax coating. A dedicated carwash formula, on the other hand, is formulated with a milder soap that doesn’t affect the protective coating.
- Wash your car ASAP when stuff lands on the paint: Do a full wash as soon as you see things like bird droppings, dead bugs, or other obvious contaminants on the paint surface. The detailing team at Hoover the Mover told us that bird droppings in particular are extra evil and have a high acidity that, if left on the paint for a lengthy amount of time, can eat into the clear coat.
- Don’t use abrasive materials when washing: Whether washing or drying your car, never use a rough cloth or other material with a surface that can leave hairline scratches. A large sponge works well, as well as lamb’s-wool mitt, the preferred choice of many professional detailers.
- Rinse out the sponge often: It’s preferable to use separate buckets for suds and rinse water, which prevents abrasive dirt from mixing with the sudsy wash water. Squeeze the sponge out in the rinse water and then dip it into the soap bucket for a fresh batch of suds. Do use a bug-and-tar remover to finish the job. Mild carwash formulas often aren’t strong enough to remove road tar, grease, or similar residues. For this, a strong bug-and-tar remover is advisable.