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Expert Tips: Car Washing Dos and Don’ts
We’ll tell you step-by-step how to wash a car or other vehicle below, but here are some things to keep in mind as you work.
Tips for Washing Your Car
- Check your owner’s manual before you begin for any instructions or cautions.
- Wash and dry with straight strokes or a Z-motion rather than a circular motion.
- Use two buckets, one for clean wash water and one to rinse the dirt from your cleaning tools.
- Keep the cleaning tools for tires and wheels separate from those you use to clean the body.
- Divide the vehicle into sections and work on a single section at a time.
- Dry your car thoroughly to keep water spots from forming on the finish.
Common Car Washing Mistakes to Avoid:
- Don’t wash your car in direct, hot sunlight.
- Don’t use a detergent or cleaner that’s not specifically formulated as car wash soap or detergent.
- Don’t wear clothes with zippers, buttons, buckles, etc. or any jewelry that could scratch the finish.
- Don’t use stiff-bristle brushes on the body of the car.
- Don’t use a brush, sponge, cloth, etc. that falls on the ground.
- Don’t let detergent dry on the car.
While you can use a light-duty pressure washer to wash your car in some cases, check your car and pressure washer manuals first to make sure this method is suitable. Use only the pressure settings, nozzles and detergent specified in your manuals.
See our guide to pressure washing vehicles for tips.
Why Should You Wash Your Car Yourself?
An automatic car wash is a quick way to clean your vehicle, but if you’re not careful about choosing the carwash, it can be more likely to scratch or damage your car than washing it yourself. And, since these are typically quick, one-size-fits all washes, you’re not going to get a deep, thorough clean.
Hand washing a car yourself takes more time and effort but you can get the whole car spotless while taking care to avoid scratches and other damage. When you do it yourself you can also make sure the cleaning tools and products you use are right for your car. Hand washing also gives you the opportunity to locate areas where the paint is damaged. Once you've thorougly cleaned and dried the vehicle, you may be able to use the right car paint to touch up the damaged areas yourself.
How Often Should You Wash Your Car?
Wash your car every couple of weeks. Depending on weather, road conditions, etc. you may need to wash it more often. For example, if you live in an area where roads are treated with salt, brine etc. in winter, you’ll need to wash your car more regularly to protect your finish.
If you notice deposits such as bird droppings, road tar or bug spatter, clean them quickly to reduce the risk of damage to your finish.
Detailing a car is a step up from this general car wash how-to. It’s a good idea to detail your vehicle every three or four months to keep the interior and exterior in top shape and to make cleaning easier. Our step-by-step guide will show you how to detail your car.
How to Wash Your Car
Here are some general steps for hand washing a car. Vehicles, finishes, cleaning tools and solutions vary so always follow instructions specific to your vehicle, tools and supplies.
If you have a tall vehicle, such as a truck, sport utility vehicle or van, invest in cleaning tools with extendable handles to give you extra reach. You can also find hose wands that’ll make it easier to rinse these vehicles.
