You love your car, don’t you? We all do. We all want to keep our cars clean and shiny. We want to use our car as a mirror. But what we don’t realize is, oftentimes we damage our car while cleaning.
In this article, I’ll share some of the most common mistakes that people make while cleaning their cars. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
Automatic Car Wash Centers
I know washing cars is probably not everyone’s favorite time of the week. That’s where the car wash comes in place. You can spend some bucks and get your car washed.
But trust me when I say this, car wash will damage your car paint. It has sharp and heavy brushes installed. If you don’t have problems with a minor scratch here and there, you can definitely go for an automatic car wash.
But if you have a delicate expensive car, that you want to cherish for longer years, then automatic car wash is probably not the best option.
Direct Sunlight
When do you wash your car? Probably when it’s the most sunny outside. Because you’re probably thinking that the sun will dry your car in no time.
That’s where you’re wrong my friend.
If there’s scorching heat outside, then the water will be evaporated quickly. You’ll see water marks in your car. If you don’t clean that properly then it’s gonna stay there for a long time.
So, it’s better to clean your car in the shade, not in the direct sunlight.
Kitchen Cleaning Soap
When cleaning our cars, we tend to go to our kitchen and grab the nearest dishwasher we can find. Do you do the same or am I the only one?
I think we all do the same. It’s not only harmful but also it destroy the wax on top of your car. What’s the point of cleaning if you’re damaging your car?
That’s why use specifically made car washers which are made just for cars. That will have PH balanced and won’t destroy the wax on your car.
Cleaning the Bucket
When cleaning the car, we often don’t notice the bucket we’re using. If it’s dirty we don’t give it much attendance. Because back in our head, we’re thinking, we’re cleaning the car anyway, what’s the point of cleaning the bucket?
That’s where we are wrong. If we have a dirty bucket then all the debris will get stuck in our cleaning towel and later will damage the car paint.
So, it’s always good practice to clean the bucket first.
Using Only 1 Bucket
Another mistake most of us make is, we only use one bucket while cleaning the car. We use the same bucket to have soapy water, then we put the towel inside, and we clean the car with that towel. Then we use the same towel in that soapy water, making the entire soapy water dirty.
Instead, what we can do is, have 2 buckets. 1 for soapy water and the 2nd one will have clean water in it. So that we can clean the towel with the 2nd bucket. That way, we won’t make the soapy water dirty.
It’s a neat hack everyone fails to take.
Using Lubricant
When do we wash our car? When it’s dirty. When our car is dirty, different types of dirt and debris stick to the skin of the car. What we tend to do is, use a towel to clean that dirt. But that’s wrong.
We need to use some sort of lubrication, otherwise, there’ll be a permanent spot of dirt. If we don’t have any lubricant in the house, we should at least use soapy water to make the towel wet. That way we won’t damage the car paint.
Cleaning Inside Leather Directly
Often times we want to clean the leather inside our car and use some sort of lubricant. Don’t spray the lubricants directly into the leather. Spray it on a towel first, then use that towel to gently clean the leather. That way you won’t damage the leather.
Adjusting Water Pressure
When cleaning a car, we tend to use this high-speed pressure water. We think that it will clean the car quickly.
But you do need to adjust the pressure so that it doesn’t damage the car.
Micro Fiber Towel
While cleaning the car, we tend to use any cloth that is close to us. It’s a big mistake. Just because you’re cleaning your car doesn’t mean you can use any cloth. Don’t use any paper towel or normal towel or napkin. Be sure to use only a microfiber towel.
Microfiber towel has this softness which doesn’t damage the car paint.
Before using the microfiber towel, wave it 2-3 times in the air. While waving the towel if you drop the towel at any point to the ground don’t pick it up and use it. Because the ground has more dirt than you can imagine, and it will get stuck with your microfiber towel. So, it’s better to leave it on the ground and use a new one if you drop it.
Cleaning Direction
While cleaning your car, it’s really important to maintain the direction. You want to clean from one side to another side. That way you’re properly cleaning your car.
You can go from front to back. You can go from back to front. But don’t clean your car in a circular motion.
Upper Part vs Lower Part
In the car, there are two parts. One is upper and one is lower. You can see for yourself that, the lower part of the car has more dirt in it because it’s more closer to the dirty road.
You want to clean the top part first, then you should clean the lower part. If you do the opposite, your towel will get dirty quickly, and that dirt will then later be on top part.
Drying Your Car
When you’re done cleaning your precious car, it’s time to dry your car. If you don’t dry the car, there’ll be watermarks on it and you don’t want that.
You can use a microfiber towel and dry your car in one direction.
After cleaning a couple of times you can fold the towel and get a dry side of the towel.
