Winter car washing - best tips and methods?

bumbobee

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Hey all, was wondering what all the winter / snow warriors here do when it comes to washing their cars during the season? The snow, salt, brine, slush, dirt, is terrible and my car is dirty all the time.

I've recently come up with a decent method that's economical for me to wash and rinse my car. I fill up a bottle of car soap and water in a big spray bottle and spray the car all around pre soaking it. Then I go to the car wash up the street and rinse it off with high pressure wash, Costs me $ 4 as that's the minimum to activate the machine for 4 minutes. If the car is really dirty Ill fill a bucket of soap and water and wash the car with a sponge after I do the pre soak.

I should also mention I live in a condo so washing my car is a bit more tricky than if I was at a house.
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Pressure wash with very warm water, then, depending on how cold it is outside, use a foam cannon and single bucket with grit guard, or drive the car back into garage and use ONR.
 

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Your method is fine. Pre-soaking it with soap is a good idea. I too have a condo, no garage, no driveway, no hose or water source. Sucks...use the $4 coin one all year round...no bucket washing around where I live at the coin places. But usually the coin one works fine. Maybe add another 50 cents for a minute for rinsing.
 

Rickmeister 48

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Hot/warm water freezes faster than cold water, so depending on just how cold it is outside, use the cooler water.
I rarely do anything in winter other than rinse it off with the hi pressure hand wash ,and i use Lucas speedwax all year long with a microfiber cloth to keep it looking decent in between. But it will freeze real quick
If I have to wash it fully in winter, I just bite the bullet and wash it like normal using the two bucket and mitt along with the hi pressure to rinse. I just make sure to wear waterproof gloves and bundle up real good.
 

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My neighbor used to take his cars to a detail shop. I looked online & for cars they charge $16 for a "Hand wash, Clean Rims & Tires, Compressed Air Dry, Hand dry, Door & Trunk Jambs".

Obviously that's quite a bit more than a $4 DIY wash, but if it's really really cold outside something that this may be the way to go.

I have washed cars in the winter on my driveway if the temperature is 45° to 50°. I just wait for a "warm" day or don't do it at all.
 


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I fill a bucket with warm water and soap in the house, then I put in it on the floor passenger seat. I drive to the coin wash, rinse, then use the bucket with a wash mitt to hand wash. I frequent the coin op place often and they are good with it and I do it when it’s not too busy. I use the spotless rinse at the end. Then I drive quickly afterwards so the air blows the water off. Take it right home and put in the garage. I usually get quite a few frozen water drop let’s but after a few a days they just disappear. I don’t dry it because the car never gets perfectly clean as I am very gentle with the wash mitt. I have ceramic coating which makes things much easier.
 

ostiedneer

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I use Optimum No Rinse with the "Big Red Sponge". 2 Oz of ONR in a warm water 5Gal Bucket with a grit guard, 1Oz of ONR in a 2Gallon pulverizer. I pre-soak each car panel with the pulverizer, then with the soaked sponge in the ONR bucket I wipe each panel top to bottom. Once a panel is done I wipe it down with a MF cloth. Repeat for each section of the car.
 

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i just pay the 20 a month for unlimited touchless washes, but i still havent driven my 17 Si in the winters in NY yet. i will next year when i finally sell my 09 since the wifey hates riding in my winter beater lol
 

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For just a mild build up of grime, Ultima Waterless Wash+ has worked incredibly for me. Soak one section at a time thoroughly, then gently wipe down. Repeat as needed. Buff with a clean microfiber towel and the car will look nice and shiny. Works on glass and wheels too.
 

blackie X

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For just a mild build up of grime, Ultima Waterless Wash+ has worked incredibly for me. Soak one section at a time thoroughly, then gently wipe down. Repeat as needed. Buff with a clean microfiber towel and the car will look nice and shiny. Works on glass and wheels too.
adam waterless wash also works well
 


Arsenalpe

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Experts suggest you wash your car at Least Every Two Weeks During Winter. use either hands or brush to remove excess snow/moisture or ice. Freshwater and a high-pressure hose are the best way, preferably use warm water Warm which prevents contaminants like dust, dirt, pollen, tree sap, bug guts, salt, air-borne pollutants from adhering to your vehicle. Skip the wash if the temperature is below 30 degrees to avoid the door handles and locks to freeze shut. avail mister car washes coupons if you want to leave your car wash services to professional hands.
 

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These are two article from 2 years ago about using car washes in the winter & is salty water reused in car washes. If your streets don't use salt in the winter then you're lucky. I did a cut/paste of the articles in case the links stopped working.
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Is salty water reused in car washes?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/sc-auto-motormouth-0301-story.html

March 4, 2018

Q: I just had my car washed at a popular local facility. I watched almost every customer hit the “free” under-carriage rinse button. Could that rinse water be recycled from the wash process? This time of year with so much road salt being washed away, I wondered if we were getting a “salt water rinse.” I imagine that would simply hasten early rust and corrosion. What do you think?

A: We turned to Eric Wulf, the CEO of the International Carwash Association, who stated: None of the water that is reused and recycled in the wash process is unfiltered. Meaning, the water used for undercarriage washing is going to be filtered of much of the salinity you fear — certainly it will have much less salinity than the “raw salt” sticking to the underside of the vehicle.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/sc-auto-motormouth-0322-story.html#

March 25, 2018

I just read your column “Is salty water reused in car washes?” As a retired chemical marketer who has dealt with salt solubility issues, I suggest you look further into the issue of whether there is appreciable salt in recycled car wash water. I fear that Mr. Wulf is misinformed if he believes that filtration removes most of the salt from recycled car wash water. Most road salts are either sodium chloride (rock salt) or sometimes a concentrated solution of calcium chloride in colder weather. Sodium chloride only precipitates (falls out of solution as a filterable solid) above about 23-26 percent. Below those concentrations salt cannot precipitate. And the warmer the water gets, the higher the soluble salt concentrations can get. While filtration can remove much of the solids (dirt and grit) from recycled wash water, it can only remove solids. So even recycled filtered water can still contain salt.

A: Thanks to you, S.B. and several other readers who know their chemistry. About the only true way to remove the salt is through distillation or reverse osmosis. Nevertheless, rinsing the undercarriage with saline solution is better than allowing the buildup of salt to eat away at your Edsel.

We reached out to Eric Wulf, CEO of the International Carwash Association, for clarification.

He stated: “Good readers! Most car washes have, essentially, three types of water: fresh (from the municipality), recycled (that has been filtered, either cyclonically or biologically) and reverse osmosis. Some can actually have a fourth — rainwater recapture. Reverse osmosis would be the most purified water, similar to many home filter systems. Reverse osmosis is used as the final rinse, to make sure that the car will dry without spots. It is usually not used for undercarriage washing.

“It will depend upon the car wash you visit, which of the above mix you are getting — but you are likely getting all three for the undercarriage wash. Some washes will feed the undercarriage with fresh water, so in that case the salinity would be low already. But even for those that don’t, they are using a mix of fresh, recycled and reverse osmosis (since that is recaptured by the recycling system), which means that the overall salinity of the undercarriage wash water will be better than the salt sticking to the car! No, filtration doesn’t remove all the salt but the processes that go into the mix of the wash water — filtration, reverse osmosis and fresh — means that salt is quite diluted.

“It’s also not uncommon for operators to add a rust inhibitor to the undercarriage water.”
 

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I usually do it when the sun is out. During the hottest hour or else the water freeze before I can wipe it dry.
 


 


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