Car Washing

[Idnar7]

Living in the north cars take a beating in the winter. Continually covered with salt/chemical ash which adheres to your clothes if you rub against it. Wondering where you live, how often you wash your car/s, and whether you do it by hand or a carwash. In the winter I say about 6 times a month for two cars. A neighbor buys an annual coupon and almost does daily, but that is his business car.

 

[Walt34]

Normally in the warm weather I hand wash. When the temperature drops below 45° or so I take it to a no-touch car wash. These use high-pressure spray but no cloths clogged with grit from other cars dragging over the finish.

Occasionally when I'm feeling lazy, flush, or both I'll take it to the car wash even in summer.

 

[REWahoo]

Our cars get washed maybe once a month, probably less. No winter chemicals/salt to deal with just the usual grime from dust and dirty roads after a rain. Almost all the washes are done at a carwash. Our water is so hard it leaves a major coating of spots/film, no matter how well you try to dry. The only way I've been able to do a hand wash is in the rain, allowing the rainwater to be the final rinse.

 

[FIREd]

The answer is... not very often. When we lived in the south, it rained so much that the car rarely needed a good washing (once or twice a year?). In California, it rains much less and the car gets dusty and grimy very quickly, even if it stays parked in the garage. But it still only gets washed twice a year. It's a bit of a disgrace at the moment, but I am conserving water. That's my excuse anyways.

 

[Meadbh]

I give my SUV the interior-exterior package at the car wash twice a year, supplementing that with a drive through car wash every month or two. It is parked inside our condo Parkade and I cannot wash it there. I can hand wash it at a local facility but as the vehicle is taller than I am, my efforts can be patchy.

It is very dusty in our Parkade right now and as soon as the municipality completes street sweeping, we are going to get the Parkade professionally swept and powerwashed. That's my cue to take my car for its Spring spa visit!

 

[imoldernu]

Both cars garaged.. very little winter driving. Haven't been to a car wash on 20 years. Only use one car on the messy days. A bucket of warm water to wash and two to rinse. Not usually needed.

Warm weather, I wash and wax as a labor of love. Inside, outside and the engine compartment. Detail, with the better waxes, cleaners and leather and tire dressings. And yes, I use the hose and a degreaser on the engine.

Wash and hose from the bottom up, so the dirt gets a better chance to wash away as you get to the car top. Somewhat controversial. Always, always use Dawn to avoid streaks. Windows get the microfiber cloth treatment. Special cloth from some foreign country that I could only find at flea markets... sold out of a booth for about $4/cloth. Worth every penny... One swipe window wash on car and on house windows. A miracle.

Both Lincoln and Cadillac have special paints and imitation convertible tops. they always look showroom fresh despite their combined 37years of age.

 

[braumeister]

About three times a year for me. DW gets hers done about monthly, because a dirty looking car is just unacceptable to her.

We have a truly wonderful drive-through carwash here that does a magnificent job in about two minutes. Depending on what you want done, the price ranges from $8 all the way up to $19. We usually get the $15 wash, but we buy coupons when they're on sale so it really costs us $10.

 

[marko]

Living in the Boston area, if you wait for three days in a row with no rain or snow predicted, it'll be a long, long time before you wash your car.

I wash the cars once a week regardless of the weather report.

 

[RonBoyd]

I live in Denver. Our 1999 Town & Country has never been washed since we got it 137,000 miles ago. Our Roadtrek has been washed twice in the past six years. Why would one wash their vehicle when the rain and snow does such a good job of it?... or maybe the dirt just falls off. Hmmmm.


Oh! the windows are washed quite often... several times a week.

 

[LauAnn]

I rarely wash it from April thru October. But once it starts snowing and the dirt/salt/yuck builds up, I'll hand wash it 2-3 times each winter in my garage -- but only when the temperature gets to 40 or above. By that time the garage floor is pretty cruddy from built up snow melt.

I use one bucket with dish detergent. And a second for rinse.

 

[W2R]

The answer is... not very often. When we lived in the south, it rained so much that the car rarely needed a good washing

+1

It rains so much here (over 60"/year), that I have never washed my 2009 Venza. It gets rinsed off thoroughly more days than not, since I have neither a garage nor a carport.

I'm not recommending not washing one's car in the South. In this post I'm just saying that like many/most here I haven't done it and for whatever reasons, the world has not ended. Also, it looks shiny and pretty.

 

[rodi]

The answer is... not very often. When we lived in the south, it rained so much that the car rarely needed a good washing (once or twice a year?). In California, it rains much less and the car gets dusty and grimy very quickly, even if it stays parked in the garage. But it still only gets washed twice a year. It's a bit of a disgrace at the moment, but I am conserving water. That's my excuse anyways.

This.

I wash my car twice a year. It's not laziness... It's the drought, LOL.

 

[mpeirce]

Speaking of subscription plans...

Seriously, we do this. For the cost of about 3 washes we get unlimited use for a month. Recently, with all the salt on the roads I've been taking it in maybe twice a week. Depending on the weather. There is no incremental cost (besides my time, which is abundant) and it's nearby.

When DW got her new car, we added it - 50% off the second car.

 

[harley]

My car's only 11 years old. I was thinking about washing it, but just haven't gotten around to it.

Actually, I do run it through a car wash a couple of times/year after 4-wheeling through the mud/dust. I did, however, hand wash it once, about 6-7 years ago. I discovered that if you have tar and pine sap stuck to it, don't use the scrubby side of the sponge.

If I have to drive through salt and stuff, I just blast through a few puddles.

 

[scrabbler1]

Once a year for me, in the spring, after all the salt and dirt has built up. I bring it to a nearby car wash which costs about $6 or $7. Sometimes I find a coupon for a $1 off.


A few years ago I got a coupon for a free car wash at a high-end car wash place but when I tried to use it the line was so long and never moved so after 20 minutes I said, "Screw it" and returned to my regular no-wait place.


My car spends most of the year inside a heated garage so it is not exposed to the elements very often. I drive about 3,000 miles per year so it doesn't hit the road often, either.

 

[aaronc879]

The place I go to get an oil change offers a free car wash at the place across the street. So, once every 3 months or so, i'll have my car washed. I live in Wisconsin so it gets pretty yucky about half the year but I don't much care about how the car looks as long as it runs well. Years ago before the rust proofing that modern cars have, I washed my car every couple weeks in the winter to prevent rust. That is not necessary these days.

 

[SumDay]

I pay ~$80 every six months for an automatic car wash with human, hand towel dry. I go once or twice a week, and vacuum at home each week when I vacuum the house. I like a clean car. It's black, so it looks awful when it's dirty. And our garage is pretty cozy and I hate getting it all over my clothes.

 

[Derslickmeister]

I hand wash our cars. The frequency depends on the weather. During a dry spell it can be a month or so between washes but usually it's every two weeks or so.

 

[splitwdw]

Trucks go through the car wash about once a week in the winter, every other week in the warmer weather unless we're at a muddy job site. All the cars are hand washed. We do not like dirty vehicles.

 

[ikonomore]

I rarely wash it from April thru October. But once it starts snowing and the dirt/salt/yuck builds up, I'll hand wash it 2-3 times each winter in my garage -- but only when the temperature gets to 40 or above. By that time the garage floor is pretty cruddy from built up snow melt.

I use one bucket with dish detergent. And a second for rinse.

Using dish detergent is one of the worst things you can do to your car's paint. It strips all the wax off. Buy any type of car wash soap instead.

 

[ABQ2015]

I take my car to a car wash that uses softened water and hand dries the car. Otherwise the hard water would cause spots. For the first 2-3 years, I did this almost every week and had a wax applied and armor all put on the dashboard about once a month. Also had the car detailed once a year. Then it was down to every 2 weeks for a few years and now every 4-6 weeks (the car is 9 years old). My w#rk parking lot is outside in an undeveloped area often with blowing dust. And if it rains, is usually just a brief thunder storm that washes the dust out of the air and onto your car.

 

[aja8888]

DW's Hyundai Santa Fe gets washed at the car wash about every two weeks in nice weather. She has a coupon book. My 2014 VW Passat diesel gets hand washed by me at home when dirty and periodically waxed with either McGuire's Quick Wax or a good liquid wax/sealant.

 

[Sunset]

When I wash the car, it is by hand in the driveway.
I have a few excuses besides being cheap:

I have not tried the touchless ones, but they do sound like they answer the embedded dirt issue in the old style brush types.

I avoid carwashes in winter and early spring as some (all?) recycle their water, so that means they spray very salty water in Northern States all over your car. Since the water is under some pressure, it could go deep into spots to sit and pool.

By Summer/Fall I figure the water has been desalted by dilution of fresh water, since they lose a bunch each time, but of course in summer, its nice to wash the car in the driveway.

 

[6miths]

I am also leery of high pressure salt water in the winter and have pretty much given up on winter washing unless the temperature comes up significantly and I can use my own hose and bucket. Not often this year. In the summer it's hand wash more frequently.

 

[travelover]

I live on a gravel road, so it is a lost cause, especially when it rains. I wash it when it starts getting hard to see out the side windows.