washing of the car

T

twinkles

Senior Member
Location
georgia
how often do you wash your car and do you enjoy it?i use to run my thru the brush car wash but dont do it anymore--they are so hard to get into
 

I wash my vehicles several times a year. We live on a gravel road, so I often go through the local car wash and do a "rinse" cycle to keep the dust under control. If they get muddy, I spend some time with the hose in the driveway and get all the mud, etc., off, including under the vehicles. I give them a real good wash and wax every year, usually in the Fall.
 
Until the last year od so, I'd wash my car at least bi-monthly - always did it here at home. I've become so crippled up now that I have to use the carwash most of the time. Once in a while I'll "man up" and give it a try but it's very taxing on the legs.
 

We usually wash the wife's car about every other week. We take it to the self wash but even that requires $7 - $11 depending on how much brushing and rinsing it needs (the timer runs while you're putting the money in). My car and the truck, well, it doesn't rain much here but once in a great while, it does rain :cool:.
 
My car sits in a parking garage and is covered with a thick layer of dust, it looks like I've just gotten back from a road rally across the Sahara.

I take it to the automated car wash before I take it to the garage for service or before a major event, about 3 or 4 times a year.

My sister thinks it's crazy to wash it before I take it in for service but I feel bad for the mechanic, especially in the winter.
 
I wash mine twice a week or once a week when it is hot like now. I polish and wax every 90 days using power cotton applicators and cotton buffers. After, I use cotton cloths to apply detailer for extra shine. All of my vehicles look brand new despite being old and new. I never take my vehicle to car washes as they scratch surface with their dirty whatever you call those plastic things that beat on the paint. Sorry, but one of my pet peeves in life is people that dont take care of their cars/trucks. I have been a car guy since inception.
 
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Automated car washes make me nervous because years ago, my granddaughter and I got stuck in one at a filling station.

The big rollers came down and stayed and stayed and stayed. I was laying on the horn over and over and cars were pulling up behind, waiting for a while and then backing away. Apparently no one went in and told the attendant. Or they did and nobody in there cared..... I was afraid to pull forward for fear that my car would be damaged. So there we sat with me laying on the horn.

Finally, I figured we were going to have to make a break on our own. We dashed out the side door, got covered with water and soap and slogged our way into the store, where the young woman in there said, "Well, there's nothing I can do, I'm in here alone and can't leave the store!" I said fine and asked to use the phone to call the police. She suddenly thought she just might be able to go out and cut the thing off, which she did.

I went back in and asked for my money back. She seemed to be surprised about that. Yep, my car was covered with soap suds and I'm sure as hell not going through again. I complained to the headquarters and got a certificate for a free car wash. Uh, no.

The surprising part is that my granddaughter, who was about five at the time, thought it was high adventure and wanted to do it again. Uh, no.
 
Used to not let dust, any spec, settle on my vehicle.
Now?
Water, even a chamois, has yet to touch my Jeep or truck since April 2015, the month we moved to the cabin.
Matter of fact, the dirtier the better.
Rain knocks off the pumice just fine.
It rains about three times a summer.
I do knock off the snow…most of it.
 
I wash my Jeep only when it needs it, usually in winter time when the snows and slush have made the windows hard to see through and the head and tail lights dim. In summer we may get light rains mixed with high winds, so the dust and dirt stick to the car and when that gets bad I like to get that off. I wash my car maybe a half dozen times a year now, the one we keep in the garage, maybe twice a year, don't use it that often.

I used to wash my vehicles more often years ago, especially when they were brand new. Once a week at the hand held power wash, or at home in my driveway, I'd give a good wash and wax.
 
I do the drive through car wash now and again. Unlike jujube's reaction (above) to stuck rollers and machines going endlessly, I could stay in a car wash all day and be thoroughly entertained by the mechanisms. Then again, automated factory equipment mesmerizes me, from embroidery machines to metal stampers to filling machines. I love to watch them all.

Back on topic - when living in region where water is scarce, a dirty car is not considered shameful.
 

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