How to Properly Wash Your Car to Maintain Its Value

It is recommended to wash your vehicle at least once a week to keep dirt and other pollutants from damaging the paint surface. Care needs to be exercised when washing your vehicle to prevent scratching the paint.

When you are preparing to wash your car you will need a bucket, car-sponge, chamois cloth and car-care wash and the use of a hose. Avoid using dishwashing liquid because it contains ingredients that are not suitable to wash your car.

It is always best to wash your car in the shade to avoid water spots from forming. This happens when a wet car quickly dries in the sun. Begin to hose the entire car before using the soapy sponge to remove dirt. This is important because the water will remove any loose dirt on the paint's surface that could otherwise scratch your car.

Wash from the roof of your car in a descending order. It does not matter what side you start from, be sure not to wash the rims and tires with the same cloth. This could cause cross-contamination and when you are finished washing the car body spray off the soap. Using a separate cloth wash the surface of the rim and in between the rim design. For the tires, use a scrubbing brush; which is a hard bristle brush made of synthetic material. This is great for getting off hard stains from your tires.

When you are spraying the tires; vigorously spray the inside of the wheel-well where dirt tends to cake. Continue spraying the underside of your vehicle as far as you can reach and be careful not to let water enter into the exhaust pipe. Believe it or not there was an instance of a guy putting the hose to his muffler to clean it because of the soot that had accumulated around the tip. It ended up costing him a new exhaust system.

It is now time to dry your vehicle. Use a micro-fiber cloth because it absorbs water pretty good. Start drying by clearing off the excess water in a top-to-bottom motion which resembles moving in a straight line. After every sweep, wring out the cloth and repeat until all excess water is removed. Dry using an up and down motion and gradually the moisture disappears from the surface. Open the trunk, the hood and all the doors to dry the inside and leave it open to air dry. Wash out the cloth and finish up by drying the windows. Now stand back and admire your freshly washed car.


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