Have you made these car washing mistakes?
Most people believe there are no car washing mistakes to make, but the reality of the situation is that there are many things you can do wrong when washing a car.
And while some car washing mistakes seem to be light and do not do much, they will in fact hurt your car’s interior and exterior.
In the long run, if you were hoping to sell your ride to fund a new one, these aesthetic damages will hurt your resale value.
Not to mention, you would be seeing some of them and waiting to fix them, which can end up being costly.
The best way to lengthen the life of your car is to make sure that you wash it regularly (besides taking it for yearly checkups).
However, when you wash your car, you need to make sure that your decisions are sound and that they are not going to cause you issues.
Keep reading to discover the most commonly made car washing mistakes and how you can stay away from them!
Have you ever made any car washing mistakes? Let us know in the comments!
Using a kitchen sponge
A lot of car owners think that you can wash your car with virtually anything since you are only supposed to take the dirt and grime off the car. This may be true, but you cannot use just anything on the car’s surface.
Many of us use kitchen or standard leaning sponges when we walk the car, and unfortunately, car detailers and professionals warn against using them the most!
The standard sprays end up causing unspeakable damage to the paint of the car since they will end up moving around the contaminants and dirt as you scrub the surface.
They can end up creating a lot of scratches even if you are careful, and this is not what we want.
As an alternative, professionals recommend that you use a car mitt that is specifically designed for washing cars.
That way, you can easily wash and scrub the car without worrying about scratching the paint.
This is because good-quality car mitts are going to hold and trap any abrasive dirt inside and not let it spread around as you are washing the car.
If you are looking for a good car mitt for washing, we recommend you check these ones out.
Relying on dish soap
Since we have talked about kitchen sponges, we should continue to look at the common car-washing mistakes that originate in the kitchen.
While many believe that it’s just washing a car and that dish soap may be the best choice when it comes to using something effective in taking the grime and dirt off while also not being expensive, you may end up damaging the car’s surface with it.
Dish soap is known to have more chemicals that are useful in removing dirt and grease off plates and cutlery, but when used on the car, they can end up removing the car’s wax, aid in dulling and peeling the paint, and even lead to oxidation on the car.
So, if you want to avoid any damages of this sort, stick to buying car shampoo or specialized soap.
You can easily find them online, and they are not as expensive as some may make them out to be.
Just make sure you make the best choice and protect your car’s rubber, paint, and metal surfaces!
Getting rid of excess dirt with dry towels
It has happened to all of us when we are car washing; it just happens that you miss a spot and you only notice it when you thought you were finally done.
If that happens, just do yourself a favor and don’t just grab the nearest dry towel to rub out the dirt.
Since the spot is most likely dry and your towel is dry too, rubbing on it will only grind the dirt in and leave your paint scratched as a result.
Use a wet towel to wipe the grime, or just leave it for the next wash if it is not bothering you.
Reusing the same towel
Likewise, you shouldn’t be using a dirty towel to clean your vehicle.
It may seem like something that should go without saying, but what we mean is not using the same towel you used for washing to also dry the car, no matter how much you rinsed and wrung out the water out of it.
The chance may have it that there will still be dirt on the towel or rag, and while it is convenient to just grab it, you may just return dirt to the surface of the car and even cause scratches to the paint.
It is easier to just make sure you have a separate clean rag or towel for drying.
Leaving the wheels for the last
It may seem like a normal and instinctive choice: you wash the car, and in the end, you deal with the wheels. However, this can end up being a big car washing mistake, especially if your wheels are full of grime and dirt.
By leaving them at the end and using a power washer or hose to remove all the dirt, you may end up plashing all that gunk back on the car’s surface, which you have just spent the last hour washing.
Instead, you should start with the tires first, and then start washing the rest of the car from the top down.
All the water that will drip down is not likely to dirty up your wheels again, and even then, you can easily rinse them off without having to worry much, which cannot be said about the freshly washed and waxed car surface.
Using products directly on the car
Car washing is not a hard task as long as you know the basics. However, there is one common mistake that many car owners make that ends up making their cars look bad at the end of the process and even causing damage to the paint.
A lot of car owners end up squeezing cleaning products and even car wax directly onto the car’s surface. After all, it is going to end up on the car anyway, no?
Unfortunately, this is a mistake that will lead to a messy look and streaks if the product is too concentrated and can even lead to damage to the paint color, so by wanting to skip a step, you are inadvertently causing damage to the car.
Make sure you always follow the instructions on the car, and sometimes you may have to use a foam applicator.
Waxing too much
And since we have mentioned wax a couple of times, it is only normal that we look at the issues that can be brought about by making mistakes when using it.
Since a lot of car owners end up waxing their own cars, it can sometimes lead to a number of different issues.
First of all, while wax is meant to protect the car’s exterior, many people end up thinking that more coats are better. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and it only leads to wasting more product for nothing and overbuffing.
The issue here is that if you overbuff, you can end up removing more coats than needed, besides the fact that removing them could be harder.
The best way to do this is to just stick to one or two coats of wax, as it will do a great job until you wash your car again.
There are lots of things that we do without knowing that we can cause damage to our cars, washing them included! However, do you know there are other mistakes we make that mechanics absolutely hate? Make sure you know what to stop doing so as not to get into trouble with your mechanic by reading this article here.
