Car Washing: Commercial or At-Home DIY?

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What’s the best way to wash your car? There are a lot of options—the oh-so convenient tunnel washes with affordable monthly memberships are tempting, and they do a good job—especially the full-service ones. Then there’s the option of doing it yourself either at a car wash with individual bays or in your driveway. But what’s the best way? It depends…

Pros of Commercial Washes
Drive through automatic car washes are perfect for people on the go who don’t have time to wash their car at home. They can get your car clean in a fraction of the time it would take you to do  it yourself, they offer a wide range of cleaning levels, and some offer full-service cleanings, meaning someone will clean the interior windows, console, dash and vacuum. They will also dry the outside to ensure there are no water spots. Many of these car washes offer unlimited packages for a monthly fee too.

In winter, it’s best to wash your car at a commercial wash to get salt and sand off. Given winter’s cold and sometimes freezing temps at home, you would need to hook up your hose and unhook it, then hope there’s no water left in the pipes that could freeze. Besides, even if it’s 40 or 50 degrees instead of freezing, do you really want to be outside washing your car? Brrr!!!! Speaking of winter, it’s a good idea to choose the undercarriage option. You can’t get the undercarriage clean at home.

Cons of Commercial Washes
Commercial washes use brushes that automatically spin and brush up against your car to get dirt off. Those bristles often have residual dirt from other vehicles, which can damage your car’s paint. Some car washes use soft cloth strips instead of bristles on the brushes. That could be a safer alternative, but there’s still a risk that dirt and debris from other cars could get embedded in the cloths and scratch your paint.

Commercial washes also use harsh chemicals and soaps to get your car clean, which is great for removing the hard-to-remove substances from your car like bird droppings, bugs, tar, etc. Those chemicals can eventually damage your car’s clear coat, then the paint.

Doing it Yourself
Whether you do it yourself or take it to a car wash that has bays with hoses and brushes you can use for a fee, there are pros and cons to washing your car yourself. When you wash your car in your driveway, you can take more time and get it cleaner. Here are some tips:

• Wash it in the shade so the soap wouldn’t dry on the car.
• Spray it down to get bird droppings, bugs, etc. off the car. Rinse the whole car before washing it.
• Fill a bucket with warm soapy water, but don’t use dish soap—it can ruin the car’s clear coat and wax. Instead, should use a car wash soap. Car wash soaps are specifically designed to remove dirt and grime without damaging the clear coat and paint. You may need a separate, stronger spray-on cleaner to get rid of bugs and tar. You may need a separate cleaner for the wheels, too.
• Speaking of the wheels, you should wash those last, or if you wash them first, use a separate sponge to wash the body of the car so the grime from the wheels doesn’t scratch your car’s paint.
• Don’t use tire shine—it can make your tire’s rubber get hard and brittle.
• Use a chamois or microfiber towel to dry the car instead of letting it air dry. If you let it air dry, water spots could be an unwelcome result.

There are some downsides to washing your car in your driveway:

1. The dirt, grime and chemicals you wash off the car go into storm drains, which goes back out into rivers and waterways, damaging the local ecosystem. A way around this is to wash your car in the grass.
2. If you live in a four-season climate, it’s not feasible to wash it in your driveway in winter, yet it’s essential to remove road salt and sand from your car. You could go to a car wash with individual bays, but if you use the soap brush, it’s likely to have dirt and debris from other vehicles that can scratch your car. You could use the wand with water to rinse the brush first, but there are no guarantees you’ll get everything out.

Everyone has an opinion about the best way to wash a car. Whatever you choose, take our tips to keep your car looking great and its paint protected.

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