5 things you should not do when washing your car yourself
Only use a bucket of water and a towel to wipe the entire car body; using laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid or running a hose through the car body… are things you should not do because it can damage the paint surface when washing your car yourself.
The weather in many provinces and cities is entering the days of rain and erratic sunshine, making it easy for cars to get stuck with sand and dirt. With the types of pressure washers being widely sold on the market, to save costs, many car owners often equip themselves with pressure washers to take advantage of their free time to wash their cars at home.
However, just for convenience, many people when washing their cars at home often make many mistakes in using tools to wash their cars, causing damage and scratches to the car's paint surface... According to a technician of a car care shop system in Ho Chi Minh City, there are 5 things that drivers and car owners should not do.What should not be done when washing your car yourself to avoid damaging the car paint:
1. Do not use a bucket of water or a towel to clean the entire car body.
When washing your car yourself, never use just a bucket of water to rinse the towel or just a towel to wipe the entire car body. Because this can cause small sand particles to not be completely rinsed, sticking to the towel, causing scratches on the paint surface when wiping the car. Normally, after a period of use, the lower part of the car often has more mud, sand, dirt, etc. If you only use a bucket of water and a towel, when wiping, small sand particles will stick to the towel and cannot be removed with just a bucket of water without a filter underneath. Therefore, if you continuously wipe the surface of the car body, it will create small scratches on the car's paint surface.
Therefore, when washing a car, you should use at least two buckets of water with a filter underneath and a sponge to clean the car. After cleaning, you should rinse the sponge in the first bucket of water, then use a specialized cleaning cloth to rinse it in the second bucket to clean the car. Doing this sequentially will help remove sand and small stones stuck to the cleaning cloth and will not damage the car's paint surface.
2. Do not use laundry detergent or dishwashing liquid instead of car wash liquid.
This is a mistake many people often make when washing their own cars. Instead of going to the trouble of buying a specialized car wash solution, many people often use laundry detergent or dishwashing liquid available at home, then mix it with a bucket of water to create foam to clean the car. According to Mr. Tong Quang Phu - Director of Mobile Car Care Company specializing in car care and maintenance in Vietnam: "Dishwashing liquid or laundry soap contains a lot of detergents, high alkalinity... when used to wash the car, it will directly affect the protective layer of the paint surface, over time it will reduce the color of the car's paint."
Therefore, if you wash your car at home, you should not use laundry detergent or dishwashing liquid. Instead, you should buy a specialized solution for cars. These cleaning solutions contain dirt-removing ingredients that help remove "stubborn" stains as well as not damage the paint surface.
3. Do not use old clothes to clean the car.
Not only dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent… some people when washing their own cars also use old clothes that are no longer used to clean the car. This is something that should not be done, because old clothes often have stitches, thick folds or printed, attached brand logos made of plastic or metal, if the user is not careful when cleaning the car, it will cause scratches on the car's paint surface.
4. Do not squeeze rubber hoses or water pipes across the vehicle body.
When using a sprayer to spray around the car, many people, just for convenience, often squeeze the water hose of the sprayer through the car body. However, this is not recommended because the car owner may have to pay the price because the water hose when continuously pulling the hose can leave serious scratches on the car body surface. It is best to pull the water hose under the car when you want to spray around the car.
5. Do not use a feather duster to sweep dust.
Some people often have the habit of using a feather duster to sweep dust off the car before washing it. However, feather dusters are only suitable for sweeping dust off some household items, not for use on car paint surfaces. Using a feather duster to sweep dust off can scratch the car's paint surface.
