Homeowner’s Guide To Washing Your Car At Home

There comes a time in every homeowner’s experience where they want to partake in a classic American tradition: washing your car by hand in your home’s driveway. There are plenty of reasons to NOT do it as it can take longer and can be more expensive than getting your car washed in a drive through car wash, however one really doesn’t necessarily wash their car at home to save money. There’s something relaxing, almost zen-like about taking your time to slowly and methodically wash every inch of your car by hand. 

It’s a great excuse to sip a few cold beverages and to put on your favorite music or podcast. It’s an excellent low-impact workout and it is a fantastic excuse to enjoy the nice weather and get some sun on your skin. As a homeowner, one of the perks is getting your own dedicated parking spot and garden hose, so you might as well put them to work! Well, put them to work we shall in today’s article as we are going to give you some best practices and tips for washing your car at home by hand the right way. Enjoy!

Start With The Right Supplies

It may be tempting to just use any old soap you have lying around to wash your car, but you have to be very careful to use the correct one that isn’t too harsh. Even your typical blue dish soap you may have on hand is too powerful and harsh and can strip the protective top coat and wax layers right off your car’s paint. It can even deteriorate the paint itself! The best way to go about using the correct soap for your car is to purchase a dedicated car washing soap at your local big box store or auto parts store. Once you have that on hand, we also put together a list of other things that you will need:

• Dedicated car washing soap
• 2 five-gallon buckets. One for soapy water and one for clean water.
• 2 to 3 microfiber towels. 1 for washing and 2 for drying. 
• Garden hose with a spray nozzle attachment (not too high pressure, though) you can just use your thumb over the normal hose opening if you’d like. 
• Medium soft to medium bristled brush for washing the wheels
• Spray bottle with white vinegar (for washing windows)
• Paper towels (for windows)

Steps To Washing

Now it’s time for the fun part! Let’s get washing. 

• First, you will want to take your hose and gently rinse the top layer of dirt and grime from your car, starting from top to bottom. 
• Fill both buckets with water. Put the desired amount of soap in one
• Then it’s time to wash the wheels. Spray each wheel out really well and then dip your scrub brush in the soapy and scrub the wheels down working your way from the center out
• Using a microfiber cloth or sponge start washing your car from top to bottom with the soapy water. Make sure that as your sponge or cloth gets dirt on it that you rinse it off in the clean water bucket so that you aren’t scrubbing your car’s paint with a dirty cloth as that will scratch it!
• Once each area is soaped down, then it’s time to rinse it again with the hose, just using the natural flow without a nozzle, from top to bottom
• Use a dry microfiber cloth to hand dry any remaining water spots
• Spray each window with the vinegar or regular glass cleaner and wipe clean with the paper towels
• Optional: you can now apply a thin layer of wax or buffer to your car

In Conclusion

Washing your car by hand can be a simple pleasure in life and we hope that today’s list will help get you started. We want to make sure that every homeowner is prepared for the task ahead with the best news and information and quality products available. Shop our store online here or contact us to learn more about what FAMCO has to offer when it comes to high quality HVAC supplies and ventilation accessories.