Everyone wants to keep their car looking like new as long as possible, and the easiest way to accomplish this is to regularly clean your vehicle. Unfortunately, there are some things you can do while cleaning your car that may do more harm than good. Here are a few car washing don’ts that you should avoid.
Don’t Expose Your Vehicle to Sunlight
When most people wash their car, they tend to wait for the sunniest day possible. This is actually a car washing don’t. Although you certainly don’t want to wash your car in the rain, cleaning your vehicle in direct sunlight can cause a great deal of harm.
One of the keys to successfully washing your vehicle is making sure your car stays wet until it’s time to dry off its surface. If you wash your car in direct sunlight, the soap and water on your car will dry out before you’re ready, causing spotting on the exterior. Instead of washing your vehicle in the sun, park your car in the shade, wait until the evening hours, or keep a light spray of water on your car to avoid spotting.
Don’t Use a Harsh Cleaner
Choosing the right cleaner is the most important step in cleaning your car. If you’ve got lots of dirt on the exterior of your vehicle, you might assume that you’ll need a strong cleaner to get the job done. If you pick a corrosive cleaner, however, you can easily damage your paint job. This means your cleaning job could quickly turn into a repair job.
When you’re picking out a cleaner for the exterior of your vehicle, look for the gentlest cleaner that you can find. Avoid cleaners with harsh chemicals, and you should be able to clean the outside of your vehicle quickly and easily without harming your paint job.
Don’t Set Your Cleaning Cloth on the Ground
If you have any experience cleaning your car, then you probably know that you need to use a soft cloth when wiping down the exterior of your vehicle. What you might not know is that your once soft cleaning cloth can quickly become abrasive if you let it touch the ground.
Setting your cleaning cloth on the ground means it can pick up dirt and debris, so when you pick it back up again, you may be spreading grime on the outside of your vehicle or even scratching the paint. Never put your cleaning cloth on the ground, even if you need to take a break. Either set your cloth on the car until you’re ready to start cleaning again or keep backup cloths in case you drop the one you’re currently using.
Cleaning a car is a much more involved process than most people expect. If you’re not careful, you can end up damaging your vehicle instead of improving its appearance. As long as you avoid these car cleaning don’ts, you should be able to keep your vehicle looking great.
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