The family car is like the living room on the road. People consider their car as their second home. So there is nothing wrong with taking care of this valuable thing of beauty. CAR WASH AND VACUUM CLEANING at home by yourself is just one step to showing your affection,
A car does not necessarily require a mechanic,
but yes, the human touch is necessary to keep it flying.
– Amit Tangri
How Much Do You Love Your Car?
The major signs that show the intensity of your love towards your car are:
- You do not allow anyone else to drive it.
- You try to park it in an isolated place.
- You buy the costliest accessories available in the town.
- Your Social Media account is full of pictures of your car.
But, above all, are the following major signs that show your intense love for your car:
- Your Garage is packed with car cleaning products.
- You wash and clean your car excessively.
So loving your car essentially means that you carry out a car wash and vacuum frequently, in a proper manner, and with the proper tools.
Ways For Car Wash And Vacuum cleaning
There are 2 basic ways in which you can carry out the Car Wash and Vacuum cleaning of your automobile:
- Through Car Wash centers: The car cleaning service center employs an automated car washing system. As per the car advice from Whichcar, Australia, automatic car wash damages the car paint. This is because the brushes used are not properly maintained and as a result, they slap your car like a dirty mop. Besides, they use very hard detergents that are not good for the paint of your car.
- At Home: Car wash and vacuum at home are a better choice. The reason is, that you choose your own tools and cleaning detergents, do it delicately and as per your convenience. It also saves fuel and costs you less. Preferring it, the following article takes you to a car washing at home and explains to you simple steps in which it can be done.
Steps for Car wash and Vacuum cleaning.
Common Mistakes To Avoid In Car Wash and Vacuum At Home
- Avoid washing the car under direct sunlight. The car surface would be too hot. This will create watermarks on the surface since water will evaporate fast. In case you are using chemicals and cleaners, the marks will be hard to remove affecting paint. Prefer to do it in shade or early morning.
- Do not use the kitchen detergents. These soaps are hard and can have an adverse effect on the paint and coating. Always use automotive soaps and detergents
- Do not clean in a swirling direction. Pick a direction either way from front to back or vice versa In case you clean in a swirling motion and see the surface at the inclined angle you will find round scratches all around. So it is always preferred to clean in a uni-direction.
- When you are cleaning or drying up your car do not use, a paper towel, old t-shirt, bath towel, or a sponge. Always use a lint-free microfibre cloth.
- Do not use any kind of chemicals on Steering wheels, Gear shifters, Brakes, clutch, and accelerator pedals. Since these parts are constantly touched can make them slippery or deteriorate the finish.
- Park your car on the hard platform and not on the muddy ground. It is better if the platform is an inclined one. This arrangement is preferred since the water we use for washing will drain down and not accumulate to form a sludge.
Tools Required For Car Wash and Vacuum Cleaning
This section is divided into two parts – Appliances and Supplements
Appliances required:
I recommend the following appliances to accomplish the cleaning task of your car at home. These appliances not only save time and effort but also gives good results.
Pressure Washer
Pressure water pumps and spray are useful to remove hard dust on the surface. It can be used on the car body, on the wheels, beneath the car, and engine boot. It can be used with soap or water alone. Please refer to the following video for more insight into the product. The video explains the product description, assembly, demo, and the various components inside.
Pls note that this video is also available in the Hindi Language on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-0KeTAVH2M
Caution to be taken while using Pressure Washer
- Keep away from children
- Always keep the spray gun in a locked position when not in use.
- Before disassembling, release the pressure in the machine. It can give the jerks if not done properly.
- For Car Wash purposes, use wide angled water spray. The narrow one will focus on one point at a time, produce more pressure, and can damage the paint.
- Never ever point towards any human or animal. This can severely injure them.
Best Pressure Washers with Specifications
You will find tons of these pressure washers on e-commerce sites, but most important is to go for brands with a wide service network. This is the most important factor to be considered while closing the deal since the machine has mechanical parts like a Motor and Pump and you should not run pillar to post to get it repaired. Following are the four trusted brands to go for.
| Brands | Inalsa | Black & Decker | Karcher | Bosch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Power shot 1400 | BW 13 | K2 Compact | Easy Aquatak 110 |
| Wattage (in watts) | 1400 | 1300 | 1400 | 1300 |
| Pressure (in bars) | 105 | 100 | 110 | 110 |
| Warranty | 1 year | 6 months | 1 year | 6 months |
| Soap Bottle | included | included | excluded | included |
| MRP | 8995 | 13995 | 10699 | 14299 |
| Discounted Price | Check Discount | Check Discount | Check Discount | Check Discount |
Vacuum Cleaner
We will be requiring this product both on the exterior and in the interior of the car while cleaning. This will help us to remove the loose dust and particles from the car. This is easy to assemble and use. Please refer to the following video for more insight into the product. The video explains the product description, assembly, demo, and the various components inside.
Best Vacuum Cleaners with Specifications
A wide service network will remain the most important factor in deciding the best brand. But for effective car washing go for the Vacuum Cleaners with the following features in it.
- A vacuum cleaner with a Wet and Dry feature is desirable. The wet function will be effective in soaking water after water wash from the engine area and interiors.
- A vacuum cleaner with a powerful blower will help you to reduce your efforts in cleaning the dust from the exterior, places in the boot, and the engine.
- Accessories like carpet brush, long crevice nozzles, wet squeezing brush, and sofa brush will be required for vacuuming the various parts within the car.
| Brands | Inalsa | Black & Decker | Eureka Forbes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | WD21 | WDBD20 | Bold 20 |
| Wattage (in watts) | 1600 | 1300 | 1400 |
| Suction Power (in KPa) | 21 | 20 | 16 |
| Hosepipe length (in m) | 1.8 | 1.5 | 2 |
| MRP (in INR) | 12995 | 9999 | 13000 |
| Discounted Price | Check Discount | Check Discount | Check Discount |
Hand Steamer
This is the third important appliance that should be used in Car Wash and Vacuum process. Hand steamers are essential for cleaning and sanitizing the interiors of the car. The steam helps to kill the microbes and bacteria that are present on the organic left-outs inside the car. This should be used more frequently in these days of the pandemic era. The steamers will serve other applications also in your household. This is one out of five other appliances that will trend in 2021. Portable steamers will also help you out in Home Isolation during Corona
Best Hand Steamers with Specifications
With so many exciting offers and unique names, e-commerce is flooded with Portable Hand Steamers. But very few brands have a good service network and quality. Following is a list of a few such brands. Check Out
| Brands | Inalsa | Black & Decker | Usha | Tefal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Xpress | Techne Direct | Access | |
| Wattage (in watts) | 1200 | 1500 | 1000 | 1600 |
| Steam throw (in gms/min) | 20 | 21 | 21 | 26 |
| Warranty | 1 year | 2 Year | 2 Year | 2 Year |
| Water Capacity (in ml) | 260 | 260 | 200 | 190 |
| MRP | 3995 | 4345 | 3540 | 5499 |
| Discounted Price | Check Discount | Check Discount | Check Discount | Check Discount |
Supplements required:
Besides appliances, we would require some other accessories and consumables to supplement the Car Wash and Vacuum Cleaning.
Microfiber Towels: As I mentioned above you should always use Microfiber cloth for effective cleaning of your car. Sobby’s Microfiber cleaning combo kit contains two big towels and a mitt glove.
The wheel rim and tire cleaning brush: The brush is required to clean tires for hard mud and particles clinging to the wheel. Auto Bizzare tire cleaning brush is the most economical option.
Snow Foam Concentrate Car Shampoo: You require a thick clinging foam concentrator for deep cleaning. An additional fragrance in it will boost your enjoyment while washing. Wavex snow foam concentrate car shampoo provides you with the best results and it comes along with the peach fragrance
Car cream polish: In the detailing part, after a wash, give your car a shining protective layer by applying the polish. Waxpol car cream polish comes along with the sponge for the easy application on the larger area.
Dashboard Dresser: To give interiors a shiny look you need to dress them up with a Dashboard dresser spray. 3M provides a Non-greasy formulation for use on dashboards, door panels, and trims.
Tire Dresser: To give rich glossy looks to your tires, you need to dress them up with Tire Dresser. 3M provides a Non-greasy formulation for use on tires that do not attract dust.
Besides the above appliances and supplements required for car wash and vacuum cleaning, you need to have the following articles ready with you:
- Two buckets
- A water source
- Large polythene (plastic) cover or garbage bag
- Soapy water spray bottle (colin)
- An electric extension cord.
- Gloves and safety glasses
- A cleaning brush
Let’s Start
A Step-By-Step Guide for Car Wash and Vacuum Cleaning
Now that you have gathered your tools let us start using them. We will complete these steps in four broad activities.
- Preparation
- Dry cleaning
- Wet cleaning and drying
- Detailing
Preparation (Time: 8 mins)
Step 0: Put on your gloves and safety glasses. Keep all the tools for Car Wash and Vacuum near to the car for easy accessibility and fast cleaning. Connect the extension cord to the power supply and take it near to the car. Plugin the vacuum cleaner, Pressure washer, and hand steamer. Connect the pressure washer to the water supply. Fill both the buckets with water. Use one bucket to wash the dirty towel and the other one to give a second round of washing to the same towel. Ensure that the water in the second bucket is always clean.
Step 1: Inspect inside the car for garbage or extra item lying over there. Remove them first. Use garbage bags to collect all unwanted items like paper and food waste. Take out and secure all-important items like car documents, car wallet, tissue box, wheel replacement jack, tool kit, and a first-aid kit. For all the ladies out there check for any cosmetics left behind.
Step 2: Take out your floor mats and keep them aside for washing. Take care while taking the car mats out, so that the dust does not spill on the car floor carpet.
Step 3: Next you need to isolate the battery of the car. If you are capable enough open the terminals and take out the set. Else cover the terminals properly and tightly with polythene to make them insulated.
Dry Cleaning (Time: 8 mins)
Step 4: Take the Vacuum cleaner, and set it on the blower mode. Start with the interior. Blow the dust from the vents of the Air conditioner, inner pockets of the door, bottle or glass holder, and inaccessible areas around the seat, and hand brake. Do not blow dust from the floor or carpet since this will result in forming a dust cloud and dust will accumulate in other places inside.
Step 5: Next, blow dust from the engine bay. Use blower in all parts of engine assembly and take the hose pipe deep inside for effective cleaning of the areas from loose dust. You will be requiring a cleaning brush to remove some accumulated dust manually.
Step 6: Continue using a Vacuum cleaner on the blower mode. Blow loose dust and leaves from the exterior of the car. Ensure to include areas like vipers, tires, and rims. Next, open the trunk area and blow the loose dust from all the channels around the area.
Step 7: Inspect the exterior of the car for bird poops and other solid marks ingrained on the surface of the body. Do not scratch these marks or rub them to remove them dried. Instead, use kitchen detergent and pour it on these marks. Wait for 2 minutes, and rub them off with a microfibre towel. Though I do not recommend using these kitchen detergents on the paint of the car but in this case, it helps to loosen these ingrained marks and help to remove them easily without leaving any scratches.
Step 8: Switch the Vacuum cleaner on the dry vacuuming. Attach a long crevice nozzle to the hose pipe and start Vacuum cleaning the interior of the car. Do it on the dashboard, spaces around the stereo system, display board, on and deep inside the seats, and finally on all the areas of the carpet including under the front seats.
Wet Cleaning and drying (Time: 8 mins)
Step 9: Start wet cleaning with the engine bay. Ensure that the engine is cool before you start this. You do not have to pour water over the engine so cover it properly with a big plastic bag. You need to do this even in case your car engine has an inbuilt protective plastic cover on it like that in Jaguar.
Step 10: Start with the engine open hood. Spray enough soapy water on it and wipe it with the wet Microfiber towel. Next, follow the same process with the area around the engine assembly that is not covered. You can adjust the low pressure in the pressure washer and wash this area with water. Allow extra water to drip down the bay. Now, remove the plastic bag and start cleaning the engine area with soapy water and a microfiber towel to clean the part hand to hand. Once we are through with the cleaning of all the visible parts dry all parts of the engine with the dry microfiber towel. Close the hood once this is done.
Step 11: Next you should move to the interior of the car. Take a handy steamer in one hand and a dry towel in the other. apply steamer at those places where there are embedded dirt marks or your kids have stuck the gum inside. It can be applied to any part of the interior. There is one more benefit of using the handy steamer it helps in killing germs and bacteria. Thus it sanitizes the car and removes any foul smell, if any, from the car.
Step 12: Prepare the shampoo by adding one unit of shampoo to the nine units of water in any spray bottle or soap dispenser bottle Start with the dashboard, door, the inner side of all the glasses, seat belts, and seat divider. Apply car shampoo. Rinse with the wet Microfiber Towel. Now use a dry towel to dry off these areas. The next target would be the seats. For seats use liquid detergent mixed in shampoo and scrub with the carpet brush that comes along with the vacuum cleaner to remove all the marks from it. Apply the same to the ceiling and trunk area of the car. Rinse the same with a wet Microfiber Towel. Last come to the carpet and door skirting. Apply the same detergent solution to the carpet and do it in the same way. Adjust the Vacuum cleaner to the wet Vacuuming option and start drying the seats, carpets, and other upholstery in the car. Use wet squeezing or sofa brush while doing wet vacuuming.
Step 13: Shut all the doors and hoods of the car properly. Fill the shampoo solution in the detergent bottle of a pressure washer. Spray the shampoo on the exterior of the car and on tires and on the floor mats. Always do it in one direction. I prefer from the front of the car to the back and vertically from the top to the bottom. Once all the areas are covered with snowy foam, start rinsing the dirt with a wet microfiber towel. Do the interior of the tire rims with an old toothbrush and tires with a tire brush. Use a tire brush to clean the floor mats.
Step 14: Spray the water after removing the soap bottle from the pressure washer. Clean all the parts very accurately using the spray gun, including glass, floor mats, and tires. Wash should also be unidirectional. Take a dry Microfiber towel and dry all the exteriors of the car. Put floor mats for drying
Detailing (Time: 8 mins)
Step 15: By this time the engine must have completely dried. Start applying the Car cream polish on the body inside the engine bay and hood. The cream can be applied in parts on the surface with an applicator sponge provided with the product. Spread the same on all the parts. Then buff it with a dry microfiber towel. Take care not to use any products on the rubber pipes or the belt in the engine bay
Step 16: After you are through with the engine, start with the interiors. with the help of a Dashboard dresser spray. Apply on the dashboard, doors, Hand brake area, and glass holders or armrest. After it has dried clean the surface with a dry microfiber towel.
Step 17: Now is the time for exterior detailing. Apply the car cream polish on the body with the help of an applicator and spread it all around. Then use a microfiber towel to clean the surface effectively. You may repeat the step a second time to get a more glossy finish. Next, do it on all four tire rims.
Step 18: After the body comes the tire. Use tire dresser to give a glossy finish to tires and your Stepney. Ensure that tires are completely dry, before applying the dresser.
Step 19: Your car is ready. Spray some car freshener inside and keep the widow glasses in a semi-open position for some time. Put back all the important articles you have taken out. Finally put back the floor mats.
Know more about some other useful appliances at home like Air fryers, Treadmills, Dehydrators, and Kettles
Summary
Hope this article change how people take care of their cars, people often ignore the car wash and vacuum because either they do not have time or sufficient equipment to wash their cars. These Appliances help every car user with their car wash and Vacuum and that too at their home with economical pricing.
Bond with your family and Happy car washing…