Automatic car washes and detailers are everywhere, but there’s something very satisfying about channeling your pride of automotive ownership into cleaning your own vehicle by hand. If you’ve got a bit of time to spare on a clear day and feel like giving your automobile some tender loving care, here’s a step-by-step guide to car washing to get your ride squeaky clean and ready to show off.
How to Wash Your Car By Hand
What You’ll Need
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A hose with a nozzle that will spray with enough pressure to dislodge dirt from your car’s surfaces and cut off water flow when it’s not needed.
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Multiple buckets, multiple sponges or cleaning mitts, and multiple microfiber cloths or chamois depending on your preference. You’ll be using different types of cleaners on different parts of the car and won’t want to mix product residue or dirt from one part of the car with another.
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A step stool and a squeegee with a long handle if your vehicle is on the taller side, such as an SUV.
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A vacuum with a long nozzle attachment, a trash bag, some interior cleaner or a spray bottle with a simple soap and water solution, and some ammonia-free window cleaner if you’re going to tackle the interior as well.
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A location that gives you plenty of space to move around the car, away from sources of dust or debris, that allows water to flow away easily, and ideally that’s not in direct sunlight. Beautiful days may put you in the mood to be outside washing your car, but direct sunlight can cause water to evaporate quickly and allow the soap to dry your car’s surfaces. It’s best to work on an overcast day or in the early morning or late afternoon when temperatures are cooler.
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Take off any jewelry such as rings or watches so that you don’t accidentally scratch your car while you’re working.
How to Clean Car Wheels
The wheels are often the dirtiest part of the car, so this is a good place to start.
Grab your hose, move it to the most powerful setting if your nozzle is adjustable, and spray each wheel directly from varying angles as well as the inside of each wheel well. This will dislodge any built-up dirt, brake dust, and salt accumulation from winter driving. Stand back! Your water flow is likely to splash back toward you when you're rinsing the wheels at certain angles. If dirt clings especially stubbornly to your tire sidewalls, a plastic-bristled brush such as a kitchen scrubber may help with a deeper clean. While you’re down there, particularly if this is the first cleaning of the spring, it’s a good idea to spray your vehicle’s undercarriage as much as possible to remove salt build-up you will have picked up through the winter.
Next, apply a dedicated wheel cleaner to your wheels. The best wheel cleaner for your car will depend on whether your wheels are steel or aluminum and if they are painted. You may find more information on this in your owner’s manual. Apply and rinse the cleaner according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Tire shine is a controversial subject. Some people love the polished look that it gives to tires and feel that no detailing job is complete without it. However, there are reports of some products accelerating tire wear over time, and it can reduce your tire’s grip if not applied correctly. The decision is personal, but if you decide to use it, this is the point in the process to do so.
Finally, put aside any sponges or cloths used in this process and switch to clean ones for the next step so that any contaminants like cleaning products and tire grit don’t come into contact with other surfaces.
Pre-Soak Your Car
Using your hose, spray the entire surface of the vehicle with water. Don’t miss hard-to-see areas like under the spoiler, the surfaces on and around the side mirrors, behind the door handles, around the headlights and taillights, and on the entire roof. It’s worth taking the time to get on to a step stool and spray the roof of your vehicle as well, especially if it’s tall and difficult to reach or if you have a large sunroof that you want to get sparkling clean.
Exterior cleaning
Get two buckets ready, one filled with clean water and another with your preferred car cleaning solution prepared as per the manufacturer’s instructions. It’s best to use dedicated automotive cleaners on your car’s exterior. Household cleaners are harsher and may strip the wax from the surface or damage the paint.
Starting at the roof and working your way down, work in sections to use a sponge or wash mitt to wipe on the soapy water, rinse it in the bucket with clean water, and then rinse the suds off that section. Try not to disturb the water at the very bottom of the rinse bucket so that you don’t pick up the loose dirt that sinks to the bottom. Wipe in a back-and-forth motion rather than a circular motion to avoid etching swirl marks in your car's paint. Work through the top third of the car first, then the middle third, then the bottom third last as that’s where the most grime builds up. Don’t scrub deeply at any spots where dirt is accumulated as particles could scratch the paint. Instead, apply soap gently, rinse, and repeat as needed to remove dirt from surfaces. Ensure all dirt and residue has been washed off the mitt or sponge before moving on to the next section. Don’t let the soap dry on the surface of the paint, and if your cleaning implement falls at any point, consider grabbing a clean one or, at minimum, make sure anything that gets picked up from the ground has been rinsed off thoroughly before continuing.
Next, change your hose to a free-flowing setting similar to the flow of tap water, or simply remove the nozzle, and give the entire exterior a final rinse, ensuring no soap remains. Take a microfiber cloth or chamois and dry all surfaces from the top down, using more of a blotting than a wiping motion and wringing out the cloth as you go to dry everything as thoroughly as possible. Household towels are not ideal as they’re not as gentle on a car’s finish. Some people like to give the car a once-over with a leaf blower first to reduce the amount of water to be picked up. Don’t forget to pay special attention to the badges, grille, spoiler, around the mirrors and door handles, and in between crevices to pick up as much water as possible. On an SUV, a step stool and a squeegee with a long handle may be necessary to reach an entire panoramic sunroof and dry it off so that it doesn’t end up with water spotting. Finish off by running a cloth around the base of your vehicle to pick up any run-off.
If your windows still need more work after this is done, give them a spray with an automotive window cleaner and wipe it off. Don’t use a household product such as Windex for this as the ammonia can damage your car’s exterior window finishes.
Interior cleaning
If yours is a typical household, your car’s interior probably collects bits of trash and crumbs relatively quickly. Getting your car’s interior back into shape can be accomplished in a few steps.
First, toss any garbage and large bits of debris into a trash bin, and remove any loose articles you’d like to put back into the car afterward and set them aside.
Next, remove the floor mats. If they’re rubber, scrub them with soap and water and hose them off; if they’re upholstery, give them a good vacuum and spot-clean with upholstery cleaner if necessary. Set these aside to dry.
Put a long nozzle attachment on your vacuum and start working on all of the floors under where the mats sit, under the seats in the front and rear, and on the seating surfaces including in the crevices between the cushions. It’s helpful to vacuum in the door pockets and centre console as well, but do so gently so as not to scratch the plastic surfaces. Upholstery cleaner or dedicated stain removers can be used to spot-clean as necessary.
To clean dust and dirt off hard surfaces such as the dashboard, steering wheel, infotainment screen, shifter, and door handles and pockets, most manufacturers recommend mixing a simple solution of water with a small amount of liquid soap in a spray bottle and wiping with a clean microfiber cloth. A leather conditioner can be used on dashboard surfaces and seats to protect them from frequent sunlight exposure. Don’t use chemicals such as bleach, alcohol, or ammonia at all as these will damage interior surfaces.
Finally, use a non-ammonia automotive glass cleaner and a microfiber towel to clean the inside of the windows. And don’t forget to replace floor mats and loose articles that you set aside at the beginning of the process.
Tips
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If the water doesn’t separate into clear beads on the paint, it’s likely time to give your car a fresh coat of wax. Apply as per the manufacturer’s instructions.
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If you end up with bird droppings on your paint, don’t wait until your next full cleaning to remove it as your car’s finish can end up damaged. Rinse it off as soon as possible after it happens.
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Bug splatter can be especially stubborn. If you have a lot of built-up, a dedicated bug removal product may save some time and your clean car’s finish.