How to clean your car at home during the winter

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This is really so simple that I wanted to share and see if anyone else does this.

Things needed:
1. Garage
2. Hose and nozzle
3. A way to connect your hose to warm indoor water

What I do is use an adapter I fabricated to connect the hose to the bathroom, which is next to the garage door. I then turn on both hot and cold water and run the hose to the driveway.

I rinse the car off completely, including the undercarriage.

After this, I pull the car inside and either dry the door jambs and call it a day, or proceed to do a two-bucket wash with Optimum No Rinse.

Some may call me crazy for doing this. I think car payments every five years are crazy. Plus, this is good exercise and gets you outside in the fresh air. This works in temps down to the teens, maybe colder if you're brave enough to go out there.
 
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Quote:

Some may call me crazy for doing this


I am in that group.

I am assuming your driveway drains well.

Getting outside for some fresh air and exercise a big thumbs up, however.
 
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I had hot & cold water spigots put in my garage along with 2 floor drains. Plus I insulated it with XXX40 insulation so the heat soak from a car engine will melt snow and dry the floor over night in the winter. So I can wash my cars up until the outside temp is below 10F.

Car washes here recycle their water...so you are bathing your car in salt water.
 
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What about the undercarriage? Isn't that where a lot of rust forms, with the brake lines and fuel lines?

Maybe get some PVC pipe and some 99 cent sprinkler heads from Home Depot and make something you can hook the hose to and push under the car to spray it off.
 
It snows and hails here and the roads are salted heavily when it gets cold, so in addition to the regular wash of snow foam, rinse and two bucket wash I bought an underbody attachment for my pressure washer to rinse all the salt off during the winter.
I only clay and wax as necessary, depends how dirty it is and how durable the product is.
 
Coleman used to sell an electric pressure washer that had an onboard water reservoir, but I haven't seen a similar product in quite a few years. I thought that would have been a great product for those of us who like to wash our own car in the winter...

I tried making my own reservoir, but my pressure washer appears to need some initial pressure from the hose bib to work
frown.gif
 
I did this when I lived on a 2nd floor apartment... disconnected the washing machine and ran the hose out the window. 120'F water melts the salt off quite well. Trick is to then not move the car an inch or it will pick up salt dust from the air as it dries.

My parking lot had good drainage and it didn't leave an ice slick.
 
Put me down as a commercial car wash guy. Easy, quick and does a fine job.
 
I don't let the cold weather hold me back. It was a chilly 56 here the other day and I braved it anyway.
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Bud
I don't let the cold weather hold me back. It was a chilly 56 here the other day and I braved it anyway. 😁
LOL 56 is tough
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
I had hot & cold water spigots put in my garage along with 2 floor drains. Plus I insulated it with XXX40 insulation so the heat soak from a car engine will melt snow and dry the floor over night in the winter. So I can wash my cars up until the outside temp is below 10F.

Car washes here recycle their water...so you are bathing your car in salt water.


Getting washed with soap and slightly salty water is better than letting a thick coat of salt sit on your car. We have a good car wash in the area that uses brushes, so I just go through that when my car is real bad. When I just want a good rinse, I go through the touchless wash that's 2 minutes from my house. Anything is better than letting salt sit on the car.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
What about the undercarriage? Isn't that where a lot of rust forms, with the brake lines and fuel lines?



Won't help...the cars here dissolve
13.gif
 
Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt
Originally Posted By: Bud
I don't let the cold weather hold me back. It was a chilly 56 here the other day and I braved it anyway. 😁
LOL 56 is tough


I got home at 3 AM this morning and the temperature had plummeted to 56 F here, too. On the way I went through a local car wash with no problems at all. It had rained earlier and there were water spots and streaks all over the car. It rained so hard there were some puddles on the ground and once, I had to use the windshield wipers. So, it was off the the car wash.

I hope this cold spell is over, soon. If this keeps up I'm going to have to start wearing a jacket.
 
I have a well-to-do friend that had his house custom built. His garage has radiant floor heat, has a floor drain in it, hot and cold water spigots and the walls are lined with 4'X8' white bathroom tile sheets.
 
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt
Originally Posted By: Bud
I don't let the cold weather hold me back. It was a chilly 56 here the other day and I braved it anyway. 😁
LOL 56 is tough


I got home at 3 AM this morning and the temperature had plummeted to 56 F here, too. On the way I went through a local car wash with no problems at all. It had rained earlier and there were water spots and streaks all over the car. It rained so hard there were some puddles on the ground and once, I had to use the windshield wipers. So, it was off the the car wash.

I hope this cold spell is over, soon. If this keeps up I'm going to have to start wearing a jacket.


Better get a block heater Jack! 32 years of cold weather, that Honda is dying for one!
 
Originally Posted By: Bud
I don't let the cold weather hold me back. It was a chilly 56 here the other day and I braved it anyway.
smile.gif




54° here today and I washed my truck. Even cleaned the windows and re applied rain-x.
 
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Quote:

Some may call me crazy for doing this


I am in that group.

I am assuming your driveway drains well.

Getting outside for some fresh air and exercise a big thumbs up, however.


Gravel driveway drains great!

Originally Posted By: xxch4osxx
I just go to the local car wash when the roads are dry.


I did this, but unfortunately where I live now there are no car washes within a 30 minute radius.

Originally Posted By: Doog
I had hot & cold water spigots put in my garage along with 2 floor drains. Plus I insulated it with XXX40 insulation so the heat soak from a car engine will melt snow and dry the floor over night in the winter. So I can wash my cars up until the outside temp is below 10F.

Car washes here recycle their water...so you are bathing your car in salt water.


I plan to have this in the garage at my next house.

When I lived close to a car wash, I e-mailed them and asked about their water setup. They said they used fresh water and recycled none of it. Taken with a grain of salt (literally.)



Originally Posted By: Nick1994
What about the undercarriage? Isn't that where a lot of rust forms, with the brake lines and fuel lines?

Maybe get some PVC pipe and some 99 cent sprinkler heads from Home Depot and make something you can hook the hose to and push under the car to spray it off.


I rinse this off thoroughly. Seems to be in good shape for a 10 year old vehicle. I'v used a sprinkler before, I might actually start using one again for underneath.

Originally Posted By: eljefino
I did this when I lived on a 2nd floor apartment... disconnected the washing machine and ran the hose out the window. 120'F water melts the salt off quite well. Trick is to then not move the car an inch or it will pick up salt dust from the air as it dries.

My parking lot had good drainage and it didn't leave an ice slick.


I bet you received some strange looks from your neighbors...
Originally Posted By: Bud
I don't let the cold weather hold me back. It was a chilly 56 here the other day and I braved it anyway.
smile.gif



Go away. lol
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I have a well-to-do friend that had his house custom built. His garage has radiant floor heat, has a floor drain in it, hot and cold water spigots and the walls are lined with 4'X8' white bathroom tile sheets.


That is awesome! I'd love to have a setup like that someday. Ideally with a wash bay separate from storage/parking...
 
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I blast the majority of salt & mud off the car with a power washer, then spray down the undercarriage with the pressure washer. Then I just hand wash as normal.

Or if I'm feeling lazy, I'll run it through a local touchless automatic that has awesome, powerful jets that blast the undercarriage for salt removal.
 
When it's nice out, like the balmy 55*F it is today, I do the usual no-rinse car wash. There's rustproofing sprayed onto the undercarriage, so that doesn't get touched. Getting the body shined up is nice, though.
 
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