There’s no wrong time to give your car a proper clean. Regular upkeep is essential for keeping your vehicle in great shape, both inside and out. It’s not just about looking good—dirt, grime, and road salt can cause real damage if left unchecked. A good clean now and then helps prevent that, keeping your car in better condition for longer and even boosting its resale value. It’s a small effort that pays off down the road.
Car cleaning at home is the all-round better option. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of stepping into your car knowing it’s been meticulously cleaned, all thanks to your own efforts. Admittedly an automated car wash or jet wash may be more convenient and quicker, but they miss important areas of your car and can damage the paintwork.
Let’s now look at the process for washing your car. What follows is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to making your car gleam all year round.
Tools and supplies
- Pressure washer or high-quality garden hose
- Detailing brushes
- Wash mitt
- Two car washing buckets with grit guards
- Several drying towels
- Car polishing machine (optional)
- Tar remover and sap remover
- Alloy wheel cleaner
- Wheel sealant
- Tyre dressing
- Snow foam
- Car shampoo
- Clay bar and lubricant
- Car polish
- Car wax or paint sealant
- Glass cleaner
- Water repellent
- Chrome cleaner, trim cleaner and soft top cleaner, if needed
How to prepare your car for washing
First thing to do is go over your whole car with the pressure washer to blast off all the loose muck, grime, mud, animal mess, leaves, moss and so on. Make sure you get into the wheelarches and as far under the car as possible. Using a pre-wash spray helps cut through the dirt and get your car even cleaner at this first stage. If your car has been heavily (and badly) polished in the past, you may need to use panel wipe to remove the old polish, wax and sealant.
Next, carefully inspect your car’s paintwork for any hard-to-remove substances such as tar and tree sap. Tar remover and sap remover are specifically designed to shift them.
How to clean your car’s wheels and tyres
The wheels are usually the direst part of your car, getting covered in road grime, brake dust and rubber particles. Alloy wheels are usually intricate and difficult to clean, so it’s best to start there.
1. Use your pressure washer to blast any loose dirt off the wheels and tyres. Also put the nozzle between some the spokes to clear as much dirt as possible from the back of the wheel.
2. Apply your chosen wheel cleaner, following the instructions carefully.
3. Use a fairly stiff detailing brush to agitate the dirt and get the wheel cleaner working properly. Make sure you regularly rinse the brush clean. Many wheel cleaners change colour as dirt builds up in the suds.
4. Rinse the wheel thoroughly with the pressure washer; apply more wheel cleaner if needed. When you’re happy, wipe the excess water off the wheel with a drying towel.
5. Apply wheel sealant, following the instructions carefully. It’ll take some time to cure.
6. Buff the wheel with a second drying towel until it looks flawless.
7. Apply some tyre dressing and wait for it to dry. You now have a stunning set of wheels.
How to clean the exterior of your car
The next stage in car cleaning is washing the car’s bodywork. It’s the easiest area to damage, so a certain degree of care is needed.
1.Once you’ve finished the pre-wash steps detailed earlier, attach a foam lance and snow foam bottle to your pressure washer. Snow foam lifts dirt off the car’s paintwork, making the rest of the cleaning process a bit easier. Carefully follow the dilution instructions.
2. Snow foam has to sit for a few minutes before being hosed off. You can use the time to go over any dirt traps with a detailing brush, agitating the dirt so it comes off more easily. Likely dirt traps include the area above the rear number plate, inside the fuel filler flap and joins between body panels and trim.
3. Fill two buckets with water and add car shampoo to one of them, per the product’s instructions. Use your wash mitt to clean the car’s bodywork, starting with the roof and working your way down from there. Regularly rinse the mitt in the bucket of plain water. Once you’ve been round the whole car, pressure wash off the shampoo. Repeat the process if you missed any dirt.
4. If you want to, at this stage you can go over the car’s bodywork with a clay bar that’ll remove bits of debris that washing didn’t remove. It’s quite a time-consuming process, as you can only cover a small area at a time. Once you’ve finished, rinse the car off again.
5. Dry the car with a clean drying towel. Starting with the roof, drape in onto the car and drag it off. It’ll pick up water sitting on the surface, preventing watermarks. Regularly wring the towel out.
6. Once the car is dry, you can polish it. This can be done by hand or using a polishing machine. If you’re a beginner, polishing by hand is the safest option – an inexperienced hand can damage paintwork with a machine. Carefully follow the instructions on your chosen polish and take your time. A good car polishing kit contains everything you need.
7. Lastly, apply some car wax or a paint sealant. As with all the products mentioned here, there are myriad formulations that claim to do different things but follow our recommendations at the links to get the best all-rounders. Again, carefully follow the product’s instructions when applying wax and buff it to a sheen with a drying towel.
How to clean your car’s glass
Snow foam and car shampoo do a good enough job of cleaning your car’s windows, but a dedicated glass cleaner is better able to get rid of the grease and streaks that can accumulate on them.
1. Once you’ve washed and dried the exterior of your car, apply glass cleaner to all the windows. Carefully follow the product’s instructions. Buff them with a clean drying towel.
2. Don’t forget the door mirrors and lower the windows slightly so you can clean the area that slots into the seal. It’s also worth going over the glass on your car’s roof, if it has any, and the light covers.
3. Repeat the process on the inside of the windows. The windscreen can be particularly tricky because it’s virtually impossible to reach at a good angle, so be extra careful not to create streaks on the glass. Don’t forget about the rear-view mirror, the inside of the sunroof, or the car’s touchscreen.
4. Back outside the car, spray the windows with water repellent. It causes water to bead and roll off, improving visibility when you’re driving in rain. Some products combine glass cleaner and water repellent.
5. Finally, clean the wiper blades. Take them off the car if possible and clean them in a bucket of water with car shampoo, using a detailing brush. You’ll be amazed by how dirty they get.
How to clean your car’s trim
If your car has chrome or black plastic trim, there are products designed specifically for bringing them to a sheen. Metal polishes work on any metallic trim whether it’s real or fake. Trim cleaner makes black plastic look factory fresh and can even restore faded trim. There are specific soft top cleaners for cleaning the roof on a convertible car, as well. Apply these products after washing the car, carefully following the instructions.
FAQs
How do you clean a car for beginners?
If you’re new to car washing or want a quick job, the detailed process above can seem daunting or unnecessary. But by skipping some steps, you can still get your car looking a lot better with relatively little effort.
Start by hosing or pressure washing the lose dirt off your car. Then spray it with snow foam, wait a few minutes for it to lift the remaining dirt off the paintwork, then rinse the car off. Or you can go straight to shampooing it.
Use two buckets of water, one with the car shampoo, the other filled with plain water. Ideally, use a wash mitt to cover the whole car in shampoo, regularly rinsing your mitt in the plain water. Start at the roof and work your way down. Then hose the car off and repeat the process if you missed any dirt. Finally, use a drying towel to take the surface water off the car – an optional step but essential on a hot day, as the water will leave marks as it evaporates.
What is the best order to wash a car?
Here’s the best running order for giving the exterior of your car a comprehensive wash that’ll have it looking its best:
- Hose or pressure wash off all the loose dirt.
- Use a suitable cleaner to get rid of any tougher dirt such as tar and sap.
- Clean the wheels and tyres with alloy wheel cleaner and tyre dressing.
- Spray the whole car with snow foam and wait for it to lift the remaining dirt off the paintwork.
- Shampoo the car with a wash mitt. Start at the roof and work down. Regularly rinse the mitt in plain water.
- Rinse the car off. Repeat the washing process if you missed any dirt.
- Use glass cleaner to clean the windows.
- Use chrome cleaner on any metal trim, trim cleaner on black plastic trim, or soft top cleaner on a convertible’s roof.
- Then you can move to cleaning your car’s interior.
We have detailed these steps in depth earlier in this article.
What basic equipment will I need to clean the interior of my car?
To get your car’s interior looking its best, you’ll want to have a few key items to hand. A good vacuum cleaner with various attachments will help you reach into all the nooks and crannies. Microfiber cloths are perfect for dusting and wiping down surfaces, and an all-purpose interior shampoo will help with those stubborn spots on the seats and dash. A soft-bristle brush is useful for cleaning air vents and tight seams, while a quality glass cleaner ensures your windows stay streak-free. With these essentials, keeping your car’s interior in top shape is straightforward and hassle-free.
How long does a full car clean take?
A full car clean can take anywhere from two to four hours, depending on how thorough you want to be. If you’re just doing a basic exterior wash, you might be done in about 30 minutes to an hour. But if you’re going all out with waxing, detailing, and giving the interior a good clean, expect to spend a few hours on it. Of course, if you’re tackling extra tasks like deep cleaning the carpets or conditioning leather seats, it could take a bit longer.
How often should you clean your car in the UK?
In the UK, it’s a good idea to give your car a wash at least once a month to keep it looking its best and to prevent dirt, salt, and grime from causing damage. If you’re driving in areas with a lot of grit or during winter months when roads are salted, you might want to clean it more frequently—every couple of weeks or so. Regular cleaning not only helps maintain the car’s appearance but also preserves its value by protecting the paint and bodywork.
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