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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask how you clean your car if you live in a flat?

101 replies

snarfblatt · 22/04/2019 19:24

Just that really. I've had my car around 4 years and can count the amount of times I've cleaned it on two hands. Lugging buckets of water downstairs, having to go back up three flights of stairs again to refill / clean the sponge is just a pain in the arse to clean it on the outside, and that's not to mention the inside which is frankly disgusting despite my halfhearted best efforts with a handheld dust buster and wipes. Mud and debris all over the floor. Dirt from DC shoes on the back of the seats. And then there's all the crap from nearby trees which seems to be permanently embedded in every crevice... and I'm fairly sure there's moss growing in the door seals which a toothbrush just isn't shifting.

If you live in a flat and have a car, how - and how often - do you clean it?!

OP posts:

Birdie6 · 22/04/2019 20:08

Haven't ever washed my own car. I take it through an automatic car wash every payday - it's my treat . I also use the vacuum at the garage - cheap and quick !

incogneto · 22/04/2019 20:08

Car wash. A mini valet (wash, dash, wheels, hoover) etc is £12 near me. So much easier, I'd rather pay than do it myself

Bookworm4 · 22/04/2019 20:10

I'm sorry but you are old enough to drive and you've never noticed the usually huge adverts with price on at car washes? I really hope you drive with your eyes open!

Snowoctopus · 22/04/2019 20:10

The car wash at our nearest Tesco is £3 and it’s about £1 to use the hoover nozzley thing...
Or you can pay more to have someone do it for you as mentioned above!

incogneto · 22/04/2019 20:10

@Bookworm4 😂 that made me laugh

Noonooyou · 22/04/2019 20:12

I pay about £15 to get it cleaned inside and out but only about twice a year. I used to care more but I'm such an outdoorsy person, I love climbing mountains and going to the beach as much as possible and would rather enjoy that without worrying about a bit of mud or sand in the car.

YesQueen · 22/04/2019 20:13

I take it to work free wash and vac once a month or so or my boss looks aghast at my car

Noonooyou · 22/04/2019 20:13

When people say the vacuum at a garage. Do they mean a petrol station? If so, where?! I've never seen one

incogneto · 22/04/2019 20:14

@Noonooyou yes. At most major supermarkets. They're based at or near the petrol stations

AwkwardPaws27 · 22/04/2019 20:16

We take it to the car valet service by our local big Tesco & B&Q. Get a bit of shopping, go for a coffee or browse the garden section for 45 minutes while they do it. I think it's about £8 for outside only or £15 inside and out.

Original poster

snarfblatt · 22/04/2019 20:16

@Bookworm4 can't say I've noticed many signs for hand car washes, but that's because I've not been looking for them! There's one on the way to my kids' nursery (I walk there) but the signs are so far back from the road you can't see them. I can't emphasise enough that I honestly thought it was normal to clean a car by hand and not to take it to someone else. This thread is a revelation When I got the car my dad gave me a bucket and shampoo as a present along with a scraper for ice and I guess I just assumed that was what people did! When I think of it though I almost never see people cleaning their cars (whereas it used to be a very regular sight when I was a kid) so this is making a lot of sense now...

And here I've been beating myself up for the shut condition of my car!!

OP posts:

Original poster

snarfblatt · 22/04/2019 20:16

*shit

OP posts:

DisplayPurposesOnly · 22/04/2019 20:18

Vacuums at petrol stations tend to be near the air pressure thingy for tyres, and are coin-operated.

Original poster

snarfblatt · 22/04/2019 20:18

Anyone else in SE London who's able to recommend somewhere...? I've never seen this at a supermarket but I go to Aldi mostly and the Sainsbury's just has a petrol station with water and air, nothing for cleaning. I'd like to be able to do it myself (although will need a serious clean inside and out initially so will try and find a cheap valet service since everyone here seems to be suggesting it's possible!!).

OP posts:

GaraMedouar · 22/04/2019 20:19

Clean? A car? Mine gets cleaned and valeted once a year when it goes in the garage for it’s service and MOT. I tried to bribe a child (one of mine) to clean the car once but he got bored so so ended up having to help him, never again.

Reddedder · 22/04/2019 20:19

I wash my own car I like doing it

HundredMilesAnHour · 22/04/2019 20:20

I live in a flat in central London and I wash my car by hand. My neighbours are baffled (just like some of the people on this thread).

My job was cut in Dec and I'm having to live off my savings while I look for work so paying someone to wash my car for me is an unnecessary luxury. Although to be honest, I have always washed my car by hand on a regular basis regardless of my income level. Just it was interspersed with taking it to a car wash. Doing it yourself is a good way of checking for any little scuffs/chips/dents etc. I was also brought up by a father who handwashes his car constantly. I can't stand a dirty car!

OP the trick to doing it when you live in a flat is to have TWO buckets and TWO sponges/cloths. That way you only make one trip. Simples.

Can't help you with the inside though. I think I'm a bit OCD as I keep my car immaculately tidy inside so it only needs an occasional dust/polish/leather polish. Any mud/leaves/gravel etc is cleaned off immediately as I get home.

orangejuiced · 22/04/2019 20:21

I get it cleaned occasionally at the car wash. It would be almost impossible to clean at home due to flights of stairs.

Original poster

snarfblatt · 22/04/2019 20:21

@GaraMedouar another reason I struggle to clean mine - really hard to do with a grumpy toddler!! Used to clean it with baby in the sling, it was a race against time for when he started screaming

OP posts:

Original poster

snarfblatt · 22/04/2019 20:23

@HundredMilesAnHour yes money is an issue which is why I've always done it myself. I have two buckets, two sponges and a thing to dry it with! Just uses more water than I can get in one bucket

OP posts:

AnnieMay100 · 22/04/2019 20:24

My old flat many years ago had a tap in the car park for residents to use. I’d go to a garage or pay someone to do it, it’s fairly cheap these days and there’s plenty of them in London (4 within 10 minutes of my road)

AnnieMay100 · 22/04/2019 20:25

However I have visions of hanging a hose pipe out of the window, what floor do you live on

arseabouttit · 22/04/2019 20:26

Definitely use a car wash or a valet service - I usually get it done at a local car park so it's done whilst I'm shopping or whatever. But only about twice a year when it resembles a mobile skip in and out!

SometimesAlwaysNever · 22/04/2019 20:27

I'm in the SE but if you gives us the name of your nearest big town we might be able to point you in the right direction

DianaPrincessOfThemyscira · 22/04/2019 20:28

I don't live in a flat but I've never washed a car in my life and I'm not starting now. I don't pay for it either - I just don't clean it. I clean the window myself sometimes but otherwise I just do not care.

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