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

[snarfblatt]

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?!

Hand car wash. They do a better job then I do anyway and it saves all the faff.

I don’t live in a flat but I still wouldn’t be using buckets of water to clean my car! I use the jet wash at Asda for a couple of pounds. It also has contactless so I don’t even need to make sure I have change!

DH's previous car was 16 years old when it died, and was entirely rust free. I don't ever recall it being cleaned once when we were married (so in about 3 years), so you don't need to worry on that score.

We did get our current car professionally cleaned last summer as it was used as wedding transport, and we didn't want to ruin the bridesmaids' dresses before the ceremony. That should be enough for the next few years!

DH's previous car was 16 years old when it died, and was entirely rust free. I don't ever recall it being cleaned once when we were married (so in about 3 years), so you don't need to worry on that score.

Anti corrosion protection on cars has come on leaps and bouncds in recent decades. Cleaning oe not cleaning a car is not going to make a significant difference.

Shifting stuff like bird shit that can be corrosive and damage paint, but i really can't be arsed at this stage of tge game with a car not worth very much.

I'm the owner of a rust free car of 23 years old that's cleaned roughly two or three times a year via a half hearted waft of a jet washer.

I take it to carwash. £5 wash..£10 for wash and vacuum/clean inside

It's £25 at our local Tesco for inside and out. Sod that, I do it myself and I'm not a middle aged man!

I take mine to the car wash where the fellas wash the outside in about 5-10 minutes for a fiver. If I'm cleaning the inside I take the car and my hoover to my mums and do it there.

I've always thought MN to be a progressive community, yet there are numerous posters on here recommending the use of these £5 hand car washes, which are pretty well known for exploiting vulnerable workers, tax evasion, numerous health and safety violations, even modern slavery.

Shocking tbh

I wait for it to rain

I've always thought MN to be a progressive community, yet there are numerous posters on here recommending the use of these £5 hand car washes, which are pretty well known for exploiting vulnerable workers, tax evasion, numerous health and safety violations, even modern slavery.

Agreed. A moment's thought will tell you that the economics of a £5 car wash and say five employees on the minimum wage of £8.21 an hour don't stack up.

I do have a certain amount of uneasiness about the cheapness (I always tip) but these places are hardly hidden secrets. Surely they would be investigated if there were suspicions of people trafficking?
Apologies if I’m being completely naive about this.

Nail salons can be the same.

** sorry ,posted too soon, they aren't hidden either.

Its illegal to wash your car at home here also. 1.the soap or cleaning products goes into the local water system, 2. it gets cold in winter so would form sheets of ice.
Most petrol stations have a self service water jets . its €1 for 5mins. So its only 1-2 euros depending on how filthy in the first place

Car wash and a hoover for £12, about once every 6 months.

I love going to the drive-in car wash. It's like a funfair ride. Yes, I do live a sad life.

ScrewyMcScrewup that was my favourite thing to do as a child, the day we left the window open a crack went down in family history

Sadly the modern slavery thing is true ( debt bondage usually). There was an article about it a few days ago in the press.

I’ve never cleaned my car by hand EVER.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen I'm slightly jealous you got to experience that!

Now I'm worried my car wash is operated by modern slaves. I've had training to spot the signs in my industry but how can we tell with the car washes?

It still gives me a little thrill and I'm nearly 50 ,it was SO exciting

Our local hand car wash costs a minimum of £30 and only allows specific named luxury cars. DH loves it. It’s his treat lol.

Anyone else in SE London who's able to recommend somewhere...

Every single supermarket with a car park has its car was franchise.

A moment's thought will tell you that the economics of a £5 car wash and say five employees on the minimum wage of £8.21 an hour don't stack up.

I've never seen a £5 car wash, usually prices start at about 8 quid, going upto £15 for a people carrier, they use pressure hoses, and they turn round about 30 cars an hour (I watch them from my window)

I've never seen a £5 car wash, usually prices start at about 8 quid, going upto £15 for a people carrier, they use pressure hoses, and they turn round about 30 cars an hour (I watch them from my window)

Are you in the south east of England? Fiver is the going rate here. Even if we allow for say 8 pound a car, alongside wages, there's equipment, insurance, chemicals, businesses rates, materials, rent, ni, , water bills etc the economics don't stack up if you're paying the minimum wage. They may be able to turn around 30 odd cars an hour but there'll be peaks and troughs through the day and year.

I stand by my point that even with a slightly higher price, it still doesn't add up.

I’m in a cheap part of the midlands and have never seen it as cheap as £5, or even £8. We pay £12 for our small car, £15 for our medium sized car. The staff are British so I presume they aren’t a front for people trafficking/modern day slavery but I suppose you never know.