To wash my own car?

[allgoneaway]

Trying to save money but is the saving of £6 to stick it through the car wash really worth it?

Those that hand wash, what do you use? I don't have a hose so it will be a bucket and sponge job. No water meter thankfully.

Would I end up spending a fortune on car shampoo and polish. Will it take up hours of my time?

Any tips?

My mum uses a watering can! She did mine recently and it looked great. I guess it depends how much time you have available and how much you need to save the money.

I cleaned my car myself for years, and did a much better job than the car wash, but it did take me hours and I got drenched (although others do theirs far quicker). I also found it miserable lugging out the vacuum cleaner.

I’m not much for luxuries e.g. don’t have Starbucks or other treats and often take lunch from home, but the car wash is a must.

£6 is great, the cheapest here is £15 for a basic outside and inside clean.

If you've got time in your hands, why not? You'll do a more through job than an automatic car wash - which for £6 is what I assume would be the alternative.

I sometimes do ours. I just use a big sponge from the garage and squirt of regular detergent - (ie. Fairy liquid or what you'd use for washing a floor) in a bucket or two of hot water. I do have a hose though, and it speeds up the rinsing off.

Tesco do some decent car shampoo. Rinse first, shampoo with a soft sponge panel by panel and rinse as you go. Walk round and touch up the bits you miss 😂

I use the self service car wash at Tescos - the one where you get out of the car and use the hose and brush yourself.

If I'm speedy, I can get it pretty clean for £2. I prefer that to doing it at home because all the equipment is there and I don't need to keep going in and out to change the bucket of water.

Yes, it's an automatic car wash. About once a year I pay for a hand job (stop sniggering those with dirty minds!!) at the supermarket while I shop which is a real treat.

@WhiteXmas21

Tesco do some decent car shampoo. Rinse first, shampoo with a soft sponge panel by panel and rinse as you go. Walk round and touch up the bits you miss 😂

That is really useful, thanks.

I do mine with fairy liquid and warmish water with bucket and 2 sponges ( one for initial dirty rinse) about once or twice a week takes 30 minutes at most . Good workout too!

My car was only recently washed after being neglected for around a year. It doesn't seem to have suffered. So if you really want to save money, maybe just reduce the frequency to once every few months.

I always wash my own car, an old bucket and a cheap bottle of baby wash and a brush. I rinse it with a hose but a watering can will do the same job.

The trouble with the one you drive through is that you end up with wax on your windscreen, no matter which wash you pick.

I remember once washing my first car about 30 years ago and the water marks drove me crazy. Do you dry/wax/polish?

@yummyeclair twice a week!!!! It must be gleaming permanently

@GeneLovesJezebel

The trouble with the one you drive through is that you end up with wax on your windscreen, no matter which wash you pick.

Is that bad?

I was told you shouldn’t use washing up liquid because it ‘moves’ the paint.

I'd avoid using fairy liquid, it's a degreaser therefore removes any protective wax on your car and will dull the paintwork. It also means dirt/bird crap will mark and damage your paint

Wax on the windscreen makes it hard to see through. You’ve obviously never had it 🤣

My car hasn’t been washed in 3 years…. Saved loads of money!

I've read that car washes put tiny scratches on your car, so I only hand wash my new car using the two bucket method. Also, I don't like going through car washes 😄.

I pay £18 every 2 weeks to get my car washed at a hand car wash. That's inside and out, boot hoovered, and windows polished.

It's expensive but it's so enjoyable to watch several men cleaning something for me!

2 weeks? Every 2 months! I don't enjoy it that much.

We always wash our own cars so as not to scratch them. Rinse first once wet all over wash ‘top down’ (roof first, wheels last) with any cheap car shampoo (tesco, b and m) then rinse. If you are keen finish off with a spray on something like ‘wax it wet’ and swipe off with a micro fibre cloth but we rarely bother.
Self service jet washes are great for saving you lugging buckets around, and are usually quite cheap. Again start at the top!

Definitely wash your own. It is so easy. I never use a hose even though I have one. Don't use washing up liquid, use car shampoo. For drying you need a chamois leather and a clean bucket of water. Dry a section of the car with the chamois, rinse, squeeze dry and repeat. You will not get water marks that way and will have a lovely shiny car. When washing do windows first, then cleanest areas, then work towards the dirtiest (bottom and back).

It's £3 in Morrisons and Tesco's and does a good enough job in 5 minutes or so:)

I go to a buy time jet wash. It has a range of programs so I usually blast the mud of with the jet wash, hot shampoo it then rinse. There is a wax option. I’m quick and can usually clean it for £2. The garage also has a buy time car vacuum.