So you just bought a brand new car, and the last thing you want is to ruin that shiny showroom finish. As the kilometres pile on and it starts to show, your first instinct might be to rush to an automatic car wash. After all, convenience is the new king, and what could be easier than driving in dirty and driving out sparkly clean, all while being splattered by multi-coloured rainbow soap? As a proud car owner, that sounds like a no-brainer, right?
Think again. Automatic car washes can be convenient, but the costs in potential damage add up quick. They have been known to often introduce swirls, scratches, and other marring to your car’s paint. Keeping that in mind, here are 3 reasons why you benefit by avoiding automatic car washes:
Skip The Cheap Chemicals and Abrasive Brushes
Automatic car washes are designed for speed and convenience, not attention to detail. You may trust that the operator is using appropriate soap in the right amount, but are they? Chances are, they are using a cheaper product to increase their profit margin. These chemicals are usually a strong acid that also strips off any protective coating applied to your car such as a wax or sealant.
If the chemicals fail to loosen the dirt, a rotating brush comes by to help agitate the surface in hopes of creating a clean surface. The rotating brushes are not cleaned between washes and rotate at a high speed, creating a deadly combination that can instill swirls and scratches all over your car. Also, you don’t know what dirt and grit the other cars left behind before you drove into the car wash. Unless the brushes are meticulously cleaned between washes, that same dirt is being kicked up and dragged across your car’s finish.
Avoid The High Pressure Water Blasts
When opting for an automatic wash, high-pressure water is blasted at your car to pre-rinse as well as remove the chemical cleaners and dirt. If the chemicals and rotating brush did not remove all the dirt from your car’s surface, the remaining dirt will be driven into your car’s paint, possibly scratching the surface.
Most car washes also filter and recycle their water to cut down on the sewer bills, thereby lowering the automatic car wash owner’s overhead. Recycling the water means that any dirt and grit missed by the filtering system will affect how much dirt is being sandblasted back onto your car (at an extremely high pressure, might I add) during the wash and rinse cycles.
Questionable Drying Methods
Most automatic car washes use a strong jet of heated air to force excess water off after the car goes through the wash. Following that, you typically drive ahead to have your car hand-wiped by attendants. Be particularly alert on busy days, when lots of other cars have gone ahead of you. If you see the attendants using obviously dirty old rags to wipe the car down, you should say “thanks, but no thanks” and drive away.
Hand drying your car is the most effective only if fresh, quality microfiber towels are being used, which is often not the case. Using a microfiber towel is crucial to not creating tiny swirls and scratches in your car’s paint. They are highly effective at absorbing water, too, much more so than a regular towel.
If you simply must go through an automatic car wash, be warned. Having your car hand washed by a professional or doing it yourself may be more expensive, but it will help maintain your car’s value in the long run. Also, what better way to bond with your car than to spend an hour or two washing it to perfection?
Got any reasons to add or horror stories to share when it comes to automatic car washes? Feel free to leave a comment below or send us a tweet @Unhaggle.
