Washing in the Cold

[Dee]

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on washing their automobile in the cold..
I live in Dallas, Tx and we are experiencing sleet and snow, however my car is a mess and I was wondering how I could wash it without using a water hose as my hose is frozen:-).

What are some of the techniques that you have used during cold weather storms to keep your car clean
Thanks!

[TKDDAD]

living in Buffalo, you learn to adapt ... my garage is attached and when you walk in the house from the garage, you enter the first floor laundry room which has a utility tub...I run the hose from the utility tub to the garage and run "warm" water out to wash the car....I layer up with coats, put on the rubber gloves, slip on my boots, then wash the car and run it into the garage, quickly close the doors, turn on the space heater and dry it as quickly as possible...then I take it out into the salty roads

and I do this why ?????.........

[SVT Lightning]

Originally posted by TKDDAD
and I do this why ?????.........

Because nothing looks better than a clean, waxed, black vehicle surrounded by a bunch of dirty ones!

[Jeff Smith]

We touched on this the other day in this thread.:

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10106

[SiriusRIMZ]

Re: Washing in the Cold

Originally posted by Dee
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on washing their automobile in the cold..
I live in Dallas, Tx and we are experiencing sleet and snow, however my car is a mess and I was wondering how I could wash it without using a water hose as my hose is frozen:-).

What are some of the techniques that you have used during cold weather storms to keep your car clean
Thanks!

Heh I'm in Plano, My jeep was frozen shut when I left school at 5:00 Wednesday. I got home and used proceded to pull into my carport and laugh. I'm going at mine tomorrow, supposed to be a blistering 45 or so. Time to bring out the powerwasher and clean off all the sand.

[TKDDAD]

Originally posted by SVT Lightning
Because nothing looks better than a clean, waxed, black vehicle surrounded by a bunch of dirty ones!

How could I forget that !???.......BRILLIANT !!!

[mirrorfinishman]

Re: Washing in the Cold

Originally posted by Dee
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on washing their automobile in the cold..

What are some of the techniques that you have used during cold weather storms to keep your car clean
Thanks!

Dee,

Here are a couple of things you can do the next time you're thinking about washing your car in the cold.

The first thing is to park your car in the sun. You'd be surprised how much the direct rays of the sun can warm-up a vehicle.

I actually had a situation about a week ago where the temperature was right around 32 degrees the entire time I was detailing a car. Since the car was parked in the direct sun, the wash water never became frozen on any of the surfaces I needed to clean, polish and wax. However, I did notice a few hours later when I was done, that there were icicles hanging from underneath the vehicle.

Another thing you can do is use hot wash water. Simply fill your wash bucket up with hot soapy water before you begin. The hot water will also help to gently lift the dirt from the surface of your car too.

It's always a good idea to wear gloves when you're working in cold weather. You can easily fit a 'small' pair of inexpensive cotton gloves under a 'large' pair of those yellow dish washing gloves.

A word of caution. You will also need to be careful about any standing water that may freeze on the walking surfaces around your car. Again, the best advice is to park in the sun and always use your best judgement.

[Dee]

Thank you all for responding!!!!
I have one last question. How do you get the sand off of the vehicle without marring the car.
Since we had ice, the roads were covered in sand, and so needless to say its all over my baby
I was reading one of the other post and it said that I shouldn't take the car to one of those car wash bays with the power washer (unless I wanted to wash the tire wells and rims), because of the potential to marr the car....
I've got to get this sand off of my vehicle but I want to make sure I don't leave behind any marks.. As you can tell we don't get this kind of weather often, so I'm a bit on the inexperienced side...
Thank you all for responding

[SVT Lightning]

I would think the potential to marr the car would be worse if you didn't. I use the power wash once in a while just to remove excess mud or sand. Never had a problem. Just don't hold the nozzle really close to the paint. You'll at least knock off the sand and not have to worry about dragging it around with your wash-mitt.

[Murr1525]

Well, I know some have no problems, but for my ease of mind, I would start with a gentle rinse, or your garden hose at home. This will help with the big loose stuff, then sort of step up up in pressure.

[Dee]

Thank you, I think I will use the water hose at home first. Next, take it to my local car wash and use the pressurized hose to knock off the remaining dirt, followed by some NXT car wash. Thanks again for the responses

[jumpmanmb87]

Washing

Yeah I live in CT and its cold here all winter. What i have is a hot water spicket outside and i hook my hose up to it and wash my car. Its a ***** in the cold but washing saves the car so its worth it. After completion of the washed car i pull it into my heated garage and then dry it off. Then drain the hose and bring it inside.

[gb387]

Re: Washing

Originally posted by jumpmanmb87
Yeah I live in CT and its cold here all winter. What i have is a hot water spicket outside and i hook my hose up to it and wash my car. Its a ***** in the cold but washing saves the car so its worth it. After completion of the washed car i pull it into my heated garage and then dry it off. Then drain the hose and bring it inside.

I have been going to add a hot water Spigot in my garage for just that, winter washes! I would like to get a mixing one, hot and cold feed, 2 on/off valves and a single outlet, very slick faucets kind of $$$ for what they are.

[refurbish]

use Q.E.W. in slightly warm water.