Too hot to wash your car?

[gb387]

Well here in Iowa we have been in the mid to upper 90's with hight humidity for a few weeks now and its getting old! I know there are some that have this warm of weather all summer so...

Can it be to hot to wash your car? I don't wash it in the sun but can a high air temp and cool water be hard on the paint (say with heat index 100+)? I have not washed my truck for 2 weeks because of the heat, still fairly clean (just dusty). I know I am suppose to drink lots of water but can my truck?

Here is our great weather 7/23/05:
Heat advisory in effect until 9 pm cdt Sunday.

Rest Of Today: sunny. Hot and humid. High in the upper 90s. Southwest wind 10 to 20 mph. Heat index readings 100 to 112.
Tonight: mostly clear. Low in the upper 70s. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph. Heat index readings 100 to 107 in the evening.
Sunday: mostly sunny. Very hot and humid. High around 100. Southwest wind 10 to 20 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph in the morning. Heat index readings 100 to 111.
Sunday Night: mostly clear. Low in the lower 70s. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Heat index readings 100 to 104 in the evening.
Monday: mostly sunny. Hot and humid. High in the mid 90s. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph. Heat index readings 100 to 102 in the afternoon.

[toyotacamry99]

we get alot of the hot weather like yours here bro. and i hate it the water just dries up on the car so fast ive tried washing while its hot as hek. you gotta be fast and have a hose constantly wetting your car or that water spots get there.

the other day we just had one of the weirdest rains ive seen, rain full of dust.

my car now looks like i havent washed it in a months . dusty dirty

[Jonje]

The best time of day to wash would be early morning like 7 am or in the evening at 7pm. Work in small sections and be sure to take the nozzle off for your final rinse.

[the other pc]

Heat Index is about how hot it feels to us sweaty humans. You car doesn’t sweat so it’s not exactly applicable.

As long as the water and soap aren’t drying on the finish before you have a chance to get them off and the surface temperature isn’t absurdly high from direct sunlight you’re good to go. Well, the car is anyway. I don’t think I would be.


PC.

[rusty bumper]

I haven't done anything outside here of late due to high temps.


It's supposed to get close to 100 here early next week.

Not to mention our southern style humidity to go with it.

(Better head for the high country to cool off)

But the long range forcast for the week after has us down in the upper 50's for lows, and lower 80's for highs.

[roushstage2]

I gotta wash my car tomorrow. It has been over 100 for about the past 2-3 weeks and isn't gonna be stopping any time soon. Gonna wash my car early tomorrow morning.

[Aurora40]

It's in the 90's here most of the time too. As said, heat index doesn't matter, just the temperature. But I wait until late afternoon to wash the cars (I don't get up early enough to beat the sun). They can still be warm if they aren't the garaged ones, but I'm not worried about anything.

It can be 110F out, sun beating down, and then have a rain break out. That doesn't ruin the paint. Why would uncooled hose water?

However, I usually use warmed water to wash no matter what temperature it is.

[JG_Detailing]

Some people wash there car durning the evening when the sun is not that bad.

[another_geek]

I normally try to wash my car before 9-10am when I still have a shaded area outside of my garage, but if I miss that window of opportunity and still want to wash, I will do a QEW wash inside the garage itself. That way, I don't have to worry about the sun drying the wash water on the car. This is especially important to me because all my cars are black, so they heat up quickly in the CA sun.

[Dee]

You know I just experienced these harsh weather conditions this weekend. This is my recipe for the heat.
I live in Texas, so you know its hot here from April til October...
When I was my car outside, I wash as fast as I can. I find that the NXT soap last longer than the Deep Crystal (my perspective only).
When I finished washing the car I put it in the garage for drying. Now because its so hot here, I always have water spots if I'm washing it mid-day.
I dry one section at a a time, and I always use QD on each section, this ensures there are no water spots left behind..
Once I'm finished, I either use one of the spray waxes, or I use the hard stuff like NXT or my personal favorite #21. In fact in the summer time, I would suggest using #21 at least once a month on your daily driver...
The summer can be hard on your finish, but Meguiars has the products to combat the heat, I'm not saying this is the best way to do it, but it has worked for me and I'm extremely satisfied with the results.

[Bama]

It is too hot to be outside doing anything right now but that didn't stop me Saturday. I cleaned the inside of my wife's 4Runner (vacuumed, cleaned surfaces, applied dressing, cleaned glass, cleaned and conditioned leather, etc.) Saturday. Temperature here in L.A., lower Alabama, was about 97 with heat index of 110. Humidity was about 80%. I looked like I jumped in a pool. I should've stopped there. But I didn't. I then proceeded to wash and wax the SUV. Afterwards her ride looked great, but I felt like I had been beat up even though I took plenty of breaks and drank a lot of water and Gatorade. I have a shaded area to wash in and a carpot to detail in so the sun wasn't a problem. However, the humidity made removing polishes and waxes more difficult than usual even though they were thin coats. My constant sweating didn't help either.

The humidity was so bad that when I applied NXT protectant to the exterior trim. The dressing began to perspire like water and bead up.

It's pretty hot and hazy today, but I am still thinking about washing my truck. Car crazy v. good sense.

[Mike Phillips]

It's been over 100 degrees where I live for over 2 weeks now, way to hot to wash a car even in the morning or late evening as the air is so dry the water/soap solution dries very quickly.

Yesterday we had a thunderstorm move over the house and it rained!

While it was raining, I went outside and washed the Pilot using the rain to keep the car wet during the process. Then after completely washing the Pilot I gave it a final rinse and pulled her into the garage to dry.

The things we do for a clean and shiny car...

[Bama]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
The things we do for a clean and shiny car...

Amen. My wife thinks that I am an idiot. But hey, I have been called worse.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Rusty Bumper
It's supposed to get close to 100 here early next week.

Not to mention our southern style humidity to go with it.

A heat advisory was issued for the area just yesterday.

Accu-Weather is calling for a Real Feel temp of 119* (Their version of a heat index) Tuesday.......And not much better for today.

Edit: I told my wife (She likes to cook) not to bother with turning the stove on and heat'n up the house........This is sandwich weather my friend.

[Superior Shine]

**** it up!!

I do this for a living and I can't wait until December when it is cool out to wash every body’s car.

It has been in the 100s all of last week.

We set up canopies and park the car under them with the doors open. We either wait a few minutes for the car to cool off a little or vacuum it while it cools a little. We then mist water on the car to slowly cool it. This is more of a precaution so that we don't crack or shatter any glass on the car (yes it has happened three times in the last 15+ years)

We wash the vehicle with DI water which helps.

It gets tricky if we have to polish/buff the vehicle.

The most important thing for us is to stay hydrated and comfortable as possible.

I am just glad I don't work in Phoenix or Las Vagas!!!!!!!!!!!!