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Old 02-09-2019, 09:36 PM
 
Location: Detroit
680 posts, read 524,133 times
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I have vinyl and other exterior mods, so automatic washes aren't an option. No hose outside at home, because pipes could freeze. Tried the washes where you insert quarters and spray yourself, the pressure was so high I couldn't fill a bucket, and they have a time limit. I'm thinking of just using a spray bottle of water less wash/wax and towels. Any ideas?
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Old 02-09-2019, 10:38 PM
 
Location: Metro Detroit Michigan
6,975 posts, read 5,296,170 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthew_MI View Post
I have vinyl and other exterior mods, so automatic washes aren't an option. No hose outside at home, because pipes could freeze. Tried the washes where you insert quarters and spray yourself, the pressure was so high I couldn't fill a bucket, and they have a time limit. I'm thinking of just using a spray bottle of water less wash/wax and towels. Any ideas?
Why are you driving a vehicle like that in the winter if you have no means to wash the salt off it. If you just take a spray bottle your not going to get all the fine particles off an when you use a towel than you could scratch the paint. And if you had a Frost-proof, anti-siphon sill **** faucets it would not freeze but the water will freeze on the vehicle. And you live in Michigan, park that vehicle and get a beater car for the winter i live in Michigan also and more snow is on the way. And you don’t fill a bucket at a quarter car wash your just use the soap and rinse options. Some have a brush that you can use also but first spray with water first to get rid of small particles of dirt or yo risk scratching your vehicle.

Last edited by easy62; 02-09-2019 at 10:47 PM..
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Old 02-09-2019, 11:00 PM
 
41,815 posts, read 50,770,941 times
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I've heard the opinion offered this is bad for the car. The issue is the hot water on the cold car causes a capillary action sucking salt into nooks and crannies.
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Old 02-10-2019, 04:43 AM
 
8,272 posts, read 10,863,078 times
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The term used is "lack of foreseeable future". When buying or converting such a vehicle.

Most residential outside faucets in the last 50 years are frost proof

LINK.

Depending on geographical location. So the outside hose can be used.

When my home was constructed I had both cold and hot water outside faucets put in. So can wash car in winter with warm water here.


Find a friend, neighbor, coworker, or relative that has a frost free exterior spigot/faucet and use theirs. Done.
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Old 02-10-2019, 11:15 AM
 
Location: MN
6,389 posts, read 6,922,212 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by unit731 View Post
The term used is "lack of foreseeable future". When buying or converting such a vehicle.

Most residential outside faucets in the last 50 years are frost proof

LINK.

Depending on geographical location. So the outside hose can be used.

When my home was constructed I had both cold and hot water outside faucets put in. So can wash car in winter with warm water here.


Find a friend, neighbor, coworker, or relative that has a frost free exterior spigot/faucet and use theirs. Done.
Where does the water go while washing it? Here it would freeze into an ice rink in less then an hour. Then you'd have to put salt down on driveway and drive though it.
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Old 02-10-2019, 11:21 AM
 
9,868 posts, read 7,587,895 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthew_MI View Post
I have vinyl and other exterior mods, so automatic washes aren't an option. No hose outside at home, because pipes could freeze. Tried the washes where you insert quarters and spray yourself, the pressure was so high I couldn't fill a bucket, and they have a time limit. I'm thinking of just using a spray bottle of water less wash/wax and towels. Any ideas?
The water pressure in carwashes varies. Make sure to use the lower pressure on some cycles, in which squeezing the handle gets higher pressure. Also, you don’t need to have water spraying continuously. Put in enough quarters to get part of the job done, and keep quarters in your pocket to add when necessary.

Presoak is always low pressure.
Rinse has medium and high pressures. But medium can be pretty high.
Soap has medium and high pressures. Ditto the above warning.

For winter washes, I don’t bother waxing. In the warm season, the vehicle gets a full at-home handwash, towel drying, Quikmist wipedown, and handwaxing. It looks clean and shiny. Winter washes are just to remove salts, so the wash concentrates on underside, wheel wells, and other areas with nooks and crannies.

In the past, I occasionally filled a 2-gallon bugsprayer jug with warm (not hot) water and rinsed the underside with that. I figure it at least gets the crud off and dilutes any remaining salt.
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Old 02-10-2019, 01:34 PM
 
Location: Metro Detroit Michigan
6,975 posts, read 5,296,170 times
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What happens when water hits a object when the outside temperature is below freezing it freezes to the object. So washin a car outside in the winter will only make you car a rolling block of ice. Now you have ice in your door Locke and good luck getting your doors open. I’ve seen idiots and then the area you washing the car in is a instant sheet of ice.
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Old 02-10-2019, 03:00 PM
 
Location: Not far from Fairbanks, AK
20,243 posts, read 36,884,312 times
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I take my automobiles though the car wash places in the middl of the winter, and never had any problems. However, the car washes I am referring to aren't fully automatic as follows: when I drive in a car length, I pay for the type of wash to an attendant, while two more employees spray and scrub the car with some kind of soap/water mix (high pressure sprayers are used, too). Then the car is moved automatically through the car wash, but there aren't any high speed brushes like the ones at the fully-automatic car washers. Instead of the high speed scrub brushes, the scrubbers are long and narrow strips of some sort of fabric (like ribbons), and gently wipe the paint back and forth from the front to the back to the car. Only the ends of the fabric, maybe about of foot or two of it, touch the paint.

The soap and grime is rinsed off, and then the car goes though a high air pressure process to remove water, and dry the paint. And the end two attendants wipe the entire car, including the weather strips on the doors, with towels before driving the car out of there. Outside the temperature may be -20 degrees and colder

What I don't do is to go though the fully automatic cars washes because of the brushes used in such places. The high speed brushes can scratch the car's paint. By the way, there is nothing wrong with using the warm water hight pressure sprayers. Just keep the sprayer a couple of feet away from the paint, and be fast about it. Around $8.00 is not too much.
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Old 02-10-2019, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Not far from Fairbanks, AK
20,243 posts, read 36,884,312 times
Reputation: 16373
Quote:
Originally Posted by easy62 View Post
What happens when water hits a object when the outside temperature is below freezing it freezes to the object. So washin a car outside in the winter will only make you car a rolling block of ice. Now you have ice in your door Locke and good luck getting your doors open. I’ve seen idiots and then the area you washing the car in is a instant sheet of ice.
Not a problem if you wash the car inside a heated garage, or a car-wash place. It take a very short time for the warm water from the sprayer plus the heated air to prevent the water from freezing. At the end of the wash you have to dry the paint, and all the seals on the doors and frames. But washing it outside when below freezing is just crazy (agree with you).
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Old 02-10-2019, 03:11 PM
 
Location: Metro Detroit Michigan
6,975 posts, read 5,296,170 times
Reputation: 6416
Quote:
Originally Posted by RayinAK View Post
I take my automobiles though the car wash places in the middl of the winter, and never had any problems. However, the car washes I am referring to aren't fully automatic as follows: when I drive in a car length, I pay for the type of wash to an attendant, while two more employees spray and scrub the car with some kind of soap/water mix (high pressure sprayers are used, too). Then the car is moved automatically through the car wash, but there aren't any high speed brushes like the ones at the fully-automatic car washers. Instead of the high speed scrub brushes, the scrubbers are long and narrow strips of some sort of fabric (like ribbons), and gently wipe the paint back and forth from the front to the back to the car. Only the ends of the fabric, maybe about of foot or two of it, touch the paint.

The soap and grime is rinsed off, and then the car goes though a high air pressure process to remove water, and dry the paint. And the end two attendants wipe the entire car, including the weather strips on the doors, with towels before driving the car out of there. Outside the temperature may be -20 degrees and colder

What I don't do is to go though the fully automatic cars washes because of the brushes used in such places. The high speed brushes can scratch the car's paint. By the way, there is nothing wrong with using the warm water hight pressure sprayers. Just keep the sprayer a couple of feet away from the paint, and be fast about it. Around $8.00 is not too much.

But you vehicle is somewhat dry because they use blowers that blow the water off your vehicle like a blow dryer so most of 5he water is removed than the wipe the windows and side mirrors off. A quarter car was depends on you driving your vehicle to dry off the car but in the winter the water freezes instead of drying.
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