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Old 31st January 2019, 21:53   #6211
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

Guys, I have a question - what do you guys do as far as Winter Washing is concerned?
1. Does a pressure washer help? Any recommendations that can use a bucket of warm water?
2. Or just get it washed at a Car Wash
3. Wash it every week? twice a week?

I've done a couple of car washes at Esso/Petro Canada, damn they are expensive unless you are in on one of their 90 day plans. FYI - My weekly run is about 350- 400 kms, by the end of the week the car looks apocalyptic!
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Old 1st February 2019, 13:21   #6212
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

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Originally Posted by pratyush6 View Post
Guys, I have a question - what do you guys do as far as Winter Washing is concerned?
!
My winter washing regime is as follows; As long as there is still snow and grit on the roads I would wash my cars very sparsely. If it gets too bad I would run it through the car wash with the simplest / cheapest program. Just to get rid of the worse of the dirt.

With snow/grit on the roads washing cars, no matter how you do it, is almost pointless. By the time you get home from the car wash, you car is covered in muck again! So I tend not to bother, unless it gets really problematical to the point where you hands get dirty from opening the door handles.

When the roads clear of snow and grit I go back to my normal regime. Company car always through the cheapest car wash. All my other cars all hand wash at home and the occasional car wash with the best program money can buy!

Jeroen

Last edited by ajmat : 3rd February 2019 at 11:27.
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Old 1st February 2019, 18:54   #6213
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

I'm pretty much in the same boat as Jeroen, except the self hand-wash part (lack of space/opportunity in the city).

In winter, I only get the car washed once in a while (maybe once a month, sometimes more) to get rid of the salt/brine that they put on the roads. Otherwise it just doesn't make sense.
I've gone 2-3 months without a car wash. Exterior generally looks like crap. Interiors I'm more particular about.
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Old 1st February 2019, 19:33   #6214
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

Quote:
Originally Posted by pratyush6 View Post
Guys, I have a question - what do you guys do as far as Winter Washing is concerned?
1. Does a pressure washer help? Any recommendations that can use a bucket of warm water?
2. Or just get it washed at a Car Wash
3. Wash it every week? twice a week?

I've done a couple of car washes at Esso/Petro Canada, damn they are expensive unless you are in on one of their 90 day plans. FYI - My weekly run is about 350- 400 kms, by the end of the week the car looks apocalyptic!
Car wash only unless we get a nice weekend (Coming up!)
Go for the middle range wash ($10.xx with fuel) as it has the underbody wash but as everyone else said, no point washing more than once or twice a month.

Learn to ignore the grime outside in the winter . Clean the windshield, rear glass and lights when you are fueling up using the wiper they have at the station.
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Old 1st February 2019, 20:15   #6215
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

I have a rather interesting situation / story here

Bought my BMW X1 in Jul 2017. Silver, leased from BMW.
My driving so far has been about 8k miles per year. So yeah, less dirty, lesser wash.

1st car wash - At a hand wash garage - Oct 2017
2nd car wash - At BMW dealership/A.S.S during annual service - Jul 2018
3rd car wash - With a bucket of water, for Ayudh pooja at home - Oct 2018

Interestingly, during my annual service, I was told by my BMW dealership that they have free car wash at their A.S.S.
So I can drop by any day, any time for a free car wash. Exterior only. Interior cleaning is chargeable.
So next time I am willing to do a car wash, will drive to BMW of Springfield, NJ.

I would recommend to check with your car dealership / A.S.S if they have free washes.

Unless you are a self-wash&detailing-freak person
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Old 1st February 2019, 20:15   #6216
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

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Originally Posted by pratyush6 View Post
3. Wash it every week? twice a week?
I do it every fortnight irrespective of the season. Here we car washes, where they offer unlimited car wash per month at 20$ which covers Vacuum(free), Under carriage, Wheels.

This helps me to not spend much time Vacuuming the car every time I go for a wash and the car is clean always
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Old 2nd February 2019, 22:00   #6217
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

Quote:
Originally Posted by pratyush6 View Post
Guys, I have a question - what do you guys do as far as Winter Washing is concerned?
1. Does a pressure washer help? Any recommendations that can use a bucket of warm water?
2. Or just get it washed at a Car Wash
3. Wash it every week? twice a week?

I've done a couple of car washes at Esso/Petro Canada, damn they are expensive unless you are in on one of their 90 day plans. FYI - My weekly run is about 350- 400 kms, by the end of the week the car looks apocalyptic!
If you care about swirls on paint forget the auto car wash(unless it is touchless). If not find a car wash near you with a cheap monthly plan. In Seattle there is a Brown Bear car wash that charges 21$ for monthly unlimited. This is the only place I found that gets 95% dust off the wheels. Most auto car washes will miss spots on the wheels so I will spray some wheel cleaner before I enter the car wash. It rarely snows here but rains a lot in winter months.

A pressure washer will help but you can't just rinse off the dust with pressure. You will have to use some car wash soap and a micro fiber towel to wipe them off. I had a black car and it will show a layer of white dust (from salt on the road) if I just pressure wash without soap. I used a spray from Chemical guys that would wipe it clean without using water.

https://www.chemicalguys.com/Swift_W...p/cws20916.htm

I think this is your best bet if you want to go the pressure washer way and save your hands from freezing in winter.

In summer I enjoy using the pressure washer and foam gun to wash the car. What better way to spend a Saturday morning than washing your car
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Old 3rd February 2019, 02:05   #6218
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

Quote:
Originally Posted by pratyush6 View Post
Guys, I have a question - what do you guys do as far as Winter Washing is concerned?
1. Does a pressure washer help? Any recommendations that can use a bucket of warm water?
2. Or just get it washed at a Car Wash
3. Wash it every week? twice a week?

I've done a couple of car washes at Esso/Petro Canada, damn they are expensive unless you are in on one of their 90 day plans. FYI - My weekly run is about 350- 400 kms, by the end of the week the car looks apocalyptic!
I beg to differ with other contributors.

What they do not know that in Greater Toronto Regional District, the municipalities use salt mixed with dirt/sand and spray that on the roads. This sticky mixture combined with road grime sticks to the vehicle's underbody and other surfaces and the longer it stays there more corrosion you will have. Besides this salt will also make your paint dull if allowed to stay there.

All of my cars get washed weekly irrespective of the conditions. It is a matter of personal preference I don't like to drive around in a mud-splattered car.

If you want to save, I suggest go to a manual car wash and follow this sequence:

1. Spray the vehicle with the soap solution (no rinsing with water)
2. Wash it off with water
3. A quick coat of spot free rinse (in case you have hard water in your area otherwise you can skip this step)

Drive safe!
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Old 4th February 2019, 17:52   #6219
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

I handwash even in the winter at home.

Yes, I have a garage and a pressure washer. Usually once a month.
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Old 4th February 2019, 19:59   #6220
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

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Originally Posted by Vikram Arya View Post
..
What they do not know that in Greater Toronto Regional District, the municipalities use salt mixed with dirt/sand and spray that on the roads.
This is incorrect. There is no dirt and sand in the salt on the roads here.

Source: Been living and driving in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area and not GTRD) for over a decade.

Yes, salt is not good for the underbody but I got rid of a car after 9 years last winter and there was no rust by following a twice a month washing schedule in winter. Dry caked salt is better than wet salt that gets left behind after a wash - that stuff will eat into metal.
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Old 4th February 2019, 20:48   #6221
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

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Originally Posted by mohit View Post
This is incorrect. There is no dirt and sand in the salt on the roads here.

Source: Been living and driving in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area and not GTRD) for over a decade.

Yes, salt is not good for the underbody but I got rid of a car after 9 years last winter and there was no rust by following a twice a month washing schedule in winter. Dry caked salt is better than wet salt that gets left behind after a wash - that stuff will eat into metal.
I don't know which part of "GTA" do you in; please get your facts right.

The city of Toronto alone uses 150,000 tonnes of salt on public roads in winter.

Almost all the municipalities in Canada use salt mixed with sand/grit/dirt on the roads in the winter except Quebec where they are experimenting with Beetlejuice.

https://www.toronto.ca/services-paym...nagement-plan/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...ater-1.4515132

Anyway to each his own. I believe in washing off the road salt to keep corrosion at bay.
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Old 4th February 2019, 21:05   #6222
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

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Originally Posted by Vikram Arya View Post
...Almost all the municipalities in Canada use salt mixed with sand/grit/dirt on the roads in the winter except Quebec where they are experimenting with Beetlejuice......
Salt yes and lots of it but no sand and grit. And Toronto is also experimenting with beet juice. I would not want a white/silver car if that becomes mainstream

Last edited by khan_sultan : 5th February 2019 at 09:04. Reason: edited quoted post for better readability
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Old 4th February 2019, 21:33   #6223
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

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Originally Posted by Vikram Arya View Post
salt mixed with sand/grit/dirt on the roads in the winter except Quebec where they are experimenting with Beetlejuice.
As far as I know dirt is not used to salt roads. It does nothing to melt ice. Also, if used mixed with salt won't it leave a big dirty slippery mess behind when the ice starts melting?

Grit is salt. Some counties use sand mixed in with salt. The sand doesn't melt the ice but provides traction on the surface while the salt helps in melting.

Also, I think you might mean beet juice, not Beetlejuice .


EDIT: Oops, mohit already caught the beet.
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Old 5th February 2019, 08:21   #6224
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

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As far as I know dirt is not used to salt roads. It does nothing to melt ice. Also, if used mixed with salt won't it leave a big dirty slippery mess behind when the ice starts melting?

Grit is salt. Some counties use sand mixed in with salt. The sand doesn't melt the ice but provides traction on the surface while the salt helps in melting.

Also, I think you might mean beet juice, not Beetlejuice .


EDIT: Oops, mohit already caught the beet.
You're right; typically sand is used however there is dirt inherently present in the sand that the City uses here; you're unlikely to find pure sand unless you're close to the ocean; the sand found on the riverbanks usually has a high percentage of dirt mixed in it. And yes it causes a mess when the snow melts (I used the term "mud-splattered car" in my earlier post).

Grit is not salt but is a course grade of sand with a large grain size and as you've already mentioned it provides some degree of traction in icy conditions.

Yes, indeed; I did mean "Beet juice"; apologies for the error.
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Old 5th February 2019, 20:55   #6225
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Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

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Originally Posted by Jomz View Post
I handwash even in the winter at home.

Yes, I have a garage and a pressure washer. Usually once a month.
How does that work out with below freezing temperatures? I gave that a go and found that all the water turned into sleet in about 2-3 minutes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vikram Arya View Post
You're right; typically sand is used however there is dirt inherently present in the sand that the City uses here;

Grit is not salt but is a course grade of sand with a large grain size and as you've already mentioned it provides some degree of traction in icy conditions.
Again, I am not sure why are we having this debate, in most parts of Markham, Toronto, Mississauga & Scarborough use Salt rather than sand. Sand is typically used in the Prairies. Sand is also much better for the environment but I guess its more expensive? Salt is also one of the reasons why an undercarriage wash is required in GTA. The temperatures were forgiving last weekend so I ended up washing them myself

Can someone give me suggestions on a proper Pressure Washer? I was hoping to find one which I can attach to a bucket of warm water

Last edited by pratyush6 : 5th February 2019 at 21:02.
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