[esranjith]

I have a dumb question. Can i wash my car cover in washing machine? I guess i cannot, but just wanted to double check. Mine is a lot dirty and I don't want to put it on my car as such.

[supremeBaleno]

You can, but I don't think you should. The muck would be just too much and then you will have to find a machine to wash your washing machine.

What I do is to soak it in one of those big buckets (which has around 4-5 times the capacity of a normal bathroom bucket). Repeat this 2-3 times by changing the water and the cover is rid of the muck. If you want you could add washing-powder to the water, though I dont use it. Leave it in the sun on a clothes-line to dry and you are good to go.

[GTO]

Man, you would need one seriously big machine to wash that cover . And even if you do, don't ever use the "dryer" function.

I used car covers a couple of years back. IMHO, the best way to clean a cover is to put it on the car and use a light detergent + water + soft brush. Worked well for me.

And do remember never to use a car cover when your car is dirty, wet or in the rains.

[esranjith]

@GTO, i wish i could put it on the car and clean, but the only problem is the inside of the cover is dirty also. I'm to blame, my wife had taken the cover, washed it as @SupremeBalemo has said, put it on the rope to dry. When i went to take it after it is dry, i dropped it in mud. now its my turn to wash it and i was looking for a simple method I'll have to stick to big buckets now.

[rk_sans]

Spread it on the cloth-line, put the clips on each end and centres, so that it does not fall down. Use a water spray gun and brush to clean it. This is what i do.

@GTO,
Brushing it on the car would put small scratches because of the to-fro movement of the cover. I believe you should be applying super soft power on the brush but that won't remove the dirt from the cover.

[bluevolt]

With the car cover on, use a garden hose and pressure wash the cover and it will be as good as new. Change the side and wash it again to keep the other side clean.

And please don't ever think of washing the cover in washing machine. It may get tear off or stuck in washer rotor gaps and cause damage to both cover and machine.

PS - Which car cover it is?

[esranjith]

Its a Fluidic Verna.. the cover isn't clumsy at all.. but the material, i guess will be damaged, as water cannot bet past it, so all the water force, instead of driving the dirt out would be applied on the cover itself..

[scopriobharath]

I generally pour water on the car cover when the car is covered and that itself removes 80% of the dirt. I am okay with the remaining 20% dirt. Chennai heat makes drying the cover an easy job.

I tried soaking the cover in a bucket, but i felt its unweildy to soak it, rinse it and dry it.

[honeybee]

Why not take the cover with the car to the service station? For a few extra bucks (or maybe without them) they should be happy to wash it for you.

[shankar.balan]

Try not to use a hosepipe for washing either your car or the cover. It is a terrible waste of water which is already a scarce resource. Use a bucket and soap. Yes it is more painful and requires effort, but the more of us who adopt this method, the better it will be for us all, collectively.
Not preaching here - just stating a fact.
And I want to state also here that washing the car daily is not really necessary unless you drive in horribly dusty, dirty conditions. Much better to wash and wipe down every three days or even once a week, if possible. A little from a lot of us, goes a long long way in conserving water and not wasting it.

[bluevolt]

I wash my cover only when the car is not used for long and the cover is on for this period and gets too dirty. Most of the time my car cleaner dust it using a cloth before removing it.

Ask your car cleaner to do this job for you.

[mayankjha1806]

I used car cover ~10 years back and one important thing you need to remember is to dry the cover properly before you put it back on the car. If there is too much moisture underneath it spoils the paint and leaves marks on the paint which take lot of time and effort to remove.

As long as the inside of the cover is clean i don't think you should worry about washing it as on the outside it would get dirty again very soon.

[Relativity]

I was going to start a new thread but then found this. I will get a giant bucket from the supermarket today as I need to use the cover daily else my OB Punto gets really dirty. If I use the cover daily, I just need to use the Jopasu in the morning; else, i need to ONR or use the shampoo.

[Rahulkool]

Because of this problem i use two covers on my car, this way the inner cover is always clean and there is no dust transferred on the car while putting it on. I always make sure the car is absolutely clean before putting the cover. In a month or two i just wipe the outer cover with lil wet cloth. but the car is parked in covered parking so usually there isnt much dust.

[supremeBaleno]

^^^2 covers for a car that is parked in covered parking. And my wife thinks I am car-obsessed. I bow to you, Sir.

I was a religious car-cover user from the time I bought the Baleno 7 years ago, till a year ago when I finally started having someone clean my car daily. Still have the cover in the boot to use when I go outstation for few days or more.

As GTO mentioned, it is a pain to use cover in the rains. Dust the cover before putting it in the boot, so that it is mostly clean when you put in next on the car. And once a month or so, soak it in a big tub to get rid of the muck and you should be good.