Many car owners don’t want to spend money on a car wash, so they prefer to use a sponge and cleaning cloths to wash their car themselves. So you also know that everything has been thoroughly cleaned and no place remains dirty. But if you want to wash your car by hand, you need to plan enough time as well as the necessary utensils, because an optimal and sustainable hand wash requires system and precision. Otherwise you’ll end up doing twice the work or your car will be dirty again a few days later.
In this article we will inform you about the right car care and the best tools, as well as about washing from the inside to the outside and from the top to the bottom. in addition, the legal basics are illuminated. For hand car wash is allowed only under certain conditions and can quickly become a cost if you don’t know what you’re doing. Therefore, before hand washing, familiarize yourself with the water conservation law so that car care does not cause any inconvenience.
1. Washing the car by hand with the right utensils
For hand washing in car care, certain equipment is needed, because only with a bucket of water and a sponge, the car can not be cleaned thoroughly and effectively. It is ideal to have two buckets at hand: one for the clean water and one to rinse off the sponge, cloth or washing glove. If only one bucket is used, there is a risk that dirt particles in the cloth will scratch the paintwork and windows.
Tip number 1: use light-colored buckets, then the degree of pollution of the water is more visible.
Special car shampoos, for example from karcher or SWIZoL, are available in stores. The difference between these shampoos and a conventional washing-up liquid is that they are do not attack the wax layer of the car. The grease-dissolving formula of the dishwashing detergents also attacks the paint in the long term. With microfiber cloths and a washing glove, you can not only reach difficult areas such as the radiator grille, but also protect the paint at the same time. Vacuum cleaner and dust cloths are needed to clean the interior of the car.
2. First inside then outside. The correct hand wash procedure
Hand washing begins with the removal of all objects that do not belong in the car. Old notes, empty coffee cups and newspapers should be cleared out so that a thorough car care is possible. It is also advisable to remove the floor mats and tap or clean them outside.
The surfaces of the interior such as the dashboard, steering wheel or center console are wiped either with a duster or a damp cloth. Before the upholstery and floor are vacuumed during the car interior cleaning, the windows are cleaned. All you need is a simple window cleaner and paper towels.
Tip number 2: Streak-free windows can be achieved with newspaper, and the sun must not shine on the windows during cleaning.
Do you have a leather interior? Special care products are needed here for optimal hand washing, to prevent the leather from becoming brittle and cracking. Once the interior has been thoroughly cleaned during the car care process, the body is freed of dirt. Depending on how strong they are, a pre-wash may be necessary, the coarsest dirt is simply wiped off with a sponge and water.
Tip number 3: car wax keeps dirt off the car longer.
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Soap the car thoroughly with shampoo and a washing glove and then rinse everything off again with clean water. Do not use rinse aid, as this attacks the paintwork. If the engine compartment is also to be included in the car care, it must be cleaned clean only where oil separators are available and the engine oil can be disposed of properly right away. The best way to get the dirt off the engine block is with a high-pressure cleaner. However, steam should not be used, as it damages the electronics.
a shiny paint finish is part of a comprehensive hand wash in car care. This shines thanks to lacquer cleaner or lacquer polish. The latter should be used with caution. It contains small abrasives that leave unsightly marks if used improperly or incorrectly.
3. Car clean thanks to hand wash, but fine in the mailbox?
If you take care of the car manually and do the hand wash at your door, you will have a shiny vehicle, but you may also face high fines. Up to 50.000 euros can be demanded if the Water Resources Act (§ 103 WHG) has not been complied with.
In this case, if the dirty water can come into contact with the groundwater because the ground is unpaved (for example, in the garden), according to § 34 abs. 1 WHG a permit for hand washing must be obtained. If there is no danger of groundwater pollution, for example because a road intercepts the wastewater, the WHG does not apply here, but the statutes of the municipality regulate this matter.
4. It’s better to use a washing system than an unauthorized hand wash?
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Portal car washes and car wash lines clean the car thoroughly and quickly. Through big brushes and special cleaning products is the car clean before you have filled the buckets with water during the hand wash. For many car owners, this is the decisive factor that convinces them to use professional cleaning when it comes to car maintenance. basic programs are usually available for less than ten euros, so the financial point of both options is balanced. Various cleaning agents and water cost the consumer just as much money.
Around 600 liters of water are used in the wash, which is twenty times the amount used in a hand wash. On the other hand, the risk of damage to the paintwork is lower with a hand wash. In addition, the washing system only cleans the exterior, the interior must be cleaned by hand.
A good alternative is the SB car wash. A SB wash box provides you with professional cleaning products and utensils to wash your car thoroughly by hand. This makes it easy to wash the car yourself in a designated area. Under this condition, the waste water can also be disposed of properly.