It is considered a man’s responsibility to wash his car. And although this activity isn’t exclusive only to men, there are some pretty obvious mistakes that people in general commit that are really bad for the car itself.

But if you have no idea what these mistakes are, then make sure to follow up as you might well be doing it yourself.

Without further ado, let’s dive straight into the article.

1. Washing With Dishwashing Soap

If you love the black paint job on your new VW Golf VI, then stop using dishwashing soap to clean it. The obvious mistake here is that dishwashing soap is PH neutral, which is really bad for the paint job.

A couple of washings with dishwashing soap and you’ll soon start to notice changes to the exterior of your car. Instead of using this harmful liquid, settle for a professional wash and wax liquid solution.

2. Forgetting the Wheels

Say what you want, the wheels on the car are some of the dirtiest parts in the entire vehicle. The obvious issue here is that you’re either forgetting to wash them, or doing them last.

It is considered as a “pro-tip” that you always start from the wheels. Why is that? Well, we do that because there’s plenty of dirt on the wheels and you’ll most likely need a full bucket only for them.

Once you’ve cleaned the wheels, make sure to do the rest of the exterior. And of course, never forget to change the water.

3. Not Using Enough Sponges

Your dad might have thought you to reuse the same sponge whenever scrubbing the your vehicle’s outside. Well, while you can do that, you are repeating the same mistake as in the previous point.

Namely, it will work in your favor to use multiple sponges for different parts of the car. Use one for your tires and one for the hood and exterior.

You do this as you don’t want dirt to get onto the other parts. We mentioned that the wheels are dirty, so you wouldn’t want that dirt to get on the hood of the car.

4. Missing the Order

We said at the beginning that the wheels should be the first place you start. What we didn’t mention is where to go from then. The exterior would be the obvious choice, and it is.

Next up, it’s important to touch on the windows and windscreen as they can get just as dirty as the exterior itself. Once you’ve done all this, then the next and obvious choice would be to move onto the interior.

It doesn’t matter where you start the interior, but it’s important not to miss this holy order.

5. Washing in the Sun

It’s considered an obvious mistake to wash the car while the sun is blasting. And we do agree that a sunny day presents an awesome opportunity to wash the car, it can be quite cost-ineffective.

While there is no harm in washing the car in the sun, you should never do it after 10 AM and before 4 PM. Why is that? Well, it’s all down to the fact that the sun can dry up the cleaning product which will leave marks. These marks can get very hard to remove and you’ll spend much more water than usual.

If you do have to do it in between this time frame, then do it on a “section-by-section” bases.

This is why you see car wash companies, such as sammyscw.com, use the power of shade whenever washing vehicles. The obvious benefits to the workers, as well as, the vehicles are the reasons why every car wash does it in a garage or shaded area.

6. Not Investing in the Right Products

We mentioned at the beginning how harmful it can be to use dishwasher soap to clean the exterior of the vehicle. But there are a set of products that you should absolutely avoid using.

Namely, this doesn’t include only liquid products but towels as well. You are making an obvious mistake by drying the exterior with a plan towel or beach towel.

To achieve better results, spend the extra money and invest in the right products. If you truly care for your vehicle, then you will treat it with respect. Instead of using a beach towel, use a micro-fiber towel as it achieves better results, and preserves the quality of the vehicle.

Instead of using dishwasher soap and various other harmful liquids that obviously aren’t meant for car washing, use professional products that achieve the desired results.

The biggest mistake you can make is to use the products around you and expect a quality wash.

7. Going Overboard or “Underboard” Whenever Waxing

Waxing is an important part of the whole vehicle wash experience. Your vehicle needs proper wax and you need the proper products for it.

But since you’ve already cut back on buying poor quality products, it’s now time to properly apply the wax.

There are a few ways to go about this one. For starters, you have to preserve the product and not be a cheapskate.

You have to find a middle ground where you won’t be applying a whole lot nor too little. Luckily for you, every product has a specialized label that tells you what you need to do and how much to use.

And you need to avoid the obvious issue of applying the wax without the vehicle being thoroughly cleaned.

8. Rushing the Carpets

Say what you want but your carpets have to be sparkling if you want people to get in your vehicle. The carpets can say a lot about the person driving the vehicle. But oftentimes, we either take too little time cleaning them or do it the wrong way.

Stains, residue, and dirt are the sort of things that we find on our carpets. To eliminate them, you need to go through a long process of cleaning and drying. And this is where people mostly fail. They hate to invest the time to clean them and instead buy new ones.