This Is Why Car Washes (Even Brushless Ones) Are Bad For Your Car

2022-07-23 02:37:40 By : Ms. Polyster KLX

Get Hotcars Premium. Start your free trial today

Automated car washes will save you time, but in the long run, it'll cost you.

Technology has brought many great things into our lives, particularly when it comes to the automotive industry. The vast majority of tech features found in modern cars are there to make rides more convenient and prevent time-consuming and demanding situations. We can say the same for car washes.

With the introduction of automated car washes, getting rid of the dirt and debris has become a breeze. Washing a car is no longer a lengthy and tiresome ritual you need to perform at home. It's enough to drive through the tunnel and let the brushes do their thing. When you're in a hurry (which most of us are lately), this seems like a perfect solution.

However, car washes are not anywhere near a safe option for your car. It's just water and bristles, you may say, it can't be that bad, right? Wrong. Bristles can leave scratches, and chemicals and mineral deposits can eat the paintwork. Car washes may be quick and convenient, but you may want to reconsider using them if you want to keep your car in peak condition.

Why are car washes so bad for your car, and what are the alternatives? Read on to find out all the details.

RELATED: Here’s How To Hand-Wash Your Car Like A Pro

There's more than one reason why traditional automated car washes are bad for your car, but let's start with scratching. These systems use brushes, wet mats, water, and air mixed with cleaning solutions to clear vehicles. While all this makes sense, automated car washes apply a lot of pressure through the brushes and mats to reach different parts of the exterior and leave it spotless after the cleanup.

In automated car washes, large and spinning brushes work hard on the sides of your vehicle and the wheels to remove debris. Wet mats do the same from above, moving back and forth to eliminate dirt. Together, these two procedures pose an extremely high risk of scratches — not to mention the harsh chemicals used in the car washing process.

With the traditional car washes, it may even happen that your car picks up the dirt and grease from the fellow car in front. Also, because you leave the place straight after the brushes and mats do their job, water spots, those annoying white marks that take ages to remove, also lurk around as a threat.

Therefore, the risks of traditional automated car washes are way higher than the benefits, and new car washing solutions are becoming more popular these days.

RELATED: Here's Why You Need To Use The Two Bucket Method Next Time You Wash Your Car

One of the newer solutions introduced to reduce the damage that traditional car washing processes make is a brushless car wash. Instead of brushes with firm bristles, these solutions use soft cloth strips to gently remove dirt from the exterior and reduce the damage done to the paint. Brushless car washes are also less expensive and pretty quick compared to other options.

Nevertheless, if cloth strips are not cleaned regularly, your car can still get scratched. What's more, cloth strips often miss spots when cleaning, and they tend to absorb the harmful chemicals in cleaning solutions, leaving them on your exterior. So, in the end, you may discover quite some damage to your car's paintwork after going out of the brushless car wash.

After reading all this, you may be sitting there hopeless about what to do with your car. Is there no safe cleaning option? Theoretically, no, but hear us out.

Touchless car washes have recently become more popular because they offer the same level of convenience but fewer risks than the above-listed options. Instead of using brushes or cloth strips, touchless systems only rely on high water pressure to remove dirt. While there's still some level of danger involved here with the high water force moving dirt around and leaving scratches, the chances are lower if the jets get operated on with care and combined with proper soaps.

The bottom line is — car owners should avoid brushes, mats, and cloth strips and carefully choose the cleaning solutions. If you can wash your car at home, even better. This way, you can perform the cleaning with great care, from the water pressure applied over the chemicals used to the surfaces covered. But when in a hurry, opt for touchless over all other car wash solutions.

Another thing you can do to protect your vehicle from scratches and other kinds of damage to the paint is to apply a coat to the exterior. Wax or ceramic coatings can give your car a deeper shine as well as protect the paintwork from scratches and sun damage. These solutions form a layer on top of your paint that serves as a barrier against environmental dangers, and your car will thank you for it.

Suzana Mijatović is a Literary Critic secretly in love with all things automotive. You'll find her either reading Dostoevsky or under the hood, changing the transmission fluid and oil filters. She has a long experience in writing about car parts and automotive products, from brakes to seat cushions. Suzana is also an amateur poet and photographer.