Cleaning when travelling

[KernowLad]

They have great pressure washers abroad; 3 euros and our mucky van was sparkling clean!
I do carry a small pack of sample cleaning products too plus a wash mitt.

 

[2CV67]

I find the best thing for cleaning the screen is the long-handled sponge with nylon netting which you can find in good service stations.
The quality varies from excellent (with bucket of nice clean screenwash - usually in Total stations here in France) to totally unacceptable.
It's therefore a good idea to check the state of the mop before filling up & move on immediately if not satisfied.
I usually avoid filling the tank completely, so I can always call in for a bit more diesel if I need to clean bugs off the screen.

I also made up a collapsible version of my own, but hardly ever need to use it.

As bought for €3.99 (too long):


Sawn down to better size:


Telescoped:


Packed in an old plastic bottle with nylon tights & micro-fiber cloth:

 

[magmil]

I asked the hand wash guys at Worthing Tescos how much to clean the van (just the outside)... £150 :crazy Can I borrow the Butler GrannyJen?

Do minimal cleaning when I'm away. Baby wipes are a valued part of my little kit. I don't take red wine tho.

 

[GrannyJen]

I asked the hand wash guys at Worthing Tescos how much to clean the van (just the outside)... £150 :crazy Can I borrow the Butler GrannyJen?

Do minimal cleaning when I'm away. Baby wipes are a valued part of my little kit. I don't take red wine tho.

Goodness, those at Tesco's are just soooooooo down market.

The people at Augusta place car park are so sweet, just a shame I can't get the Cali in it


Jen

 

[mick599]

We have a small 12v vacume and a brush for the interior and I use Optimum No Rinse for the daily wash down of the bodywork.

 

[Bjohnson]

I keep a fold up washing bowl in the Cali (Sea to summit 'kitchen sink'), some microfibre cloths and a pack of j cloths.

I usually carry a bottle of Rain-X and will regularly clean all the windows with a bowl of water and squirt of washing up liquid followed by an application of rain-x, particularly the windscreen.

If we are away on an extended trip I'll sometimes find a jet wash to give the Cali a wash off

 

[spanner]

bought a lambswool wash mitt last week, bloody brillant

 

[KernowLad]

Our van got pretty filthy a couple of times when travelling - the pressure washer "booths" at many garage (especially Repsol) were generally really good. One left the van sparkling, the other was a bit lame so I used my own kit to finish the job.

Nope it isn't top priority but when your wheels are almost black, you can hardly see out of your window and your lights are covered in cack, a few Euros and five minutes isn't a massive hardship.

 

[mick599]

I know it may seam over the top but the only reason for the daily wash down when we are traveling is it helps to prevent paint damage when we come to fit the Cali kosy and external screen covers. Nothing worse than getting filthy just before turning in for the night from reaching over dirty bodywork.
Plus it's always nice to have a clean van.