Have you ever put your Cali through a car wash ?

[Skylark2.0]

I have a fancy long handled brush I use. I haven't even considered a car wash... too scary by half.

 

[hirsty]

I’ve been through the Morrisons car wash on multiple occasions, though I do have to pull the mirrors up to avoid catching the machinery & causing the attendant to have to walk over & reset it

I do the wheels with brake dust cleaner & the glass / window rubbers occasionally at home when I’m vac’ing it out, and give the roof a real good going over by hand a couple of times a year to get the tree mess off it.

The attendant at the nicer car wash in these parts stopped me from going through last time (even though my previous T5 fitted fine) saying they’d had too many vans that didn’t fit messing things up ...

 

[IanE]

No problems going through a car wash with the bike rack on?

 

[Eber123]

Hello,

I would not dare to use a car wash. Yesterday I washed the van by hand for the fist time - well sooo much bigger than the Tiguan.

Normally I use a steam cleaner (not full blast) to soak and flush the main dirt away, use soap water (soap for dish cleaning), rinse it well and try it with a leather. Normally that works quite well, but it takes it time.

 

[WelshGas]

Hello,

I would not dare to use a car wash. Yesterday I washed the van by hand for the fist time - well sooo much bigger than the Tiguan.

Normally I use a steam cleaner (not full blast) to soak and flush the main dirt away, use soap water (soap for dish cleaning), rinse it well and try it with a leather. Normally that works quite well, but it takes it time.

Washing up liquid, or soap for dishes, contains a lot of salt, not really a good idea. Will clean well but not so good for long term ownership.

 

[GrannyJen]

I have just invested in a new pressure washer.

I had one before, still have, a Stihl 118, but it's in the garage unused as the only person who ever used it was my jobbing gardener / Mechanic friend who bodged so many repairs to it it's now practically unusable by anyone else

Of course being a bit short on the mechanical wizardry front I have had to put a big red sticker on the brush that cleans the patio, to avoid me using it to clean the van

I also had a little bit of difficulty with the "detergent bottle" ..... the instructions said "remove stopper".... so I did, I unscrewed the cap and managed to dump most of the detergent on the drive when I tried to put it into the specially designed slot .... that's when I realised the cap had a stopper in it, you remove just that, not the whole shooting match ....

Anyway, onwards and upwards, I have half the worlds supply of snow foam arriving via Amazon tomorrow - I can use the very nice mixing bottle, if I can work it out how to fix it on the lance.....

 

[Sonas]

I actually did it. I put the Cali through our local textile car wash. No problem. Not something I would do all the time but so far so good.

 

[Alan]

Washing up liquid, or soap for dishes, contains a lot of salt, not really a good idea. Will clean well but not so good for long term ownership.

Will also remove the car wax eventually leaving a less in-depth shine on paint work

 

[Alan]

I have always hand wash my van using a decorators cellulose sponge (Google)
Far superior to your cheaper alternative
Holds more water and picks up more water when squeezed out
Has a soft open texture and allows for less abrasion
I always use a drop of quality car shampoo (less better than to much) keeping off the windows to ovoid smears
Soften up the bottom dirtiest areas by splashing over with sponge and leave till last using plenty of water
Rinse and shamois “est voila” cleanest Cali in town (with no added swirl marks)

Alan

 

[Carabiner]

No problems going through a car wash with the bike rack on?

BUMP: Is it ok to put a Cali through a car wash with a bike rack attached? Thanks.

 

[Van Diesel VW]

Not for me, no intention of ever putting my van through a car wash. Two bucket method only.

 

[edocali]

I did and nothing bad happened

 

[KevH]

Would I put my Cali through a car wash?
No…why would you?
Hand wash every time for me.

 

[Corradobrit]

Would I put my Cali through a car wash?
No…why would you?
Hand wash every time for me.

Nice when your not prohibited from washing vehicles at home or have the facilities and space to do a wash. In Germany, living in an apartment I rely on jet wash. I would not risk putting it through a roller car wash.

 

[KevH]

Nice when your not prohibited from washing vehicles at home or have the facilities and space to do a wash. In Germany, living in an apartment I rely on jet wash. I would not risk putting it through a roller car wash.

Absolutely agree, you have to adapt to your circumstances.
I am very lucky to be able to handwash off road, and it is good to be reminded of that.