Cleanliness is next to...

[iamtoo]

How often do you clean your car?

I was thinking about this the other day when I was cleaning our other vehicle. This was only one of a handful of times I have cleaned the inside of the car in the whole period of ownership. We have owned it for just over 10 years.

I wash the outside of cars on a fairly frequent basis as it inhibits rusting but the insides hardly ever get cleaned unless I spill something. I have always, partly, excused this behaviour as we live in the countryside and our cars are "working" vehicles.

Of course, the other explanation might be that I'm just a manky so-and-so.

[Solent]

Poll closed?
Rarely clean the car, never washed the roof, it's too high.
The inside carpeting looks manky as it's just about impossible to get bits out of the carpet pile.

[iamtoo]

Poll closed?

I know, I know!

I have written to Andre in the hope he can fix it. I tested it one minute after creating the poll and it was already closed. Must be something wrong with the way the forum handles polls.

We also have a high-top campervan and cleaning the roof on that is akin to washing windows on a skyscraper. I have one of these car brushes on a telescopic pole and that combined with a step-ladder does the trick. Needless to say the roof doesn't get washed that often but then it is so high up even lorry drivers can't see it, so no shame.

Previously, we always had VWs (Golfs, Jettas & Passats) and they all had a curly pile carpet which was very durable but it was nearly impossible to get things out of it. Spruce needles, beech husks, moss, lichen and fragments of dried bracken leaves would get entangled in the pile and nothing could get them out. David Attenborough could do a whole programme devoted to the contents of our car boots.

From now on I'm going full rubber.

[CourierJim]

I need to keep my van really clean as a selling point to customers. They want a smart van with a smartly dressed driver delivering their goods to THEIR customers. I wash my van at least twice a week in dry weather, and almost daily in the mucky depths of Winter with salt on the roads.

I buy Turtle Wash 'n Wax Liquid in 5L plastic bottles (from B&Q), and add 2 capfuls to each 2 gallon bucket of water that I use. I never use a pressure jet wash machine because I think that they "sandblast" your paintwork matt in no time. I just use a bucket and a soft nylon hand brush.

I use a lightweight folding aluminium step up "platform" (about 4 feet long) to stand on while washing the roof of my van. I only wash the roof about once a month.

My van is not only my daytime "office", but I sleep in the back of it at least once a week when "tramping". Therefore I keep it fairly clean inside as well. I even have a small litter bin made from a polythene tumbler which sits in a cupholder on the floor!

[ffrenchie]

I do ours a couple of times a month. I use a microfibre mop with a swivel head (mop not me) and can reach the roof from either side with it. I use wash'n'wax with carnauba at a capful to 5 litre of warm water and just rinse it with cold water after

[iamtoo]

I need to keep my van really clean as a selling point to customers.

That  is a different dynamic to my situation. You are representing your customers to their customers.

Do you think all that cleaning on a regular basis keeps your van in better condition?

My van is not only my daytime "office", but I sleep in the back of it at least once a week when "tramping"

Another example of the versatility of our wee vehicles.

You have me intrigued, what on earth is "tramping"?

[iamtoo]

I use wash'n'wax with carnauba at a capful to 5 litre of warm water and just rinse it with cold water after

Well, this is turning into another school day...

Carnauba wax can produce a glossy finish and as such is used in automobile waxes, shoe polishes, dental floss, food products such as sweets, instrument polishes, and floor and furniture waxes and polishes, especially when mixed with beeswax and with turpentine.
Wikipedia

Thank heavens, I use Tepe brushes and not dental floss.

I have not come across this before, does Carnauba make the car look really shiny?

[Peter Guy]

Has anyone else tried this dry wash stuff, my Dad gave me a bottle to try, spray on wipe with microfibre and leave to dry wipe off with another microfibre, it has carnauba in it, not convinced really, its bloody hard work getting tar spots off. car looks great first time it rains but the gloss doesn't seem to last long and its a bugger to get off the black bits.

[david.mckay.3760]

Having worked as a valeter in a dealer, doing the trade ins, we found the dirtiest cars usually came up the best with the deepest shine once made ready for resale. Rarely had to use the machine polisher on them while the cleaner looking cars offer were worse to do, needing the rotary polisher which just removed the top layer of paint.

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[iamtoo]

we found the dirtiest cars usually came up the best with the deepest shine

Well, that seems to fit with doofer's theory and practice!

It is probably not such a problem with new style cars but cleaning muck from certain places in older cars was beneficial. The classic place was the wheel arches where mud could get thrown into corners and rust away nicely. The plastic wheel arches on all of our recent cars have negated this problem.