How to keep clean in the winter?

SnowgodCCR · **Posted:** Sun Feb 18, 2007 3:41 pm

I can't possibly be the only one that loathes automatic car washes (and refuses to use them), but equally can't stand a salty/generally crappy looking ride in the winter. How does everyone keep their jeep clean in the winter? I went out to wash mine today and the hose is frozen :evil:

, so there really isn't much that I can do other than bring it through the carwash, which isn't an option...what do you guys do?

(I don't have a garage that I can wash in)

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

I wash my KJ at the spray bay car wash. (Do it yourself style). There's a couple of them here, one that uses hot water. My old dad used to say (he was a mechanic) a clean machine is one that'll keep working. I also hate salt and road grit on the bottom of my Jeep - that stuff can NOT be good for anything mechanical or metal, so I wash my Jeep about once a week, unless it's like -30C. I've had the doors freeze shut a couple of times, but after the Jeep warms up for a while it thaws out.

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:23 am

While automatic car washes do a horrible job of cleaning your vehicle, some do offer the under carriage spray which is nice though it doe snot spray a lot (you drive over the spray nozzles so you set the amount and area gets sprayed until the time is up). It is too hard to use a hand (self-serve) car wash to get everywhere underneath. A nice advantage of owning a house is the ability to hand wash and take your time.

SnowgodCCR · **Posted:** Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:12 am

The other problem is that the touchfree washes around here have been closed for some reason, and only the tunnel wash (swirl city) is open :evil:

. I might have to break down and go through the closest touchfree that's open. On another note I brought the hose inside yesterday so it might thaw out.

2003KJ · **Posted:** Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:31 am

During the winter, I use the quarter washes. Found a good one finally thats not too far away that's only $.75 to start, rather than $1.75 to start (both start you with the same amount of time), and has the "spot free rinse" option.

I usually pull in, leave the Jeep running with the heat on full tilt (you'll see why when you get done washing....lol). Get out, get about $2-3 in quarters. Grab my tire cleaner that I use (the ones there don't work very well), spray down the wheels and tires really good....blast them off, and wet down the jeep. Grab the foamy brushy thingy and soap it up..then rinse her off. Then i'll do the spot free rinse thing and go over it a couple of times. If I still have time to kill, i'll turn it back on to regular rinse and blast off everything underneath. Then I get back in, pull out of the spot and into the parking lot, and thaw out for a couple of minutes (which is why i left the engine running with the heat on wide open...lol) and call it a day. When I get home i'll put some tire slime on, and pull it in the garage and detail the inside.

I have a pressure washer of my own, but you can't (read shouldn't) use them in cold weather. If they freeze, it's bye bye motor on the pressure washer. So every spring, when it looks like we're done with the salt baths, i'll load up the solution tank with some degreaser (what ever I have on the shelf), throw on some old clothes, and go to town on everything underneath the jeep.

A lot of the touch free car wash places will shut down once it's been too cold for too long, as they probably dont want their pipes to burst. On a normal winter, it's hard to find one thats open around here....but being that it's been so mild for the past 2 winters, they've been open.

SnowgodCCR · **Posted:** Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:04 pm

I went to the touchfree in the next town over, and pretty much all I can say is that it at least got most of the crap off my jeep. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain/snow (I'm actually hoping for more of the rain down this way) which should take alot of the reminant crap off. There was actually so much salt and other crap on the thing that I now have deposits running down the sides, like sediment deposits in a river :roll:

. I can't believe I'm saying it, but I'm about done with winter at this point...

bbo · **Joined:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 5:17 pm **Posts:** 382

Yeah its amazing ... sometimes during the winter... my black jeep turns almost white from the salt ... one of the main places that manufactures ca washes ( PDQ manufacturing) is right here in Green Bay.

I don't think I have ever seen a closed wash here in green bay ... and loads of the drive thru's are pretty good ... I usually do the drive thru one where I get my bio as theirs moves back and forth on a track and seems to work pretty good ... if I am all slimed up where I know the drive thru doesn't work.. I take it to one of the PDQ's ( not the manufacturing plant ... ) where they drive it thru and hand dry the whole thing ... including blowing out the door locks and such to prevent any freezing. I think they charge 11.99$ USD for the whole thing and you even get a vacuum out of it.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:16 pm

I usually just spray it off at the Coin-op. I keep a good coat of wax on my Jeep, so everything comes right off.

If you have a lift, you can get the underbody fairly well too..

There is a car wash in my town that doesnt care if you use a bucket. I fill it up with warm water here at my Dorm and take it to the carwash(it has a lid). That works out great unless its really cold. I did that the other day and it all froze before I could dry it.

Rayze78 · **Joined:** Wed Sep 12, 2007 8:41 pm **Posts:** 36

I would advise against using those wash brushes at some of those places. People use them on their under carriage, engines, etc. Bring a wash mit and tell the person behind you to wait a few minutes because you care about your paint.

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

Yep, those brushes can be loaded up with grit. I just use the spray nozzle to clean the brush first, then use it. But bringing a mitt is a good thought too, I'm going to start doing that.

We just had our first snow the other day, and two nights ago it was -5 C. Killed the dang geraniums. It's coming.

brymac76 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 26, 2007 3:32 pm

Snow Already? MAN I wanna live where you do!!!.
I havn't seen snow in 3 years? Have yet to try the Liberty in it.

As for washing it in the winter. If the hose is froze and i really needed to wash it in the old days i'd just get two buckets. One with hot soapy water, and one with hot clean water...you get the picture......

Bryan

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

Well, it's warmed up some since I wrote that. Trees are all turning colour, though, and it's been getting dangnably chilly at night. I love winter but right now I'm not in any hurry to get there...

Donnie · **Posted:** Fri Oct 05, 2007 11:55 pm

Look into Optimum no rinse, it doesn't need a water source. Or, bring your hose inside until you need it!

dgeist · **Posted:** Tue Jan 01, 2008 12:33 pm

So, I've been wondering if it's safe to use my pressure washer on the jeep. It's the typical home-depot purchased model with about a 5.5 horse honda engine and I think it's rated at 2800 PSI. I used it to remove paint from the concrete in my porch, so I'm immediately hesitant

If it IS possible to do, can someone post on some specifics so I don't etch my paint?

Dan

Rush345 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 01, 2008 7:13 pm

dgeist wrote:

So, I've been wondering if it's safe to use my pressure washer on the jeep. It's the typical home-depot purchased model with about a 5.5 horse honda engine and I think it's rated at 2800 PSI. I used it to remove paint from the concrete in my porch, so I'm immediately hesitant

If it IS possible to do, can someone post on some specifics so I don't etch my paint?

Dan

Power washers should come with 4 different tips 0 degree for stripping 15 degree less agresive 25 and 40.
40 should work just don't get close up and aggresive they also have chemical injectors to draw up soap and mix with your water.
Years ago I got a 800 PSI electric washer for my Dad to use around the house in the mountains. You could even hook up the garden hose to your hot water heater for engine cleaning ect. ect.

dgeist · **Posted:** Wed Jan 02, 2008 4:38 pm

Rush345 wrote:

Power washers should come with 4 different tips 0 degree for stripping 15 degree less agresive 25 and 40.
40 should work just don't get close up and aggresive they also have chemical injectors to draw up soap and mix with your water.
Years ago I got a 800 PSI electric washer for my Dad to use around the house in the mountains. You could even hook up the garden hose to your hot water heater for engine cleaning ect. ect.

Yep, I have all those tips. Also, I've seen washers that use compressed air (via a standard compressor) with a garden hose with similar effectiveness and less water use. Anyone else seen that?

Pote · **Posted:** Wed Jan 02, 2008 5:20 pm

Speaking of the drive thru washes...has anyone ever had any troubles going through with a roof basket? Has anyone ever had theirs snagged by the wash or has anyone been turned away because their roof basket was on? just curious...I'd hate to have to take off the basket in freezing weather for the sake of my knuckles. LOL

Rush345 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 03, 2008 2:49 am

Park it and WALK AAAH! Come on somebody had to give this answer eventually for no other reason then the Smart stupid factor. Back to the sugject of the power washers. The 2 very top brands are Graco and Simpson, get one with a Honda Motor with both these factors in a power washer you will have it the rest of you life and as far as freeze protection for the pump. Take a scrap peice of garden hose drop it into a bucket of antifreeze 50/50 mix and pull the spark plug wire off and pull the started rope a few times till it draws anti-freeze into the pump and pushes it out the exit hose , you may even run it through your power washer hose. You do this you will never have a freezing problem and when you are ready for water just pump your anti-freeze mix back into a 2 gallon bucket with a lid. Available at most paint stores.
By the way Home Depot or Lowes do carry power washers but the ones I recomend are proffessional grade and will last a life time, they are also handy for washing the house before you paint.

How to keep clean in the winter?

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