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Looking for the easy steps to know how to clean your car with a pressure washer?
If so, then we’ll help you with that.
Most people think that a pressure washer can damage their car but using it correctly prevents damage and ensure to turn the dirty car into a shiny one.
Washing your car with a garden hose takes a lot of time and effort, and moreover a lot of water. Therefore, most car owners think about using the best pressure washer for cars of decent quality for this purpose.
But before using it, you need to know how to pressure wash a car to reap the benefits of pressure washing it.
Things to Consider Before Pressure Wash a Car
Before you follow a step-by-step procedure to wash your car, it is imperative that you make the right preparation. For instance, you need to choose the right unit and know where to park your car for cleaning. Read on to find them out.
✔️ Choose a pressure washer with the right PSI, GPM, and nozzle
In order to effectively target the dirty spots on the surface of a car, you need a pressure washing unit that not only produces the right pressure output but also releases an adequate quantity of water to remove dirt and grime.
The high pressure, or the PSI, helps a unit in performing its function with a greater force, whereas, its GPM helps in releasing the right amount of water for cleaning. When you multiply the PSI and GPM, it gives the number of cleaning units:
PSI x GPM = Cleaning Units
On average, you need 3000 cleaning units to get desirable results with pressure washing.
Despite the incapability of a garden hose in producing these many cleaning units, it uses a lot of water. A pressure washer, on the other hand, does the job with a relatively lesser quantity of water.
So far as the choice of a pressure washing unit is concerned, you can either choose a gas pressure washer or an electric pressure washer. However, the electric pressure washer produces a greater impact which is suitable for heavier cleaning assignments.
You can consider the recommendations below.
| Pressure Washer | PSI | GPM | Cleaning Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Joe SPX3000 | 2030 | 1.76 | 3572 |
| Stanley SHP2150 | 2150 | 1.4 | 3010 |
| Karcher K5 Premium | 2000 | 1.4 | 2800 |
But how do you find out if the unit you are using is the best pressure washer for car cleaning? To find it out, you need to pay attention to its nozzle and pressure output. It is best to go with a unit that produces an output in the range of 1200-1900 PSI and a GPM ranging between 1.4 and 1.6.
And why do you need to check the nozzle before using a pressure washer on a car? Of course, this move helps you protect its paint job from any damage.
| Expert tip: Pressure washers with wider tips provide more coverage even when the pressure output is low. The ones with narrower tips do just the opposite. Choose a pressure washing machine depending on whichever works the best for your purpose. |
✔️ Ensure adequate space around your car while pressure washing it
Cleaning a car with a pressure washer spreads water all around. Parking your car next to other cars or objects may damage their external surface. You can prevent it from happening by doing this activity either in a spacious street or a driveway.
When using an electric pressure washer to wash your car, make sure there is an outlet nearby. If it is at a greater distance than the length of the cord of your pressure washing unit, you may consider using an extension cord.
Again, not all units are compatible with extension cords. If using it is your best bet to clean your car, make sure you buy a unit that supports its use.
Steps to Clean a Car With a Pressure Washer
We’ve outlined everything you need to know for how to pressure wash your car in simple steps you might think of:
- Rinse your car
- Spray soap onto the car
- Let the soap sit
- Thoroughly rinse detergent
- Dry it out
Step 1: Rinse your car for removing bugs and loose mud from the surface
The main objective of this step is to get rid of the accumulated bugs, and loose mud from the external surface of the car. For this purpose, you need to choose the right nozzle. You can go with a white nozzle of 40 degrees or a green one of 25 degrees. If you choose a nozzle of a lesser measurement, then it may damage the paintwork on the external surface of your car.
As a precautionary measure, make certain that it is not strong enough to cause any damage to the exteriors of your car. To assess its strength, spray it on the ground. Proceed with the next step only if you are sure that it will spray water gently on the outer surface of your car.
Spray water on the whole exterior surface of your car from a distance of 1 foot. Its wheels are likely to feature more grime. To clean them up, you can get a bit closer.
Handle the delicate components of your car such as the brake lights, headlights, ane side view mirrors with care. If possible, try moving a little further while spraying water on these parts.
| Expert tip: Spraying water straight on the car surface while using a pressure washer for car wash may increase the possibility of damage to it. You can avoid it by tilting the nozzle downward at an angle while spraying water on the external surface of your car. |
Step 2: Prepare the solution of detergent plus water and spray it on your car
After removing the mud and other impurities from the exteriors of your car, the next thing you need to do is soap it up. For cleaning a car with a pressure washer, you need to use put the combination of water and detergent in the detergent compartment of your unit.
First, Mix detergent in a bucket of water. Then proceed with the steps to soap up the exteriors of your car with the mixture, make sure you dilute the detergent.
Next, fill up the detergent compartment of your pressure washer unit by following the instructions in the manual. Try adhering to all the instructions as it can protect your unit from any potential damage when you wash your car with a pressure washer.
Now attach the soap nozzle with the soap wand and start spraying the detergent solution from a distance of 2-3 feet. This is the normal distance at which you should spray the solution to avoid any damage to the outer surface of the car. That said, you can inch a bit closer if there is an accumulation of stubborn bugs or mud.
Instead of going from top to bottom, spray from bottom to top. Among other things, it helps prevent the formation of streaks.
When cleaning wheels, you can come a little closer. Maintain a distance of 6 inches from the wheels to ensure the effective removal of dust and salt on its surface.
Keep a scrub brush or manual wash mitt handy just in case you need it to get rid of bugs on the grill or windshield.
| Expert tip: Think about using an extendable wash mop or an extension for the spray wand to clean the areas that you cannot reach easily. |
Step 3: Let the soap sit for 5 minutes
The time needed for the soap to settle on your car may vary depending on the type of detergent you use. Besides, weather conditions also play a part in it.
On average, most detergents sit on the surface of the car in just five minutes. You can find out detailed information about the time your used detergent will take for this purpose by going through the instructions in the manual.
Step 4: Rinse detergent from top to down to ensure best clean
Put the white nozzle of 40 degrees after detaching the black soap nozzle. First up, point the wand downwards and spray using the white nozzle. It will help you remove soap from the system.
Next, position yourself at a distance of 3-4 feet away from the car and spray it from top to bottom to remove soap from its surface.
If your car has bumper stickers, avoid spraying the sides as it can cause them to peel off. Instead, think about spreading on the front portion.
Step 5: Dry it out
Last but not least, you need to dry up the external surface of your car. You can use a leather chamois for this purpose. The best part about it is that you can use it all over again.
Lay the leather chamois flat and pull it in your direction without removing the cloth. Allow it to soak up water to its full capacity. When you believe it has soaked up water to its full capacity, wring it out. If necessary repeat this step as long as you need it to dry out all the parts of your car.
Now you are done with cleaning your car. Go for a long drive! You can also checkout high-pressure car cleaning tools to clean it better.
If you are still not sure about the process watch this video to clean your car with a pressure washer.
FAQs
Is it safe to wash a car with a pressure washer?
The answer to this question is both “yes” and “no”. Whether using a pressure washer to wash a car is safe or not depends on its power and capacity to release water per gallons.
For choosing the best unit for this purpose, you need to get your calculation right on both these fronts. If the power capacity of a pressure washer exceeds 1900 PSI and 1.6 GPM, it can damage the paint job on the external surface of your car.
How much psi is good for cleaning a car?
When it comes to washing a car with a pressure washer, both PSI and GPM assume equal importance as the numerical product of both gives the number of cleaning units of a pressure washer. If the cleaning units exceed the 3000-mark, it can damage the paint job of your car. Keeping it in mind, any unit with 1200-1900 PSI and 1.4-1.6 GPM is the ideal choice.
Can I use car wash soap in a pressure washer?
Is car wash soap safe for a pressure washer? The answer is “yes”. But not all soaps are suitable for this purpose. Most car owners prepare a soap water solution involving 2 gallons of water and 8 ounces of dish soap. You can also use any other suitable soap for this purpose.
Here are some of my recommendations:
How much water does it take to wash a car with a pressure washer?
Normally, a pressure washer for cars uses a large quantity of water for washing cars. The rate at which it uses water for cleaning a car is measured in gallons per minute. On average, a high-pressure washer uses 10 gallons of water per minute. If you use a pressure washer to wash your car for ten minutes at this rate, the estimated quantity of water for washing a car would be 100 gallons.
Is Pressure Washing Cars Good or Bad?
Occasional cleaning of a car is necessary to prevent the accumulation of grime and dust on its exteriors. Doing it manually can be tedious and monotonous. On the other hand, you can do it with minimum effort and save you a lot of time and hassle by using a pressure washer for your car. So, yes, it is a good idea as it helps you to get the job done without using a lot of time and effort.
Upshot
If you have ever wondered how to wash a car with pressure washer or looked for a solution to it, you can address your need by performing the aforementioned steps. But before you proceed with your plan of using a pressure washer for car wash, make sure you are well prepared and have the right unit for the purpose. Now that you know the steps, go ahead and try them out!