Clausen's Car Wash (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you don't wash your car enough? ›

Not only does your vehicle endure all kinds of weather, but it also gets splattered with dirt, mud, tar, bugs, bird poop, and anything else you might encounter on the road (or in your parking spot). All these contaminants can eat away at your car's finish, affecting the paint, damaging the seals and rusting the metal.

As with most service industries, the customary tip at a car wash is around 15-20% of the total cost. However, remember that this is a general guideline, and tipping rates may vary depending on the quality of service you receive.

Car Wash Recommendations

As a general rule of thumb, you should wash your vehicle every two weeks. That is if you're not driving down dirt roads daily or in an area where salt is used on the highways. This is under normal wear and tear circ*mstances.

When entering a car wash, there is usually the following notice for vehicles with automatic transmission: "Select neutral, automatic selector lever to 'N", switch off the engine, do not steer, do not brake.

Dirt, salt, and other debris can lead to rust and corrosion on your car. This is especially true in the winter when roads are full of salt. Washing your car regularly will remove these corrosive materials. So don't wait until your car is covered in dirt to give it a wash – make it part of your car care routine.

While some car washes may be safe bets, others might not be worth the risk. An automatic car wash can damage your paint if you don't take care of your car afterward. If you don't dry it off thoroughly after washing, the water can create scratches in the paint that will show up later.

Although you probably don't need to wax your car every single time you get a wash, you should consider adding it on to your car wash every couple of months – you may be surprised by the difference it makes. To help you understand the importance of car waxing, here are our favourite perks of a high quality car wax.

Ideally, we believe washing before is the best option. The wash needs to be accompanied by a wax to be effective, because it will repel the rain water off the car's surface. If you can't wash your car before the rain, then it's best to have it washed right after the rain.

A thorough vacuum every couple of weeks (or at least once a month) should suffice. Vacuum the interior of your car twice! Vacuum once to get the surface dirt out. Then, beat the seats with something like a tennis racket to bring embedded dirt to the surface and vacuum again.

There are several types of automated car washes. Some require you to steer into the center of the drive-through wash, put the car in park, and wait out the entire cleaning process before slowly driving toward the drying stage.

Do cars drive better after car wash? ›

The spray also helps prevent rusting inside the of the wheel wells - the most difficult type of rust to stop. In addition, tests show that a properly cleaned and waxed car has less wind resistance, resulting in a smoother ride and improved fuel economy.

Before you proceed to get your vehicle cleaned, you must have it in neutral. Putting your car in neutral allows your vehicle to roll through the cleaning cycles consistently with other vehicles and prevent collisions during the process.

Washing your vehicle every two weeks is a safe rule of thumb, Progressive officials said. However, those who apply a coat of wax to their vehicle following a cleaning session might be able to get away with longer breaks in between, since it creates a barrier between your car's exterior coat and the elements.

According to online auto resource Carwash Country, any dirt or grime left on your vehicle is abrasive and can deteriorate the car's clear coat over time. Once that clear coat has worn away, that can lead to rusting, pitting, fading and other impacts to the paint layer and sheet metal of the vehicle.

The general rule-of-thumb is to wash your car every two weeks, with a little variation depending on a number of factors.

The frequency of car washes in itself is a safe practice. The only thing to keep in mind is that more washes mean more opportunities for an improper job that could damage the vehicle's paint.