Used a touchless car wash for the first time today. It was as expected.

[Loudram]

I needed a way to get the salt cleaned off the undercarriage. It's too cold to hand wash during the winter so I use the drive thru car washes. There aren't that many touchless car washes in my area so with my last truck I took it to the local drive thru car wash with the undercarriage wash. They use the neoprene strips but it still put minor scratches in my paint.

So I searched hi and low for a touchless wash and I found one close to where I work. I set my expectations low and I went there. I love the fact that nothing abrasive touched my truck but as expected it didn't clean that well. I still had residue on the sides of the truck and on the wheels as well. I brought the truck home and finished cleaning it with detailing spray.

The best thing is that it was free. It uses the Uwash app and when you download it and use it for the first time it gives you a free "platinum" wash. I got a $14 wash for free. I'll take it.

I'll probably continue to use it during the winter but only pay for the cheapest wash that includes the undercarriage. That one is the "silver" and it only costs $8.

Here it is after using detailing spray on it and dressing the tires.

 

[Rlaf75]

They aren't known to the best wash on the planet. They won't get the heavy crap off the truck. They do however work really well if you use it as maintenance wash. I use one all the time and it works pretty good. I went through one last weekend to basically get the undercarriage mopped up a bit because of the salt on the road. I'll continue to use it periodically to clean the underside. I will hand wash it in the spring to get all the winter crap off then I'll run through one every couple weeks to stay on it.

 

[Dewey]

If you live in a winter climate with temps below freezing for long periods this is really the only option. Slight dirt residue left behind is so much better than salt staying on your vehicle for long periods. I save the real cleaning and detailing for warmer weather. All of my outside water on my house is turned off from November-April every year anyway to avoid freeze up.

 

[Trippi]

If you live in a winter climate with temps below freezing for long periods this is really the only option. Slight dirt residue left behind is so much better than salt staying on your vehicle for long periods. I save the real cleaning and detailing for warmer weather. All of my outside water on my house is turned off from November-April every year anyway to avoid freeze up.

True....but below freezing and the car washes are closed. I am a monthly member...touchless and I dry it myself. But you do go a spell when the temps really dip. And then when they break the line is out to the road. LOL!

 

[Dewey]

True....but below freezing and the car washes are closed. I am a monthly member...touchless and I dry it myself. But you do go a spell when the temps really dip. And then when they break the line is out to the road. LOL!

We just had a week below freezing with a stretch barely above zero and the car washes remained open but I won’t wash below 10 degrees for obvious reasons unless I immediately pull into my heated garage right after.

 

[bill-e]

As much as I'd like to use one and if I had my White 2015 I would, it's not great for a black, ceramic coated truck. The way they work is by using extreme pH soaps and such which release the dirt from the paint and then blow it away with marginally filtered water. If you're fussy like I am it will cause premature aging of the ceramic and leave scratches.

I live in NH and I find that there is almost always a day above freezing in a 3 week period and when that happens I get out my battery operated pressure washer and my lightweight hose if I csn get st the spigot or 2 pails of supply water if I can't and two buckets for the 2 bucket wash. Works well and into my third winter with my 2020 Diamond Black Crystal Pearl Limited it still looks like the day I got it back from the paint correction and coating.

I guess you have to love your truck more than you value your time but this is what I do. Here's a thread I wrote about it a while back.

Portable pressure washer

Has anyone used or even considered the WORX HydroShot portable power washer for winter washing? Can draw from a bucket and the 450psi version empties a 5 gal bucket in about 5 minutes. I'm interested in using something like this for washing winter road salt, chemicals and sand off my truck. I...

5thgenrams.com

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

Anyone use Cetaphil or Aquaphor or some of the natural creams? Do you just stick with the old standard Desitin for your truck's diaper rash?

 

[WXman]

We have a touchless wash that does a great job, BUT you have to remember that the chemicals required to clean every bit of dirt off a vehicle without touching it are pretty harsh chemicals. Over time they will do their own damage. I do use the touchless wash in winter maybe once per month for the reasons you noted. However, if we get a day in the 45-55 degree range I pull into a wash bay so I can get down on my knees with the wand and actually spray all the salt out of my chassis manually.

 

[Darksteel165]

We have a touchless wash that does a great job, BUT you have to remember that the chemicals required to clean every bit of dirt off a vehicle without touching it are pretty harsh chemicals. Over time they will do their own damage. I do use the touchless wash in winter maybe once per month for the reasons you noted. However, if we get a day in the 45-55 degree range I pull into a wash bay so I can get down on my knees with the wand and actually spray all the salt out of my chassis manually.

I don't think it's as harsh as you expect.
Any chemicals is likely to very slowly eat away at the clearcoat.

I woudln't be concerned just using touch-free washes. Just wash it once a month or so, or after salt gets on your truck.

I generally use a pressure washer to clean my truck, then (sometimes with soap left on it) go into the touch free, cheapest wash that has underbody essentially a $8 air dry from the $2.50 pressure wash.

 

[bill-e]

Anyone use Cetaphil or Aquaphor or some of the natural creams? Do you just stick with the old standard Desitin for your truck's diaper rash?

I find that by using Carpro Reset which does not have any adititives, my baby does not get diaper rash and I get my baby wipes from Autofiber