Can I Use Shampoo to Wash My Car?

Got dust all over the car and found that you have run out of car wash soap? You may have thought about using the hair washing shampoo to wash your car exterior and ended up here!

You have come to the right place to get the appropriate answer to your question- Can I use shampoo to wash my car?

In this article, we’ll answer the question along with some other car washing tips so that you can effectively wash your car without ruining the paint. Stay with us!

Yes, but Hold On!

You can use hair washing shampoo replacing the car wash shampoo to clean your car. But there some key things that you must keep in mind- hair shampoos are not made to remain on the surface for a long period of time. And they are not made for using on the car! So, you may not get the best out of them like specific car wash soaps.

Another problem of using hair shampoo on the car wash is- you can’t let them sit on the surface for long. The hair shampoos will cause your car paint to fade away. So, in case you need to use hair shampoo to use on the car, try to apply them as fast as you can to rinse with water afterward.

Use Appropriate Car Wash Soaps

The best and recommended way to wash your car is to follow the conventional car washing process. Use appropriate car wash soap along with other washing materials to clean the exterior of your car.

Using the appropriate materials that are made for the car will give you freedom working on it and you won’t need to worry about damaging the car paint due to the misuse of the washing material.

Tips to Remember When Washing Car

Here are some of the car washing tips that can save your time, money, and the car! Keep these in mind whenever you wash your car-

1. Avoid Sunny Day

We love to work on a sunny day but it’s not recommended to wash the car in such an environment. You need to let the soap sit on the car surface to properly clean it. On a bright day, you may see the moisture is going away leaving the dry soap on your car paint.

This will cause you to wipe twice on the same surface, once to eliminate dirt and the second, for removing the dry soap.

2. Pick the Right Washing Sponge

People often do a mistake picking up a dishwashing sponge to wash the car. This is a thing that you must avoid. Kitchen sponges are made for scratching up the surface to eliminate sticky food ingredients from the appliances. While the car paint is slippery and does not require such a harsh sponge to eliminate dust. On top of that, the kitchen sponge will scratch up your car paint badly if pressed hard on the surface.

So, pick the right sponge that is made for washing the car.

3. Wipe the Car after Washing

You may have seen water spots on the car. This happens mostly because of the water you leave behind without wiping them. They are so stubborn to remove because the water dries away but the mineral content in the water remains on the car surface.

When you wipe off the water after washing, you wipe off both the water and the mineral content leaving a fresh and spot-free car exterior. However, you may see water spots on the car surface after following the procedure too, but that is caused due to some other reasons.

4. Wash the Car from Bottom to Top

When you start washing the car, start from the bottom of the car. This will allow you to see the dirty spots of the car easily. People often start from the top of the car as it is easily accessible without bending the knee. But afterward, they realize that they have lost the spots where they need to carefully wipe with the sponge for eliminating the stubborn dust.

5. Avoid Scratching the Paint

Dust that accumulates on the car paint is a combination of sand, soil, and other debris. These can scratch you paint when you try to wash them. So, you need to be very careful when wiping those with a sponge.

First, apply the soap on the surface without forcing the sponge against the car paint so that you don’t end up scratching the paint. Let the soap sit for a brief moment and wipe off the dust with the sponge. This will give you a scratch-free paint for long.

6. Use Right Amount of Water

Using the right amount of water is as important as using the soap to clean the surface. Using less water than necessary will cause the soap to dry out quickly and using more will reduce the harshness of the soap resulted in a not so great clean up.

So, try to pick the right amount of water to get rid of the dust from the car paint easily.

Final Verdict

Now that you know the answer for which you have ended up here and have a good knowledge of some key things when washing the car. When washing the car, make sure to wash it in the morning or in the evening to have comfort. Doing the wash at the midday will tire you too quickly and have risks of drying out the water leaving the soap on the surface.

And talking about the shampoo thing, we recommend you to pick a car wash shampoo to wash the car effectively. Otherwise, you may not get full benefits after spending time washing. And as we’ve let you know already, hair shampoo can cause car paint to fade if used incorrectly.