Car care accessories that will amplify your car wash
Abby Wingett | 12th July 2023 | 7 minutes to read
As most of us use our cars on a daily basis, it is worthwhile investing in products that will help protect your vehicle’s longevity, and with so many different accessories and car care products out there, it can be tricky knowing which ones are worth looking at.
In this article, we’ll go over the accessories you’ll want to look at to properly look after your car’s exterior and interior, as well as how to take care of these products to make them last longer.
Take a look at the different accessories we’ll be discussing below:
Car Mats
Floor mats are one of the first things you’ll want to look into for protecting your interior, as they keep mud, dirt, and water from getting on the floor of your vehicle, keeping your carpet spotless.
Sunshades
Sunshades provide heat and sunlight protection from your vehicle’s interior. Minimising sun exposure to all plastics and materials, your car’s interior can suffer from weathering and fading from the harsh UV rays.
Steering Wheel Covers
Similar to a sunshade, steering wheel covers provide protection to your steering wheel against the harsh UV rays that can cause just as much damage as general wear and tear. Steering wheel covers offer protection against all those issues, give you extra grip, as well as helping to personalise your vehicle’s interior with a design of your choice.
Car Seat Covers
Car seat covers are the most convenient for keeping your fabrics, materials, and leather clean. Increasing the comfort level can also be achieved with a car seat cover of your own choice, whilst also shielding your seat from exposure to tough conditions such as UV rays, pet hair, dust, kids messy glitter, and day to day wear.
Pressure Washers and Fittings
Whilst not a necessity when cleaning your car, a pressure washer is a great long-term investment that can be used around the home and workshop as well as when washing your car.
You can use a pressure washer to wet down your car, rinse your car and when using a snow cannon, provide extra suds for a deeper clean. A pressure washer can be more time-efficient and reduces the amount of water you use compared to the traditional bucket and sponge.
With varying water pressures available from different pressure washing machines, all will be sufficient to provide the necessary pressure to power a snow cannon and generate large volumes of snow foam. Here at Repco we have smaller pressure washers for around the $100 mark that are a great entry point into high pressure cleaning.
We offer a range of varying attachments, including snow foam cannons, that can help you to supercharge your car wash. Dependant on the brand and model, both snow cannons and pressure washers may have different adaptors, so it is best to check what fittings are needed to use both products in conjunction.
If you’re unsure about which adapter is best for you, contact your local Repco store and they will be able to assist you in choosing the correct adapter to fit your pressure washer and snow cannon.
Snow Foam and Snow Cannons
A snow cannon is used to apply foam coverage prior to hand washing and is used in conjunction with a pressure washer or hose to get a deeper clean.
The extensive layer of foam produced by these units help soak and lift grime and dirt prior to agitation with a brush or sponge. Whilst marketing itself as a 1, 2, or 3 step non-touch process, a snow foam cannon requires hand washing to adequately clean and remove road grime. The advantage of this method is to minimise scratches when scrubbing to remove dirt.
A snow foam wash generates a thick, rich, long-lasting blanket of foam across the vehicle, which helps loosen heavier contaminants such as dust, dirt, and grime off the car. This helps reduce the risk of scratches and swirl marks during the hand wash.
This is best achieved by using a pressure washer to help maximise the foam, as it enhances the cleaning action and, most importantly, it makes the washing experience more fun!
Drying Towels, Chamois, and Air Blowers
While many people put all their focus into washing their car, it is just as critical to dry it effectively. Removing excess water helps eliminate water spots, cleans any missed dirt, and decreases the chance of rust when left over time.
This is another area where the varying products in this field will present differing results both from a labour perspective but also in minimising scratches and swirl marks.
Chamois
A traditional chamois, whether made of natural leather or synthetic, relies on the water left from washing to lubricate as you drag it across the surface of your vehicle. The less water that is present the higher the likelihood of swirl marks as you dry.
With a relatively thin composition, a chamois can quickly become impregnated with dirt so require frequent rinsing in clean water to remove these impurities.
Available in a range of sizes, a small chamois in a sealed plastic container is a useful addition to your glove box or boot as they are particularly handy for spot cleaning of bird droppings — which are not only annoying blots on your pristine car, they’re also acidic to paint.
Drying Towels
Drying towels are a relatively recent development and, being comprised of a super thick microfibre composite, they can literally suck water from your vehicle’s surface after a heavy clean.
Requiring a minimum of movement and with maximum absorbency, these towels are a great addition to cleaning your vehicle as they cut down on drying time while the ultra-thick and soft material minimises the chance of scratches and swirl marks.
Available in a variety of different colours, shapes, and sizes, these microfibre drying towels are just as at home drying shower screens and mirrors as they are soaking up water from your car wash.
Air Blowers
Air dryers used to be the domain of professional car detailers and cost upwards to $200, but with their increased popularity they have come down in price and gone up in features.
Working on the premise of drying by way of high-volume heated air, this method is the ultimate in labour saving whilst offering a true no-touch process for drying.
Not only does an air-dry reduce the chances of scratches and swirls, but it also evaporate trapped water, is easy to use in hard-to-reach areas and it won’t remove wax, all of which help to leave your vehicle spot and streak-free.
Why risk your paintwork when you can invest in an air blower that can protect and prevent damage to your paint?
Looking After Your Car Care Products
Just like cleaning your car, many of your car care products need to be washed on a regular basis to ensure they maintain their cleaning abilities and to help remove build-up of dirt and contaminants.
When making the investment in good quality brushes, cloths, and wash mitts, it pays to adequately rinse, wring, or separately clean these tools to ensure they are ready for use when you next need them.
Wheel Brushes and Buckets
After using a wheel brush and bucket, it is advised you rinse the products off under cold water to remove any excess soap and dirt out of the bucket and bushes. Once rinsed out, place them in an area out of the weather so they can dry and be put away for next use.
Microfibre Cloths and Sponges
Although similar, we would recommend a slightly different process for cloths and sponges. Machine washing or hand washing is the way to go here, however, do not wash in conjunction with other clothes or towels. Using a microfibre wash helps restore and keep the softness and absorbency of your microfibre products.
Simply place the products in the washing machine, do not use any other detergents, softeners, or bleach — use only the microfibre wash. If you decide to hand wash, please note once washed with the microfibre wash, ensure you have rinsed the cloths and sponges in fresh tap water.
By looking after your products, it will reduce the need for you to replace your gear all the time, which therefore saves you time and money in the long run.
Keep All Your Car Care Products Together to Make the Job of Car Washing Easier
Now that you have purchased any number of car wash products, or if you have already accumulated a collection, it makes sense to house these within easy reach. Many of the basic tool trolleys that Repco carry make this super convenient to house all your washes, brushes, and cloths, enabling you to have your gear close at hand as you clean.
With our Mechpro Blue service cart holder you will be able to put all your car cleaning products in the same trolley ensuring nothing gets lost or wet when cleaning your car. The mobility offered by these units also means not running back and forth to the house or garage to get the next brush or bottle of wash whilst limiting the need to put cloths and sponges on the ground where they will attract dirt.
Whatever your car care needs are, Repco will have you covered, so head into your local store or shop online to find the right accessories for your vehicle.
