Lauren Wants To Know

Without even looking at the weather forecast this week, you can tell it’s a warm day in the dead of winter when the park trails are full and the car wash lines long.

According to car experts, cars need to be washed once a week to maintain their look. Unless you keep your car safely parked in the garage, it’s constantly bombarded with bird poop, tree sap, salt and sun. If you want to enjoy the weather and avoid the long lines, here are tips for washing your car at home.

1. Use car washing soap. Detergents and other household cleaners can harm your paint job. Even if you haven’t washed your car in over a year, and you’re tempted to use cloth-diaper-strength soap on your bumper.

2. Rinse your car to remove loose dirt and other debris like that gum your son threw out the window only to have it blown back onto the car door.

3. Wash and rinse in sections, top to bottom.

4. Do one final rinse before drying with a terry cloth towel or chamois. (Don’t you just love that word… chamois!)

5. For you overachievers, a coat of wax can provide additional protection from the salt you’re sure to encounter soon. This should be done three to four times per year.

Enjoy a few more days in the 60s, and happy car washing!

LWTK’s mommy blogger, Sarah, is attempting to be a good mama to little Henry, wife to Shea, full-time employee and part-time grad student all while avoiding making dinner from a box every night. In her non-existent free time, she’s running, eating popcorn and blogging about it all at The Gatsby Diaries.