luigi524td

Are you using "warm" or HOT water? If the latter, it will have a more adverse effect on any wax or protection coatings on your car finish and body rubber / plastic parts. And, since you're in the warmer climates, your car isn't likely to turn into an instant iceberg!

It's critical to be certain that any door / trunk gaskets are properly treated BEFORE washing. I had an unfortunate experience years back. The airport parking garage I used when traveling offered a free car wash for long term parkers. The car wash was deep inside the garage.

When I retrieved my car the outside temperature had dropped to nearly ZERO degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as my car was driven out, the water around the door frames instantly froze solid to the rubber gaskets - when the car valet opened the door - he had to give it a heave ho to open it and summarily ripped the gaskets from the doors!

From then on - whenever the temps were below freezing - NO CAR WASH! And, I religiously protected every rubber molding with gummi pledge from then on! When I'm out of that, a quality silicone product intended for runner will do!

nola530

i use warm water, and yes my seals and all rubber type parts are always protected. i use armor all wipes on the seals, keeps them good for a long time.

Masterspy

I run my garage heater to high for an hour, then use warm water with the hose and wash car. Dry it off including all the door sills and leave the heater overnight. The car will be well dry and ready to drive the next day.

itb76

I just put a heater in my garage, now I can wash whatever the temperature. Before the heater, my attached garage would be warm enough for washes when it was 25 or warmer outside, especially with a warmed up car. I use Optimum No-Rinse (ONR) car wash and about 3 gallons of fairly hot water. I use a grout sponge to wash, and two microfiber towels to dry. A few shots of quick detailer during drying will amp up the gloss, though the ONR adds gloss in and of itself. It takes me 25 minutes to wash the car, then another 15-20 minutes to do the door jambs and wheels using a separate sponge and towels dedicated to jambs and wheels. Besides not spraying water all over the garage with a hose, an advantage of the ONR is the windows and doors are less apt to freeze, since you're not using much water.

In fact I'm using ONR year round now. I like the extra gloss, and I found it to clean bugs better than the car was soap I was using previously. ONR is available online through several detailing specialists. I have not found it over the counter in my area.

neoe60

You could also take it to those "self serve" car wash places. They are all brushless around here and very popular in the winter. They don't call it "Salt" Lake City for nothing, we don't have salt in just our lakes!

C's Bimmer

Lick it clean in sub-freezing temperatures.

luigi524td

Would you mind bringing your tongue to South Jersey and show me how its' done ?!?

nigxdoof

I went to my local hand car wash place. 20 dollars for exterior wash and interior clean up. Plus $5 dollar tip to the guys. I love that place.

jrbmwenthusiast

When is it too cold to wash your car? Yesterday morning it was -16 degrees F. My car was so ..so dirty, I did the unthinkable--I softly wiped some of the salty white road residue from my car with a cold dry microfiber towel. Uuhhhhh!

mikeg3tsguap

Nyc indoor hand car wash ill post some pics up later of mine this morning $40 with wax