Is Undercarriage Wash Safe For Your Car?

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We all want to keep our cars clean, but is an underbody car wash safe for your vehicle? Let’s find it out.

Since many important car parts in the undercarriage affect driving, handling, and safety in general, you want to keep them in the best possible condition. All the dirt from roads sticks to the car’s underbody and may cause problems in the future. 

However, before you go straight and wash the undercarriage of your car, I would like you to read this article and find out what you should or shouldn’t do when washing the underneath of your car (or any vehicle).

I couldn’t find any single blog that speaks about this, so I decided to write you an article to warn you about some damages you can make if you don’t wash your car’s underbody correctly.

Is Cleaning Underneath The Car Safe?

Washing the underbody of a car is not only safe but is crucial if you want to keep your car in good condition without rust and corrosion. However, washing in above-freezing temperatures and without too much pressure will make it 100% safe for your car.

Well, this was the short answer, but let’s dive into some damages you can make if you don’t do it correctly.

What Damage Can You Make?

Well, there aren’t too many things you can damage, but some are very important. If you follow the steps in this article, you shouldn’t do any harm to the vehicle’s chassis.

So, here’s possible damage if you wash your undercarriage the wrong way:

• Car Underbody Coating/Soundproofing
• Joint Protective Rubbers
• Car Electronics

Why Should You Wash The Underbody?

Mostly, the undercarriage wash isn’t included in typical car washing services unless you ask for it. I think that even if there aren’t any other factors, this should be a good enough reason to wash the underbody of your car.

Salt, mud, dust, dirt, and other particles are sticking to the car’s underbody. To simplify, all the grime from the road goes to the undercarriage. 

If not cleaned for a long time, grime, salt, and other particles may cause rust and corrosion. Trust me, you don’t want to see the undercarriage of your car full of rust after just a few years of buying it.

Tips For Washing The Undercarriage

Before I give you some general tips to avoid any damage to your car, you might want to check the tutorial: How To Wash a Vehicle Undercarriage at Home. It’s very simple, and you don’t need any special tools. However, it’s good to have them, but they aren’t necessary. You’re going to understand it very easily.

Do you see how simple that is? Now let’s give you some tips for keeping your car safe when washing the underbody.

1) Don’t Wash It Too Often

There is no need to wash the undercarriage of your car too often. In most cases, washing it once or twice a year shall be enough. Check out the situations when you should wash it more often.

2) Avoid Using Too Much Pressure

As I said before, using too much pressure may cause a lot of damage to your car. If you will use a professional car washer, be gentle when washing the underbody.

The best way is to wash it with a garden water hose, but it may be hard to reach all the parts. That’s the reason for TIP number 3.

3) Buy Yourself an Undercarriage Cleaner

This is probably the best tip in this article. Check out the picture below.

Check this Mingle Pressure Washer Undercarriage Cleaner (check price now). It’s not expensive and will serve you well for even more things than just a car wash (boats, RVs, etc.).

Applicable for the pressure washer, pressure washer gun, water broom, and cleaning brush. The most important thing is that it doesn’t have too much pressure (you can adjust it).

As I said before, It’s hard to reach all the parts you want to clean with a standard hose, so buying an undercarriage cleaner will make everything much easier, and you won’t need to lift your car or something.

RELATED: How To Wash Your Car’s Exterior: Complete Guide

Conclusion

Well, I hope that now you know more about undercarriage washing. It’s important to keep our car as clean as possible, which will extend its life, and we’ll have fewer repairs. 

Also, cleaning older cars (that aren’t rusty) is much safer than the newer cars that are full of electric components. But in general, undercarriage car washing is completely safe just by following the few tips mentioned above.

I advise you to use either a garden hose or the “Undercarriage Cleaner” attachment I mentioned earlier. Don’t use just a high-pressure nozzle on the car’s underbody.