GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Cleaning my car is like therapy to me. I always take about 90 minutes to do my car from start to finish. I start off my vacuuming her out. Then I pull around to the back of the car wash I go to ( I don't go to any other one, but this one ) and I wipe the inside out. I use a Armour All wipe that protects the car. I wipe anything that's plastic down. Then I wipe my chrome interior down & then the windows. Then I pull into a opening & spray her down with a soap really good, then I use the foam brush & get her really good & soapy. Then I rinse her off. I pull back around to the back & clean her rims with a tire cleaner, then I take a tire shine & wipe the tires all around to give them the wet look.I've done this for as long as I can remember. I love that feeling right after you've cleaned her up & pull off & you know she's shining going down the road.

Same here, although I prefer handwashing mine in the driveway so I can take my time.I don't recommend using the brush at any car wash. I bet your Vibe has a ton of scratches from it .

.... I have much dirt from many places! There's red paint under there somewhere...

Quote, originally posted by MrsSlocum »Cleaning my car is like therapy to me.You have dedication there Carey Some of our cars get MORE baths during the winter due to all the salt & crap all over the roads, than in the summer. Usually they get a 5 minute, 3-gallon sponge bath at the end of the driveway where it is safe This is usually done with a short sleeve shirt on so I don't get water all over any "extra winter" clothing one would normally wear outdoors! It's not the greatest but it works and the cars look pretty good

I live in an apartment right now, so hand washing here, I can't do. But believe me, that's my ideal way too!! We use to own a gorgeous 2005 Hyundaii Elantra that had rims, TV's, nice system & remote starter & we lived in a duplex where we could do that, and he got washed very often! Pull the vacuum in the garage & vacuum him out. Then do a nice hand wash. Then in 2009, a tree fell on him & totaled him out! Thats when we got the Vibe.

Quote, originally posted by MrsSlocum » We use to own a gorgeous 2005 Hyundaii Elantra. Then in 2009, a tree fell on him & totaled him out! Thats when we got the Vibe.Nice success story Not that I wish for anybody to have to go through what you did with the previous car, BUT you definitely upgraded and will never regret it. Keep it clean & looking good

Mine gets a touchless wash once a week (the most expensive one) and about once a month I clean the inside thoroughly in the driveway. Not as frequently in the winter, as it sets in the garage during the snowy months. This summer I hope to buy a pressure washer, so, trips to the car wash will become less frequent and hand waxing will once again become a therapy session for me as well.

In the summer I hate going to touchless washes, and try my best to do all my cleaning at home. This spring I'm going to give her the annual clay bar cleaning. But for the winter it's just the wash from a touchless place that I love and trust. Last two times I've gotten my Vibe horrifically dirty before washing. Last time the dirt was caked onto the hatch. Somehow the snowfall cleaned my car, which surprised me, but it was back to dirty after a few hours on the interstate.

My Vibe is so covered in sand right now that it looks like a dune buggy that's been driven through the desert . My mom's is more silver/white than blue thanks to salt. I am hoping to get them both washed this weekend. If the weather is too cold for handwashing in the driveway, I go to the local car wash early in the morning or late at night when it's not busy and I handwash them in one of the self serve bays. We have a nice heated garage that I bring them home to to dry them off though which is nice. The interiors are in desperate need of a thorough cleaning as well . Looks like it's going to be a busy weekend...

Quote, originally posted by J_TO_ENVY »The interiors are in desperate need of a thorough cleaning as well .Mine too!! I'm going Monday to let a place do a deep cleaning for about $70. They said it'll take about 3 hours to get it all out of the seats & door panels.tpollauf...The Hyundai Elantra, I have to say, my husband & me miss terribly. We bought it with only 23 miles & did everything to it to get it that way. We were 18 months away from it being paid off when it happened.

Quote, originally posted by MrsSlocum »Mine too!! I'm going Monday to let a place do a deep cleaning for about $70. They said it'll take about 3 hours to get it all out of the seats & door panels.Fortunately our interiors aren't that bad. Ours are just dusty dashes, dirty rubber floor mats that need to be scrubbed and carpet that needs a good vacuuming. Nothing major like stains or anything, they just haven't been cleaned in a few months . I kind of hate cleaning the interiors .

Mines disgusting now. Im not going to clean the inside until a detail this spring. I'll run it through the touchless wash to knock the dirt off though.

I love dusting the interior. Its so nice & clean afterwards...lol! The stains have accumulated over the years. Hopefully this good cleaning will pull it all out. The guy said they'll look brand new afterwards We'll see!

This link has a video of car cleaning, maybe there are some useful tips in ithttp://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ea6_1328077769

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver ».... I have much dirt from many places! There's red paint under there somewhere... I always thought your paint was "Red Hot Post Apocalypse".

The apocalypse is coming??? Well, I guess I don't need to bother washing it then.... But it got washed yesterday, just a cheap $2 hosedown. Quite the difference though!

I've been trying to give my car a proper wash every two weeks. It's really dusty here and I have no access to garage parking, so my car gets covered in dust within 48 hours at the longest. Then it sprinkles just enough to make the dirt stick, but not enough to wash it off.I've been using Meguiar's Natural Shine Protectant on the external trim and interior...it's pretty amazing, smells great, and even got all the nasty sticky stuff that the armor all wipes left on the dashboard/etc off, all while leaving a mild shine and no residue. It even took most of the scuff marks that someone left on the dashboard while tying his shoe.I'm almost out of the shine protectant, though, so I got a bottle of Ultimate Protectant. It doesn't smell as good and you have to shake the bottle more for it to apply without streaking, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it handles water.Really wish I could get the ***ing grass out of my carpet, though! ARGH!

I've been a little lax the several weeks...I have so many bugs on the front, I began the cleaning process last night. I had to soak the front with bug&tar remover just to make it a little easier. My carpet is filthy...has anyone ever removed it to clean it?

acvw74 wrote:My carpet is filthy...has anyone ever removed it to clean it?

It would be easier and less time consuming to remove the seats instead of the carpet.

Unfortunately I tried that...the previous owner wasn't very careful and the little spot cleaner is struggleing to get everything out of all the nooks and crannies.