Category: Automatic Car Wash

Regularly Taking Your Vehicle Through the Car Wash?

9/3/2025

do this instead to preserve its life.

While other car washes pose risks that can damage your car over time, professional detailing is the safest and most effective way to restore and preserve the original condition of your vehicle. Here's why we don't recommend drive-through car washes.

The Risks and Cons of Various Kinds of Car Washes
Outside of professional detailing, car washes can do more harm than good to your vehicle. Each time you go, you could be adding more damage, damage you may not even be aware of yet. Let’s examine the risks associated with drive-thru, touchless, soft-touch, and self-serve car washes.

Drive-Thru Car Washes

Automatic car washes use recycled water, dirty bristles, and harsh mechanics that cause abrasive substances to be sprayed at your vehicle. You can’t always see the microabrasions the car wash adds to your vehicle, but you can see paint scratches or dents in the protective clear coat. Without a clear coat, your paint can eventually chip, crack, and corrode.
If your car is misaligned on the conveyor belts, they can pull your tires and steering out of alignment. Furthermore, if the conveyor belts themselves are misaligned or moving at slightly different speeds, conflict will likely occur.
If your car is off-center or your mirrors are loose, you may lose your mirrors!
Drive-thru car washes often fail to dry your vehicle correctly, which can result in hard water stains all over its surface. That’s because when water evaporates quickly from your car, it leaves calcium and magnesium carbonates behind. Furthermore, the recycled water, mixed with dirt and salt from other vehicles, can be corrosive and cause permanent damage if you don’t immediately remove water stains.
Automatic car washes pose a risk to almost any exterior surface, including the windshield wipers, tire pressure sensors, valve stems, and antennas.
Some conveyor belts function by grabbing your tires and guiding them forward. This process can create a metal-on-metal connection, which could quickly cause rim damage to those without rim guards.
Even though it’s an essential step, automatic car washes don’t clean the interior.
Dirty bristles and recycled water only make your car dirtier. To make matters worse, the areas that need the most care, which happen to be the hardest areas to reach, don’t get touched in a drive-thru car wash.

Touchless Car Washes

The chemical cleaners involved in a touchless car wash are generally very harsh to make up for the lack of abrasion.
Just like a standard automatic car wash, a touchless car wash may not properly dry your vehicle, which could result in water stains.
A touchless car wash may not be able to thoroughly remove tough dirt, grease, and inorganic contaminants.
The touchless car wash may not reach cracks, crevices, and hard-to-reach areas.
The harsher chemicals may damage some paint finishes.

Soft-touch Car Washes

Soft-touch car washes may apply cloth strips still too forcefully, which can cause damage to mirrors, antennas, molding, and loose parts. Furthermore, the cloth strips may scratch dirt and debris into the vehicle’s surface.
If the cloth strips don’t receive diligent maintenance, they won’t be able to clean properly, but they can cause damage.

Self-Serve Car Washes

People share communal brushes in self-serve car washes, and when the brushes are dirty, they rub dirt, rocks, and debris into the paint, leaving minor scratches and swirl marks. These scratches build up on the paint over time, causing a dull and blurry appearance. Eventually, you may need to make expensive repairs.
The constant friction from the brushes could wear down your clear coat, eventually leading to it failing.

13 Ways Detailing Is the Safest Way to Care for Your Car
Unlike the car wash, professional detailing cleans EVERY part of the car. It’s the best investment for retaining the lifespan and fresh appearance of your vehicle. It’s a lot safer, too!

Daily exposure to dirt, pollution, and UV rays can dull your car’s paintwork over time. Fortunately, detailers thoroughly remove surface contaminants, polish minor imperfections, and apply ceramic coating or wax to the original look of your car. They restore the paint and leave a mirror-like finish.
The car wash often overlooks door jambs, emblems, and under the hood. Detailers use precision tools to clean and polish these areas as well as every other nook and cranny.
There’s no way around constantly exposing your vehicle’s paint to potential damage. So, it’s a good thing that detailing restores and preserves the paint finish!
Your car’s paint is under constant attack from acid rain, bird droppings, and harsh UV rays. Detailers usually apply wax or ceramic coating as a protective barrier that resists harmful elements, prevents oxidation, fading, and staining.
As previously mentioned, improper washing techniques, dirty, and low-quality brushes can leave scratches and swirl marks. Professional detailers utilize the proper tools and methods to prevent damage caused by improper washing. Furthermore, they may apply a protective coat that prevents further damage.
Outside of aesthetics, detailing services include odor elimination, fabric protection, and engine bay cleaning. These services can make your car stand out to buyers against similar listings. The immediate impression of a shiny exterior and spotless interior attracts buyers.
Interior detailing treats the wear on fabrics, leather, and plastic to keep them in fantastic condition and prevent premature deterioration.
Detailers can usually identify issues, such as chips, scratches, and fading paint, that could lead to larger problems down the line. Addressing these problems as early as possible saves you money and effort while maintaining your vehicle’s overall integrity.
Detailing improves interior air quality. Thorough detailing cleanses the dust, pollen, and bacteria that accumulate in your upholstery, carpets, and vents. This process removes allergens that can cause respiratory issues, especially in individuals with sensitive reactions.
Habitually detailing is an investment in the lifespan of your vehicle, preserving its materials and components.
A clean, fresh interior enhances your driving experience. Detailers use specialized cleaning products to remove odor from food spills, pet hair, and smoke.
Detailing considerably improves driving safety. Dirty windows and headlights can decrease visibility, especially at night and during adverse weather. To improve safety on the road, detailers thoroughly clean and polish the glass surface and lighting components. Proper tire maintenance prevents skidding and loss of control, which may cause accidents. Detailers clean and dress the tires, enhancing their appearance and improving grip and performance.
Detailing isn’t just a luxury; it’s a cost-effective way to maintain your car’s condition. Addressing scratches and contaminants early prevents them from worsening into costly repairs. For example, minor rust spots should be treated now instead of later, as rust can damage your car over time, potentially requiring expensive bodywork. Furthermore, detailing retains the vehicle’s original look, reducing the need for paint restoration or interior refurbishment, which is especially convenient for classic or sentimental cars.

Don’t want to pay for detailing every month? Here’s the hack. Get a 3-year ceramic coating and wash your car with a hose or self-serve car wash bay power washer, the water and dirt will bead off. Then get an exterior detail as a maintenance wash every few months.

So, make detailing your car a habit, and start now. If you live in West Michigan, contact Garza Detailing at 616-836-7465 or fill out our form. Invest in the life and look of your automobile, and stay a proud owner for a long time!

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What They Don't Tell You About the Car Wash

11/9/2023

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It's the time of year when the masses frequently drive through the car wash to get the road salt and grime off their vehicles. Unfortunately, there is an ugly truth to car washes. It's more effective to detail your vehicle and apply ceramic coating.

Ineffective Protection
When you drive through a car wash or use a public vacuum, you put your car at risk of all kinds of injuries and risk exposing yourself to several contaminants that can make you sick.

Think about the bristles that touch car after car. Covered in residue from the previous cars, sometimes they only make your vehicle dirtier. Who wants to pay for an ineffective service?

Furthermore, the bristles, water, and detergents rub the surfaces of your car. They will strip your wax away over time and create microabrasions. If the wax is new, the cleaning materials can go right through it and damage your paint.

When water quickly evaporates from your car, it leaves behind hard water stains, which are calcium and magnesium carbonates. They erode your clear coat and permanently damage your vehicle.

You're better off with a detail because hand washing incorporates detergents with higher quality than those of car washes. Furthermore, at Garza Detailing, we have invested in a deionized water system. A deionized water system is an arrangement of DI tanks and other components that are used to produce high-purity water, which means no water spots!

deionized water system at Garza Detailing

Damage, Oxidation, and Contamination
Drive-through car washes threaten all exterior surfaces on your car. They can misalign your steering system, rip off your mirrors, and crack your windshield.

Sometimes, water and aerosols can contaminate you and your car with legionella bacteria. Legionella can cause fatal infections.

The drive-through car wash neglects your interior. Public vacuums aren't the solution, though. You never know when the vacuums were last cleaned, and you don't know what they've been exposed to.

Public vacuums suck up dirt, dust, allergens, vomit, mud, poop, etc. Your car's interior is a breeding ground for harmful germs and bacteria.

No Rust and No Stick
A unique feature of ceramic coating is its hydrophobic properties. Dirt, snow, road salt, and chemicals like magnesium chloride are unlikely to stick to the surface.

Microscopic imperfections like scratches would usually welcome ice to crystallize and expand damage. Luckily, ceramic coating seals the spots.

Oxidation, or rust, occurs when metal reacts with oxygen and moisture. Since water beads and rolls off the ceramic coating, you don't have to worry about your car rusting.

If you live in West Michigan, call Garza Detailing at 616-836-7465 or fill out our contact form for a quote. We can detail your interior and exterior as well as apply ceramic coating. This Winter, avoid the damaging car wash and adequately protect your vehicle.

Drive safe!

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DRIVE-THROUGH Car Washes - The Answer To Winter Roads?

12/13/2022

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How Drive-Thru Car Washes In West Michigan Damage Your Car
When snow hits the ground in West Michigan, car washes become popular due to the salt and grime buildup on cars. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize how harmful frequent drive-thru washes are. There are various ways automatic and touchless car washes can damage your vehicle; it’s much safer to go to a detailer or do it yourself.

Are Automatic Car Washes That Bad?
While they seem like a convenience for our busy lives, In the long run, drive-thru car washes will rob you of the time you saved and money. Consider that the other vehicles that had processed along the belt before you left dirt, sand, salt, and grime in their wake. The bristles that picked that up can leave scratches. The brushes harbor debris and minerals from previous vehicles, not to mention the harsh chemicals used, all eating away at the paint which protects your car. The more frequently you use an automatic carwash, the quicker that damage is happening to your vehicle! In addition, automated car washes can rip off wing mirrors and antennas!

Keep going through the car wash; you’ll be dealing with rust and paying for a complete paint job earlier than expected.

Is A Touchless Car Wash Really Worth It?
Touch-free car washes may be “better” than automated ones, but they still aren’t the safest option. Even though no bristles or brushes are involved, excessive water pressure moves dirt, debris, and salt around at such a speed that it still leaves scratches. That force degrades wax and ceramic coating after just a couple of drive-throughs. Also, touchless car washes use harsher chemicals to offset the lack of brushes, breaking down any protective coating. In addition, water softeners dependent on salt are also often necessary for such high-pressure spraying; this can leave water spots if not thoroughly dried—all of these components that make a touchless car wash work lessen the life of your paint job. Not to mention, this option rarely gets your car completely clean.

Protect your car, and choose Garza Detailing this Winter. It isn’t worth going through the drive-thru car wash for your paint or pockets.

Happy holidays, and safe travels!

BOOK A DETAIL or PURCHASE GIFT CERTIFICATES for the Holidays!

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Regularly Taking Your Vehicle Through the Car Wash?

do this instead to preserve its life.

What They Don't Tell You About the Car Wash

DRIVE-THROUGH Car Washes - The Answer To Winter Roads?

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