How often do you go for a car wash? Most car owners don’t wash their car nearly as much as they should. If you want to keep your car’s condition as close to perfect as possible, we suggest doing it once every other week.  It may sound unnecessary, especially during winter weather when it seems like your car is just going to get dirty again the next day, but it is vital. The best way you can get your car clean is at a professional carwash. If you’re not convinced just yet, we have highlighted the top 4 reasons why you should go to a professional car wash rather than wash it yourself!

Road Salt

Speaking of things damaging your car’s exterior, let’s talk about your car’s worst enemy: road salt. Road salt will cause more damage to your car than any other outside element, and if you’re living here in New England, it’s impossible to avoid. Take one look at the cars you drive by every day during the winter, chances are a lot of them are covered in that wintery white dust. Not only can road salt damage your paint and exterior, but it can also cause significant damage to your vehicle’s undercarriage. The only way to truly keep your car safe from road salt is to go to a professional car wash. A professional car wash reaches all the places underneath your car that you’ve never even thought about cleaning!

Prevent Permanent Damage & Preserve Value

Washing Your car by hand can be a lot riskier than you think. Using the wrong kind of soap or sponge can cause a lot of damage. Many people think that using household dish soap to wash your car is okay, but that is not true. Using any kind of soap that is not specifically made for cars can strip the clear coat from your car and cause permanent damage. The same thing goes for the brush or sponge you use. Using one that’s too rough can create thousands of tiny scratches on your car’s exterior which will only get worse and worse as time goes on. Once the washing is done, many people don’t realize that they then have to dry their car. Leaving water on your car’s surface that is full of the chemicals and minerals you used to wash it can create water spots, and let’s face it, the last thing you want to do when you’ve just finished cleaning your car is to go through the trouble of wiping every inch of it dry. At a car wash your car is blasted with our very powerful blow dryers that will dry your car better than any rag ever will! Professional car washes are made to avoid all of these problems and keep your car sparkly-clean and damage free.

Better for the Environment

When it comes to washing your car yourself or bringing it to a car wash, bringing it to a car wash it much better for the environment. Unlike driveway washing, professional carwashes have proper draining systems to keep harmful chemicals and dirty water from disrupting nature and have calculated the exact amount of water and soap that is needed to wash a car to minimize waste. Some car washes even recycle their water!

Save Money

Some people believe that things are cheaper when you do it yourself, but when it comes to washing your car that’s false! Instead of spending money on the right kind of soap, sponges’ brushes and rags, and the extra expense on your water bill, when you go to a car wash you are just charged one flat rate, and we promise you will get more bang for your buck. And, you can save even more by purchasing a wash book from us!

Going to a professional car wash saves you time, money, and is safer for your car… what more could you ask for?! So, the next time your thinking about dedicating half a day to wash your car yourself, just remember these few things and come pay a visit to us!

Compared to rust, tree sap, tar and other chemicals that contaminate your car’s paint, water spots may seem like no big deal, but in fact, they are just as harmful, if not more. You may not realize it, but water is full of contaminants, pollutants, and debris that can very easily damage your vehicle. We’re going to go over how water spots are caused, how you can prevent them, and how you can get rid of existing ones!

Types & Causes

In simple terms, a water spot occurs when contaminants in a droplet of water dry on your car’s surface, there are a few different types depending on what was in the water and how it dried. Here are the three different types of water spots:

Hard Water Spot:  These are the most common types of water spots and are sometimes known as “hard water spots.” Hard water spots are mineral or dirt deposits that lay on the surface of your car’s paint. They can occur when tap water, that is very rich in natural minerals, sits on your car’s surface for long periods of time. This happens when you wash your car with a hose and do not completely dry it off after, or when your parked car is being sprayed repeatedly by a nearby sprinkler system. When he drops dry, they turn into a dry-chalky substance that is difficult to remove.

Bonded Mineral: Bonded Mineral water spots are a little more severe than hard water spots. Bonded mineral water spots are caused by water droplets that have a higher concentration of minerals, which make them more difficult to remove. The minerals bond to the surface of the car and can sometimes even corrode to the clear coat of your car’s paint. Some can even leave small stains or make your car’s paint look dull even after removal. Bonded Mineral water spots are most commonly caused by acid rain with high amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids.

Etching: Etching water spots occur when water droplets dry onto your car from being heated by the sun. They are essentially “baked” onto your car’s surface. Etching water spots are the most difficult water spots to get rid of, and if handled the wrong way can cause major permanent damage to your car.

How can I get rid of water spots?

The difficulty of removing water spots ranges a lot.  Sometimes all you need is to run your car through a good carwash. We really want to stress the fact that you should go to a professional carwash instead of trying to wash them off yourself because washing your car on your own could be the reason you got them in the first place! Our professional carwashes have powerful blow dryers that will dry your car off better than anything else. And then, if you get out of the car wash and realize the spots are still there just ask one of our professional detailers! They’ll be able to tell you exactly what kind of water spots they are and how we can get rid of them.

Seeking out professional help is always the best answer when taking care of your vehicle. For the most stubborn water spots, water sanding may be necessary, and as we mentioned before, trying to do this yourself or finding some online hack to get rid of the spots could cause irreversible damage to your car.

How can I prevent water spots in the future?

The absolute best way you can protect your car from water spots is with a wax. A wax coating acts like a barrier that protects your car from all outside elements and contaminants. Here at Pro-Wash our clay bar treatment is our most bulletproof waxing service. The clay bar will thoroughly clean your car surface of any existing contaminants and then will continue to protect it from any new contaminants latching on in the future. No matter what touches your car’s surface, your paint will remain in clean, perfect condition underneath the wax layer.

If you have stubborn water spots on your car, come on in and let us take care of them. Or if you just want to give your car a little extra protection, come in and get a clay wax! This time of year is the perfect time to get one right before the harsh winter weather gets here! Call us at 603-964-7291 or schedule an appointment with us online!

Us New Englanders know how harsh winter can be and it’s equally harsh on our cars. From slippery roads to frozen windows, operating your car in the winter can be a hassle. However, there are a few precautions you can take to winterize your car and make sure you end the season with the same shiny, clean car you started with! Preparing your car for winter will protect it from any unnecessary damage and hopefully make this winter a little more bearable!

Protect Your Interior

Your car seats and interior also take a hard hit in the winter. When you get into your car, wet with snow and sleet, your car seat fabric is bound to get water stains. Even worse, if there’s moisture in your interior when cold weather hits it can freeze and begin to crack the material. You may be thinking “Well that’s why I got leather seats! Everything wipes right off!” But in fact, leather can suffer some serious damage in the winter as well. To keep your seats protected you need to get your interior treated by a professional before winter. We use products that will completely waterproof your seats, kill bacteria and protect from stains and cracking!

Keep Your Carpets Clean

Most people think their car floors and carpets become a lost cause in the winter.  With all the snow and salt being tracked in and out all day there’s no way you can protect your carpets, right? Wrong. Floor mats are an amazing investment that will keep your floors protected from all outside elements. Liquid, debris, salt, dirt you name it, when you remove those mats at the end of the winter you will still have your beautiful, stain-free carpets underneath! They’re amazing for the winter, but if you wish, you can keep them in year-round! Affordable protection and an incredibly easy clean up, what more could you ask for!

Wax On

So, we’ve gone over all the different ways your car’s interior can get damaged, let’s go over what can happen to your car’s exterior in the winter. Protecting the outside of your vehicle may be the most important step you can take to winterize your car. Things like road salt, water spots, and brake dust can cling onto your car’s surface and become almost impossible to get rid of. The harsh outdoor elements can even dull your paint job! The only way to keep your vehicle’s exterior protected this winter is with a clay bar treatment. A clay bar treatment is a fairly simple process that provides ultimate protection. During the wax treatment, an auto professional will glide a clay bar all over your car’s paint surface to create a protective clear coat, while also removing any existing contaminants. We recommend getting a clay bar treatment twice a year. Once in the late fall to prepare for winter, and once in the spring to get all winter debris and contaminants off.

Regular Maintenance

For some reason, people generally feel like they don’t have to get their car washed in the winter as much as they do during other seasons. It may be because they think it’s just going to get dirty again anyway, or maybe driving around a sparkly clean car is just more appealing when it’s warm out. But the truth is you should continue to get your car washed regularly year-round, no matter how snowy it gets! You may think washing your car in the winter is pointless because it’s just going to get covered in that white wintery dust again pretty quickly, but regular washes do make a huge difference. Your car is exposed to just as many, if not more harmful elements in the winter than any other season. You should continue your regular car washes hopefully twice, or at the very least once a month throughout the entire winter.

If you take the time to properly winterize your car, you can be sure that it will last you for many winters to come. Act now and book your appointment with us today, because we all know how fast winter can creep up on us, it will be here before you know it! Give us a call at (603) 964-7291 or request a detail online!

Do you know what it’s like to drive with foggy headlights? They make it much harder to see in low-visibility conditions. They are also a risk to other motorists who are in the oncoming lane. Functioning headlights are a requirement for an inspection sticker in all states and have to pass a brightness test as well. Do you think your lights will pass? If not, it may be time to clear the fog from them with one of the remedies in this post.

What causes foggy headlights?

Before 1990 or so, most headlights were made of glass. The worst they were prone to were scratches. However, glass headlights were much easier to break. Manufacturers switched to polycarbonate plastic headlights because they were more durable and cheaper to make and replace. Unfortunately, the plastic lenses also degrade over time. They turn yellow and cloudy, restricting the light that they reflect.

How does the cure work?

The substances that we talk about below are all abrasive compounds. When you add the paste to a headlight with light pressure, the cloudiness is buffed out of the headlight. The same concept is used when you have cloudy paint on your car. Your detailer will use a buffer and a special compound to buff the paint until the cloudiness fades. However, an exterior buff will be followed with a wax. There is no need to wax your headlights.

How can I get rid of my foggy headlights?

As we mentioned before, the process is very simple and requires only a few tools. You’ll need the following before you begin:

• Rags
• A soft brush
• An abrasive compound, such as toothpaste, baking soda (mixed with water to make a paste), or a headlight restoration kit
• Water for rinsing

1. Wash your foggy headlights with soap and water to make sure any remaining grit is off. You risk scratching your headlights if there’s grit on them.
2. Put a generous amount of compound on your headlights. The amount will vary based on the size of your headlights, but use enough to coat your headlight. If you’re using baking soda, mix it with water to make a paste first.
3. Using the soft brush, work the compound into the surface of your headlight in a smooth, circular motion for about 3 minutes.
4. Wipe the compound from your headlights and rinse with water.

If this process doesn’t work, you may need to bring your car to a professional detailer for a more abrasive compound and buffing rather than using a soft brush.

Having fully functional headlights is very important. Foggy headlights reduce the amount of light directed in front of you and make it harder for oncoming traffic to judge your distance. Not sure you want to do the process yourself? Contact us today for a professional headlight restoration!