Well, winter's here in the northeast, and my poor MINI is without any heated space in which to wash him. As I see him getting dirtier, my dilemma is this: should I just suffer through the cold season with a dirty car, or should I send him through some type of automated car wash? Not sure which would be less harmful.

 

I have the same dilemma. I am planing on just driving to the self serve powerwash and just give her a good rinse and call it good. Then cover her up and jack her up on floor jacks.

 

Floor Jack's? Who needs floor jack's, Go out and do some drifting in the snow . Last winter was the first winter I went through in my MCS and I had a blast with that car in the snow .

 

Same problem here in N.J. I use the self serve power wash and get a great wash because the size of the MINI. I them dry with Micro-fiber towels! Yes..It's cold.......but it really does not take that long.:smile:

 

For one reason or another most automatic washers are a no-no. Some, the guide rails stand too tall, others, will have a tendency to remove parts from your car!

Bundle up and hit the "quarter-wash" whenever you can to keep the crud build up off the car as much as possible.

 

And don't forget to power wash the undercarriage!

 

I use the coin wand wash places that let you dry the car. One of the gas stations I go to has a no touch brushless wash bay that I use in the winter.No brushes,under carriage wash,and no water spots.
Washing up here at - 30 can be tricky.Wipe the door sills and hatch dry,or you won't get back in later. Even after the no touch machine wash.

 

I guess I'll get bundled up! Had a mental blank on the power wand option (DOH!!), that makes me a lot more comfortable. Unfortunately, taking him out of commission for the snow-and-salt season isn't an option.

 

If you are handy, you can arrange a hose bib in your basement that you can regulate the temperature on. Then run the hose out the basement window and you can wash all you want. DO NOT USE HOT WATER, but slightly warm works well. Then dry at once!

Couple of things to note: This will not work in very cold weather (but works fine down to around 20) and, if your driveway does not drain well, the water you leave behind will freeze into a sheet of ice. Forget about drying the door sills so that you can get in, if the water freezes around your tires, you will have more of a problem !

The coin ops are your bests bet, but, for what it is worth, I just wanted to give you and alternative.

Charlie

 

Thanks, Charlie,

Unfortunately, I'm working in a dirt driveway which does a fine job icing even without adding water

Looks like the coin-op for me...

 

I just picked up some cheap boots at Home Depot -- they're in the masonry section, $14 for "wellies" and I got some rubber gloves as well. It's the coin op for me, no brushes/brushless for my bad boy.

Hopefully you've put a last coat of wax / Zaino on your car?

 

I have heard mixed advice on this over the years. It always seemed like a good idea to me, but I was advised against it when I lived in Rhode Island. The problem with spraying lots of water on the undercarrige is that it will wash off some of the salt, but not all. Also the water will tend to collect in tight little places where the salt doesn't wash off and then it will freeze. This could lead to corrosion problems that you don't want.

 

Gawd, I'm glad I'm living in California!