The type of convenience offered by an automatic car wash is ever so tempting if you have a busy schedule. You need to keep your car clean, perhaps for business reasons; but is it really necessary to invest time and money in detail shops and use top notch services such as car steam cleaning? If you truly value the investment you’re putting into your automobile, the answer is yes. Detail shops are more than a luxury.

Difference Between Car Wash and Car Detailing

If you’ve ever spoken to an auto detailer, you may have an idea about how much of a science car care can be. The differences between expert detailing and a quick wash are remarkable, comparable to treating your vehicle like a show horse as opposed to an old work mule.

Remember when your favorite car or truck was brand new, fresh off the showroom floor? The smell and feel of the car made driving an absolute thrill. Everything about the car was free from smudge, dirt, sweat, and grime.

Car steam cleaning services, along with all of the work performed at detail shops, restore your automobile to the pristine state which inspired you to make the investment in the first place. Quick washes won’t do that for the inside or the outside of your car.

The Exterior

The paint on your automobile has far greater potential to look amazing than you can ever discover by driving through an automatic car wash. Even if foamy soaps and layers of wax are sprayed on the car, there’s no way to achieve the quality of shine accomplished by detail shops. Of course, there’s even the possibility that some car washes will scratch the paint and leave unsightly swirl marks.

Detail shops, on the other hand, use top-of-the-line products to carefully remove the pollutants which build up on cars every day. Especially if you live in the city, industrial deposits and other invisible contaminants attach themselves to your vehicle every time you pull out of your garage. To truly clean the exterior, those invisible layers need to be removed, without scratching the paint.

Did you ever get your car washed at an automatic car wash and then run your hand over the paint afterwards? If you did, you no doubt felt something like sandpaper, as opposed to a smooth finish. That’s because pollutants, which slowly damage the paint, are still on your freshly washed car.

These days, car finishes have a UV-resistant clear coat which protects the main layer of paint, but this layer must be protected not only from pollutants but also from acid rain, bird droppings, tree sap, and dead bugs.

What you don’t want to do is get busy cleaning your car yourself with products that aren’t specifically designed for car care. If you use a cleaner for your kitchen on your car, you’ll do more damage than good. It’s essential to use the right materials on the exterior as well as the interior of your car. It’s best to leave it to professional detail shops.

The paint needs attention, but what about your headlights? A film of haze builds up on lights that don’t get proper attention. Not only do filmy car lights look bad, they can also be dangerous, since your visibility is affected. There are special polishing tools for headlights and each exterior component of your car.

Your car’s undercarriage needs careful attention, too, if you want to prolong the life and value of your investment.

Some cleaners specially made for tires can actually cause damage. Another reason to frequent detail shops is to make sure that all of the exterior details of your car are cleaned with the safest and most effective products.

The Interior

Have you ever thought about the fact that you clean your clothes after every use but the fabric in your car is rarely, if ever, cleaned? Imagine the buildup of sweat and the smell of French fries and the stain of spilled soda which can affect the seats. Car steam cleaning is an excellent method for restoring your car’s interior.

The leather and vinyl surfaces in your vehicle need to be carefully and regularly treated with UV protection and appropriate cleaners.

Besides simply vacuuming your car, detail shops apply shampoo so that your carpets are truly clean and free from dirt and stains.

The Ultimate Payoff

If you utilize detail shops and specialized services such as car steam cleaning, your car becomes more than a source of pride and constant pleasure. When you decide to sell it in order to get a new vehicle, you’ll receive thousands of more dollars than if you had simply run it through an automatic car wash every couple of weeks.