Car vacuum cleaners come in many designs and forms, the most common of which is the handheld car vacuum. Top 15 Best Car Vacuum Cleaners in 2018 cleaner.
Car vacuum cleaners come in many designs and forms, the most common of which is the handheld car vacuum. Top 15 Best Car Vacuum Cleaners in 2018 cleaner.
While a drive-through car wash is typically faster than car detailing, it may leave scratches and swirls in your clear paint, diminishing the finish.
Short on Time – Here’s a Quick Summary
Generally speaking, car detailing is considered much better than a drive-through car wash, as it offers more attention to detail and inclusions that are not included in a car wash. However, you can always go for a drive-through car wash if you are in a rush and want a quick car wash.
What is Car Detailing?
Car detailing is the art of cleaning and restoring your vehicle to its new-like condition. It is much more precise and labor-intensive than getting a regular car wash. Car detailing is done by hand and includes interior and exterior car cleaning and detailing services.
While any individual can detail a car by cleaning the interior and exterior, a professional car detailer uses the right techniques and quality products to ensure high-quality detailing.
Car vacuum cleaners come in many designs and forms, the most common of which is the handheld car vacuum. Top 15 Best Car Vacuum Cleaners in 2018 cleaner.
Car vacuum cleaners come in many designs and forms, the most common of which is the handheld car vacuum. Top 15 Best Car Vacuum Cleaners in 2018 cleaner.
Here are common car detailing services included in auto detailing.
Exterior Car Cleaning
- Exterior wash and dry: The first step toward car detailing is washing your car’s exterior thoroughly using the right materials and equipment and then drying it.
- Paint claying: Applying a car bar removes any contaminants or residue left after washing the car.
- Polishing: The car detailer polishes the car to remove small coat layers from the paint.
- Sealing or waxing: After that, a protective layer of car waxing is added to the exterior to provide extra shine and seal the exterior.
Interior Car Cleaning
- Vacuuming: For interior detailing, the whole interior is vacuumed to remove any trash or small particles inside the car.
- Scrubbing and brushing: After that, scrubbing and soft brushing techniques are used to remove tough stains from car seats, mats, or floors.
- Steam cleaning: Using this method to clean the remaining tough stains effectively.
- Glass cleaning: Cleaning the windows and mirrors with effective and gentle glass cleaners.
- Leather cleaning: Using leather cleaner to clean leather parts of the car, for instance, leather seats.
- Perfuming the car: Spraying a deodorant in the car to make it smell like new and fresh.
What is Drive Through Car Wash?
Drive-through car wash is an automatic car wash, typically faster than a regular car wash, where you drive to an automatic car wash station to clean your car’s exterior. The vehicle has to pass through a tunnel to get cleaned.
Car vacuum cleaners come in many designs and forms, the most common of which is the handheld car vacuum. Top 15 Best Car Vacuum Cleaners in 2018 cleaner.
Car vacuum cleaners come in many designs and forms, the most common of which is the handheld car vacuum. Top 15 Best Car Vacuum Cleaners in 2018 cleaner.
Drive-through car wash is considered faster than a regular car wash. However, it can damage your exterior if used more than often.
Consider drive-through car washes when there is no other option available, or you’re in a rush. Otherwise, make hand-wash car washing your priority.
A typical drive-through consists of the following steps.
- Locate a drive-through car wash near you: Nowadays, it’s relatively easy to find an automatic car wash. You can easily find it at your nearby petrol station.
- Work out the payment method: Most drive-throughs will process the payments before you enter the car wash. Do the payment and exit without waiting for payments after the wash.
- Enter the car wash: Enter the car wash while ensuring all the doors are locked, and windows are fully closed and locked.
- Drive-through while your car gets cleaned: Drive-throughs usually have indicators to guide you through your way.
- Exit the car wash: Exit the car wash, and you’re ready to go.
What is the Difference Between Car Detailing and Drive Through Car Wash?
Now that you have understood what car detailing and drive-through car washing is, let’s discuss the main differences between both techniques.
The table below summarizes the differences between car detailing and a drive-through car wash.
| Car Detailing | Drive Through Car Wash |
|---|
| A time-consuming process, as professionals have deep to clean the car from the inside and the outside. | Quick and convenient process, Soft touch detailing process, Touchless cleaning process |
| Won’t ruin car paint; professionals ensure extra care while detailing | It may ruin car paint if used more often, Expensive compared to a drive-through car wash, Less expensive than car detailing |
Car Detailing Vs. Drive Through Car Wash
Here, we will compare car detailing and drive-through car washing concerning different features and aspects.
Quick & Convenient
Regarding speed and convenience, driving through the car wash is your way to go. Since the process is not time-consuming and is convenient enough, drivers may prefer this process over time-consuming car detailing.
On the other hand, car detailing could be quicker and more convenient and may take an entire day. It is a step-by-step process where professionals clean the exterior and interior of the car.
Precision Cleaning
Due to the level of involvement of the detailer and the cleaning solutions they use, car detailing is considered more precise than drive-through car washing. Therefore, detailing professionals undergo a thorough process to detail your car effectively.
Whereas drive-through car washing needs to be more precise. It may not clean tough stains on your car exterior. While the process is quick and convenient, more is needed for precision cleaning.
No Touch or Soft Touch?
Your preference would be the deciding factor for automatic or soft touch cleaning. However, automatic washing is a little riskier compared to soft-touch cleaning. In automatic car washes, heavy machinery and high-pressure water is used to clean the car. If used more than often, the high-pressure water and heavy equipment can significantly damage your car’s exterior.
On the other hand, Car detailers use a soft touch, lightweight equipment, and milder, high-quality products, which will not only clean your car but also ensure your car interior and exterior remains in their best condition.
Extra Care
Car detailers know their job. They ensure extra care while detailing your car, using a soft touch and mild products, whereas no care is taken in a drive-through car wash since machinery cleans your vehicle, not human beings.
Price
Car detailing is more expensive than automatic car wash since it deep cleans your car from the inside and outside while maintaining its natural shine. However, drive-through car washing is inexpensive, as it doesn’t detail your car’s interior and exterior and is used only as a quick alternative to a car wash.
Conclusion
Car detailing and drive-through car washing have several differences. While detailing is a deep cleaning process done to deep clean the car from the inside and the outside, an automatic car wash is just a car wash done without any human interference. Also, the car detailing cost varies from that of an automatic car wash and is more expensive. However, car detailing is better for your car than an automatic car wash, as car detailing professionals use appropriate techniques and equipment to clean your car.
Since car detailing is usually done infrequently, drivers are left with a car wash. Nevertheless, we recommend drivers opt for a hand wash rather than an automatic car wash, as a regular car wash is better than a drive-through car washing.
FAQs
Car wash is different from car detailing. You only wash your car’s exterior to remove dirt and debris in a car wash. While in car detailing, a deep cleaning is done of your car’s interior and exterior.
Detailing isn’t just cleaning. However, cleaning is a part of car detailing. In a car detailing process, professionals deep clean your car from the inside and the outside while ensuring proper care is done throughout the process.
The best possible car wash option is hand washing a car. It is the least abrasive wash you can give your car without worrying about sacrificing its thoroughness. However, different people have other preferences. You may decide what suits you best.
Car detailing is something you can’t do every other week. But, of course, your vehicle will get better in a week or two once you have undergone car detailing. Most experts recommend detailing your car once every four or six months.
Talking about hand washes, they will only run your car paint if done appropriately and with the use of hard brushes or cleaning scrubs. However, regular automatic car washing may ruin your car’s paint. Since automatic car wash uses heavy machinery and high-pressure water to clean your car, it may damage your paint over time.
