Can I use dish soap to wash my car?
Dish soap's pH is too high for use on cars
Dish soap contains aggressive degreasers designed to help breakdown proteins an grease in foods. They also have a higher pH – usually 8.5 to 9.5. Because of this, the use of dish soap can cause scratching and eventually eat away at coated surfaces, including your vehicle’s paint.
Dish soap is hard to rinse off of vehicles
Dish washing soap is designed to stick to surfaces, which makes it hard to wash off. It’s even harder to get dish soap off your car.
The reason for this is due to surfactants, or “surface acting agents.” Surface tension is what makes molecules cling together while rejecting other types of molecules. If you've ever seen water droplets form beads on glass, that's an example of surface tension. The water droplets cling together rather than spread out. Stronger surfactants -- like those in dish soap -- are more resistant to water, which makes them harder to remove from the surface. When you rinse dish soap from your car, you'll often seen streaks, which is the result of dried soap. Left on your car, it will eat away at the protective coating and eventually the paint.When dish soap mixes with the calcium in hard water, it creates a sludge-like goopy soap scum that eats away at the coating.
Dish Soap Strips Wax
Dish soap will strip wax, so it should not be used for maintenance cleaning. If you use dish soap, you'll need to wax afterward.
Why You Should Use a Professional Carwash Soap
When it comes to washing your car or truck, you want to use soaps that are designed with vehicles in mind. Here are our recommendations:
ProTool Washup
A high foaming, concentrated liquid hand car wash formulation containing environmentally-friendly, foam-stable detergents, wetting agents, and chelates. Washup quickly removes dirt, grease, and road grime from cars, vans, buses, trucks, RVs, and other vehicles. It's non-streaking and free rinsing.
This product can be applied by hand or spray. We recommend using it with the ProTool Wash Sprayer and Rinse and Go for excellent results.
ProTool Power Up
A highly active, concentrated water-based engine cleaner. This product provides a long lasting emulsion which is effective for deep penetration and removal of dirt, grease and grime on engines. Great for engine cleaning and maintenance. Power Up your Engine and keep it in excellent condition.
QUICK OVERVIEW
- High Active Powerful Engine Cleaner
- Quickly Removes Grease and Cuts through Grime
- High Foaming
- Easy Rinse
- Concentrate
ProTool Shine Up
A concentrated, high foaming liquid car wash and shine formula containing special water repelling polymers. This product quickly removes dirt, grease and road grime from cars, vans, buses, trucks, RV’s, etc., leaving behind a water repellent high gloss shine. It is non-streaking and free rinsing. This product can be applied by hand, or spray. We recommend using it with the ProTool Wash Sprayer and Rinse and Go for excellent results. Shine Up your car with confidence and keep it looking cleaner longer.
QUICK OVERVIEW
- Protect and seal your car while you wash
- Repels Dirt and Water
- High Foaming
- Easy Rinse
- Concentrate
