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Halfords Jumbo Car Wash Sponge
by trayrope
Washing the car is a necessary evil and something I like to get finished as fast as possible. Therefore I decided I needed a nice big sponge to clean the car with as this would cover a larger surface area. The Halfords Jumbo Sponges measure roughly 8 inches long by 3 inches wide and has a 2 inch thickness and is bright yellow and made of ... sponge. They come in clear plastic packaging.
I paid £1.49 for my sponge; similar sponges can be brought elsewhere for considerably less.
The sponge feels nice and soft and fits easily into a normal size bucket, when agitated and squeezed in a bucket of soapy water it will soon increase the amount of foam. To use the sponge is simplicity itself, dunk it in a bucket of soap water and then lift out and wash car.
The sponge glides over the surface of the car easily and removes any loose dirt. To remove more stubborn marks just scrunch the sponge up a little and exert a little more pressure when rubbing, the stubborn mark will soon be removed. When wet the sponge is quite malleable and can be squeezed into nooks and crannies like the wheel trims and around the door mirrors and the front grill.
The sponge and I do a good job and in all honesty it is no different to the cheaper sponges available out there. It lasts roughly six months, washing the car every week, before it starts to show signs of wear. When the sponge starts to tear, get discoloured and have little lumps missing from it I replace mine.
After using the sponge it is best to rinse the soap out of it and squeeze it dry, this will prolong the life of the sponge.
In conclusion there are other cheaper sponges out there that will do the job just as well.
Thank you for reading.
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Autoglym Clean Wheels
by boredindunoon
Autoglym "Clean Wheels" is a car cleaning chemical that contains a "balanced blend of acidic cleaners, non ionic surfactant and metal attack inhibitor" that is developed to strip off all kinds of dirt and debris from alloy, painted, chrome, and plastic wheels - leaving them sparkling clean.
As a stand alone ... cleaner it works well and makes cleaning a difficult part of your car quite a bit easier. For best results you should combine it will a decent wheel brush to remove stubborn dirt. It is best practice to clean your wheels before the body (in my experience they tend to be the most dirt prone part), however there is no denying that just after a single use of Clean Wheels, things were a lot shiner and cleaner than before hand. It also beats soapy water hands down, which is what I've used a number of times in the past.
It can not be used on anodized or non industry standard wheel surfaces (as it can damage the finish) and both care and attention should be giving to the instructions before hands and when using the chemical. Other than that it is a very easy product to use, simply spray on, leave for a short period of time, then clean off. The nozzle can be difficult to turn to the "on" and "off" places due to being very stiff but this is a minor consern.
I have tried other wheel cleaning chemicals in the past other than hot soapy water, some of the more expensive chemicals are better at striping down dirt (however they tend to be rather more expensive and therefore not that cost effective.) On the otherhand "Clean Wheels" is miles better than the budget cleaners you get from the likes of the pound shop.
"Clean Wheels" comes in 500ml, 750ml and 1000ml bottles with the medium size bottle usually offering best value (normally found at around £8.00 to £10.00).
This is a cleaning chemical that makes the job of cleaning your car easier and the bottle lasts for a long time. There's nothing really to fault here and its wheel worth considering.
(I'm a reviewer on Amazon, and some my reviews are copied from there to dooyoo. Please feel free to check out my Amazon profile under my real name of Mr Andrew M Kerr.)
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U-Care Alloy Wheel Brush
by northernlovely
I was putting together a set of car things as a car care hamper for a Christmas gift for my husband when I found the U-Care Alloy Wheel Brush on eBay. I had never heard of an alloy brush before but apparently for the consciencious about car care they're very handy for keeping your alloys mud free and sparkly clean.
My ... husband really likes to spend a Sunday afternoon cleaning and polishing the car and though it's been through the car wash many times he much prefers the personal touch as he's convinced that car washes scratch the paint over time. Also he says the wheels are never as clean at the car wash, hence the U-Care Alloy Wheel Brush. Basically it's a palm sized brush with a handle which is used to really get into the nuts and bolts of the alloys, generally favoured by sportier car enthusiasts like hubby.
You don't need to use any special treatments with the U-Care Alloy Wheel Brush, hubby just uses the same water / shampoo combi he cleans the car with, but you can buy special alloy cleaning sprays should you wish, he thinks they're a bit of a waste of money, but then again not everyone gets down on the driveway to clean their alloys ;) for general cleaning then I'd say use the brush and whatever cleaner is to hand.
The dirt comes right off using the U-Care Alloy Wheel Brush, even the dried on, tarry, dusty dirt which usually makes alloys look dull. You can really get them clean using the U-Care Alloy Wheel Brush, of course you don't have to have a special brush for most of the dirt but the U-Care Alloy Wheel Brush is perfectly sized for the job and you can get right between the 'spokes' and into the wheel for a real deep clean. It can take an hour to clean four alloys so it's certainly a labour of love, but it's something you only need to use every four to six months so it's not too bad, and you can make a nice relaxing afternoon of it (so I'm told!). Obviously, using the U-Care Alloy Wheel Brush and cleaning by hand gets the alloys far far cleaner than any car wash ever could and even I have to admit they look brand new after a good clean.
Overall then I will give the U-Care Alloy Wheel Brush four out of five; they're not essential kit for a car owner, even one who cleans his or her own car. They are more one for enthusiasts who want to really care for their car, and it's a great little brush for cleaning any alloys which need it without too much bother and without causing any damage. I paid £4 for the U-Care Alloy Wheel Brush which I think is fairly good for a specialist piece of car maintainance kit and my husband uses it years on, so it's certainly built to last. You can now pick them up for around £2 - £3 which is even better!
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