Bottom cleaning of your car – an underachieved child

February 2, 2023

Soil cleaning essential for safety and longevity

Almost all of us want our car to look neat and clean. But we often forget about the underside. Still, maintenance of the underbody is at least as important as that of the body. Soil cleaning of your car is an underrated topic, but it is also essential for the safety and longevity of your car.

Prevent rust and other damage

There are many rotating parts and hoses on the underside of your car. These are relatively fragile and nevertheless tend to be in the firing line of splashing water, stone chips and street dirt, among other things. And don’t forget the brine in the winter, either. All that junk causes damage and can lead to rust and other damage. Especially since you can’t diagnose it (in time). So it is important to regularly clean (or have cleaned) the bottom and undercarriage of your car. Soil cleaning, however, is not easily done by yourself, along the sidewalk in front of your door.

Do your own soil cleaning?

Are you willing and fit enough to literally crawl under the car and clean the bottom and parts of the undercarriage by hand? You won’t make it with a sponge and car shampoo, which is why there are various agents and brushes available to properly clean the bottom. It is quite a chore, but the big advantage is that you can see how the bottom of your car is doing. If crawling under the car is too far for you, you can also use a pressure washer to clean the bottom. But not everyone has such a pressure washer, and besides, it’s hard not to get dirty and soaked when trying to get into all the nooks and crannies of the undercarriage.

Bottom cleaning in the car wash

That’s why, of course, it’s great that car washes now offer wash programs that also allow you to have a bottom cleaning of your car. Admittedly, you will not be able to judge for yourself the condition of your car’s bottom and undercarriage. But the advantage is that you can choose to have the bottom treated directly with wax, as additional protection.

Is soil cleaning car harmful?

Since early 2021, reports have been circulating on the Internet that soil cleaning is actually harmful. Especially in older cars, bottom cleaning with a pressure washer would cause damage because high-pressure moisture would penetrate the bottom structure, thus actually causing rust in the long run. But spokesmen for BOVAG and industry association BETA dispute that.

Soil cleaning by flushing instead of high-pressure sprayer

BOVAG and BETA say that today soil cleaning is done by flushing and with “acceptable” rather than high pressure. Then it won’t hurt old cars either, and mud and brine accumulated in the wheel wells will be effectively removed without causing damage. In case your car already has weak spots due to rust, it is obviously recommended to have them repaired first.