For example, the honeycomb pattern in the air dam of my Skoda Octavia. Also, the base of the windscreen & wiper pivots where dirt happily accumulates.
BHPian GeeTee TSI recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
We take pride in washing our cars ourselves, being very deliberate about and involved in the process. Fastidiousness while a virtue, can be challenged by some tough-to-clean spots in terms of time and effort. The reasons point to design quirks which come in the way of cleaning, probably because it comes under neither form nor function!
In case you do not wash yourself, I am sure your friendly staffer will know where such spots are.
Fresh from the task of cleaning a dirty car, some of the areas which are daunting in my Octavia.
Badges and lettering
The zeal to clean the badges with the same attention as cleaning teeth is compounded by their odd height, taking a toll on my back (or knee). Debadged options if available are a boon hence!
Base of the windscreen and the wiper pivots
I cannot even put my finger around that area where dirt happily accumulates. Given the length of the bonnet of the Octavia I cannot reach that spot from the front nor so much from the sides.
Channel beneath the rear hatch beading
Again the sheer length and rake of the rear windscreen makes that spot just unreachable.
Honeycomb pattern in the air-dam
Oh Skoda! Why did you make the intricate pattern which ideally requires attention at an individual honeycomb level?
Window frame rubber seals
Requires the micro fibre cloth to be run the length of the window line meticulously. The rear quarter glass especially is a dirt magnet along the edges.
Rear light cluster edges
While it looks cool, the lip at the bottom of the taillight cluster invites dirt and attention too.
So which parts of your car you do NOT appreciate from the mundane point of cleaning?
Here’s what GTO had to say about the matter:
Mine is spoked wheels! A nightmare to keep clean, almost impossible.
Here’s what BHPian tharian had to say about the matter:
The water gutters, if that is what it is called, under the bonnet and the boot/hatch. Dust and leaves collect here and it is a pain to remove them unless you have a blower.
Most of the time I end up hitting my fingers on some metal part while wiping.
The other more annoying part is removing rat droppings from every nook and cranny of the engine bay. Again, with a blower, it is easier, but with protection or it may be a case of s**t hitting the fan.
Here’s what BHPian KharbandaKartik had to say about the matter:
I can really relate to this thread. I wash my car myself and that happens once a week. Getting my car washed by a regular society car cleaner is a strict no for me. According to me the number 1 tip to maintain the outer shine of a car is to wash it yourself and visit a professional detailer once a year.
Like you, I am also very particular about the lettering & badges, and they’re not easy to clean, especially if you use hard water to wash. Chrome is easily damaged by hard water. The fix to this is to keep your badging & lettering nicely coated with wax/ceramic. In addition to this, I like my tyres clean and shining, for which I use a silicon gel, but it’s hard to maintain in our dusty environment.
Another part of the car which I find difficult to clean is the engine bay. I always dry clean my engine bay and leave the washing part to the A.S.S only.
Here’s what BHPian anoopGTkrish had to say about the matter:
Despite my massive supply of detailing products to make cleaning easy and having a set routine for keeping my car clean, the Plastic cladding on the sides of my EcoSport is a true nightmare to keep clean as –
- Washing it too often in hard water will leave the plastic-looking white and is not something that can be removed with a regular wash
- Washing less will let the dirt and grime harden onto the plastic making it impossible to remove completely as scrubbing will scratch the hard plastic
- Leaving the car out in the sun too often without the plastic UV protector applied will make the plastic parts fade too quickly
- During monsoons, I try to not look below the door line as the sheer amount of mud stuck to the cladding will possibly push me onto the clinical OCD side
Keyword: What are the various annoying & hard-to-clean parts of cars