Washing a car or bike with...laundry detergent?

TheJeanyus · 03-20-2012, 10:11 AM

A guy at work told me he tried using laundry detergent after reading about how great it worked, and he was really happy with the results. Sounds weird to me, but here's what he did:

1. Pour 1 "capful" of Tide or similar liquid detergent in an empty spray bottle (he used a Windex bottle) and fill with water.
2. Shake it up to mix.
3. Spray it on, spraying heavily in areas with caked on dirt, bugs, whatever.
4. Drink beer for 20 minutes or so until it dries.
5. Rinse it off with the hose.

He said it's supposed to be especially good for the inside of wheel wells, too. He tried it on one of his Harleys and is going to try it on his F150 next. Anyone here tried it? Seems to me that if it removes bugs and other stuff that's "stuck" on, it would probably remove decals as well?

03-20-2012, 10:11 AM	#1
TheJeanyus Administrator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 14,774	Washing a car or bike with...laundry detergent? A guy at work told me he tried using laundry detergent after reading about how great it worked, and he was really happy with the results. Sounds weird to me, but here's what he did: 1. Pour 1 "capful" of Tide or similar liquid detergent in an empty spray bottle (he used a Windex bottle) and fill with water. 2. Shake it up to mix. 3. Spray it on, spraying heavily in areas with caked on dirt, bugs, whatever. 4. Drink beer for 20 minutes or so until it dries. 5. Rinse it off with the hose. He said it's supposed to be especially good for the inside of wheel wells, too. He tried it on one of his Harleys and is going to try it on his F150 next. Anyone here tried it? Seems to me that if it removes bugs and other stuff that's "stuck" on, it would probably remove decals as well? __________________ 1998 Mustang GT Coupe - World's Slowest Racecar 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V8 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI