Buying products to wash your car with can be a pricey endeavor if you want to get quality items. However, what many people don't know is that you can make your own quality car wash products at home with things you probably already have around your house. According to the Gather Little by Little website, when done right, homemade car wash products can be just as good as--if not better than--many of the products you buy retail.
The solution you use to wash your car doesn't have to be complex. You just need good cleaning agents balanced with enough water so they won't leave soap residue behind. To make a basic car wash soap, fill a five-gallon bucket with water, a cup of dish soap and 12 tablespoons of powdered detergent. Do not use anything that has a bleach additive. Blend the ingredients until the powdered soap is completely dissolved.
You can use a soft gel bleach cleaner to scrub tires clean. You can also make a tire cleaner with an oil-based cleaner, a quarter teaspoon of lemon oil, a teaspoon of bleach and a quarter cup of borax. Mix the oil-based cleaner with water in a bucket per the instructions on the bottle, then add the above listed ingredients to the mixture.
To clean the interior carpet in your car, you need club soda and cornstarch. Blot up as much stain as you can before it sets in. Use club soda and a sponge to blot stains clean, then sprinkle cornstarch on the carpet and vacuum it up. For oil stains you should pat cornstarch onto the stained area. Leave it sit overnight, then vacuum it up. You can also use powder or baking soda in place of cornstarch.
Homemade car wax should be made from a half-cup of vinegar, a cup of linseed oil, four tablespoons of carnauba wax and two tablespoons of beeswax. Use a double boiler to melt the ingredients together, then pour them into a container and wait for them to solidify. Apply the wax to your car with a lint-free rag dipped in vinegar.
