HOUSTON – How often do you wash your car?
Whether you want your ride to look nice or you just want to protect your investment, when you take your car for a wash there are services you should skip and some you should pay extra for.
Consumer Reports says you should know that bird droppings and dead bugs can degrade the finish on your paint and damage your vehicle's clear coat if you leave them on there long enough. That is why regular washes are recommended, but most of the add-on services are not necessary.
If you want to get some of the brake dust off of your rims, you can pay for wheel cleaning; but your wheels will be fine if you skip this extra.
Consumer Reports says the undercarriage wash is not necessary every time you get your car cleaned. You should pay for it about once a season -- four times a year -- just to remove mud, sand and salt in hard-to-clean areas of your car's underbody.
The spray-on wax might make your car look shinier, but if your vehicle was made within the last 10 years or so, your finish will last and look good even without frequent waxing.
If you wash your car yourself, it is true that you need to use specific cleaners for specific parts of your car. There are cleaners designed for glass and chrome that you should not use on the painted surface of your car, and wheel cleaners are specially formulated to remove brake dust from steel and aluminum.