Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Car wash in winter at home [Need advice]

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I'm planning on setting up my garage to do car washes at home. Not sure what my requirements would be given that the winters here can be brutal. Additionally, what type of waterproofing would I need to do to the walls(bathroom paint) and or floors(epoxy). Also, would the drain need to be outfitted with something special?

Any advice and/or pictures would be greatly appreciated from those of you that wash your cars at home in the winter.

P.S: I'm not planning on doing any type of rinseless car wash. I'm my opinion, those washes are very harsh on paint and a nightmare for scratches.

Thanks in advance.
 
If it's not heated, you'll need to run heat trace on the water pipe lines coming into the garage, and possibly in the floor and drain. You may need to do the floor even if it is heated. You might want to consider a waterproof membrane for the walls (eg Schluter). I like epoxy on cement floors, with a grit finish, so it's not slippery
 
If it's not heated, you'll need to run heat trace on the water pipe lines coming into the garage, and possibly in the floor and drain. You may need to do the floor even if it is heated. You might want to consider a waterproof membrane for the walls (eg Schluter). I like epoxy on cement floors, with a grit finish, so it's not slippery
Just added a garage heater and never had any issues previously without heating. Just bought the house 2 years ago, and it's been going for 40+ years with no heated garage. I'll look into membranes for the wall, but from when I renovated my powder room, Schluter is really expensive and wouldn't be financially feasible for a garage the size of mine. And definitely need to epoxy the floor with the anti-slip flakes. Not sure if it can be done at this time of year though. I was hoping to get a setup going in the next few weeks since I just picked up the M3 and wanted to keep it in tip top shape. But from what I'm seeing in my research, definitely something I probably want to start in the spring vs. in December Quebec Weather.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Biscuitman
No problems with needing a drain in the garage. Rinse at a self hand wash ( only rinse and at a distance..)

At car wash, how do you avoid charge port opening?

and

Car Care, exterior and interior and PPF
Thanks for the tips. You're definitely meticulous and that will pay off in the end as I've seen with my previous cars. I only wish I had the dough to PPF the entire car. It would definitely put my mind at ease with doing a no rinse wash. I have a self car wash close to my house but the owners are always close by and chasing people away if they try to dry their cars in the car ports. They want people to spray and go away which is quite annoying.
 
... It would definitely put my mind at ease with doing a no rinse wash. I have a self car wash close to my house but the owners are always close by and chasing people away if they try to dry their cars in the car ports. They want people to spray and go away which is quite annoying.

ONR is amazing. One bucket with lots of microfiber towels is fast and easy in the winter if you have a garage to protect you from the cold wind.

I only rinse and drive away from the car wash. It costs about $2. But it cleans the sand and salt off. Then the ONR in the garage shines up the car and completes the cleaning. Nitrile gloves help in the winter as does a warm ONR water bucket.
 
Maybe silly question. Can Tesla be washed in Circle K touch less car wash. You don't have to buy gas to get car wash there easily. There is even monthly plan now.

best answer is “No”.

going to Automatic car washes are iffy. The automatic wipers can gave issues, the car port door sometimes opens, paint scratches are common.

The manual says “no”, and most owners also warn against it.
 
A "touchless" car wash is OK but they use pretty harsh chemicals. A ceramic coating is helpful. Also the touchless does not get off the dirt film.
There are touchless ones around my home. In fact, just signed up a monthly unlimited (2 per day) wash package. They are great. You just go on the app and get new Wash code while in line and just punch in when it's your turn.
 
I will only use touchless in a pinch for the reasons @mrElbe pointed out. Even when “clean”, I find a touchless wash always leaves a bit of a film and isn’t truly clean.

I generally wait for above freezing days, use warm water in my buckets and use wash mitts on poles so my hands don’t even get wet. My hose is in my insulated garage, which makes life a lot easier.
 
I will only use touchless in a pinch for the reasons @mrElbe pointed out. Even when “clean”, I find a touchless wash always leaves a bit of a film and isn’t truly clean.

I generally wait for above freezing days, use warm water in my buckets and use wash mitts on poles so my hands don’t even get wet. My hose is in my insulated garage, which makes life a lot easier.
I did that bucket of hot water thing once or twice when i had the Mazda Protege 5. That was long long time ago when i did make effort to wash my cars. Gel the tire.
 
I have a garage I heat to around 11C in Quebec City. My floor has a basic sealing treatment from when they poured the cement with a normal garage drain. No special wall treatment, I use a hose end for watering plants, wide spray with low pressure so water doesn't splash on walls. I use normal car soap but will look into ONR.
 
I have a garage I heat to around 11C in Quebec City. My floor has a basic sealing treatment from when they poured the cement with a normal garage drain. No special wall treatment, I use a hose end for watering plants, wide spray with low pressure so water doesn't splash on walls. I use normal car soap but will look into ONR.
Thanks for the reply. I'm probably just missing some sealant for my floors as a bare minimum to start washing inside. I was worried that the drain would need to be siphoned and cleaned often. But that doesn't seem to be an issue for most people.
 
There are touchless ones around my home. In fact, just signed up a monthly unlimited (2 per day) wash package. They are great. You just go on the app and get new Wash code while in line and just punch in when it's your turn.
I agree with you. It is one of these or stay dirty. I don't care enough to take special measures to wash my car in the winter. Especially this winter as I am barely ever driving.

Nor do I ever wash my car myself in the summer other than a drive through touchless car wash. I would rather play golf.

FYI - I have had my Model S for 6 years and it is yet to disintegrate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrElbe