Wash Your Damn Car!!

Leading pressure washer manufacturer, Kärcher has done a survey revealing 40% of the UK thinks cleaning is purely cosmetic and not an essential part of vehicle maintenance – despite salt corrosion costing the British nation a staggering £500 million every Winter, and 15% of all MOT's fail due to rust, caused primarily by salt corrosion. Apparently, only 9% of us Brits clean their car regularly during the Winter months, despite potentially expensive corrosion damage to vehicles as a result of road salt. And just 11% of drivers clean their vehicles more in the winter – when the threat of corrosion is drastically increased due to the gritting of roads – than in the warmer and drier summer months. The survey also says:  

• Women in particular are more likely to avoid car cleaning in the winter, with 12% admitting they never clean their car during the colder months.
• Over 40% have admitted that cleaning the car is a chore they put off for as long as possible, with 42% of women saying they leave it for their other half to do, compared to just 4% of men who would entrust their partner to do the job.
• It seems as a nation, the UK also lacks knowledge around the best ways to clean their cars to help maintain its value, with 18% of Brits admitting to using washing up liquid to clean their cars and one in 10 (10%) just using water.
• Confidence levels in carrying out maintenance checks at home are significantly higher amongst men, with 80% of men feeling they could change a car battery compared to just 25% of women.
• Car owners feel the least confident in checking underneath the car for any leaks and rust, less than half (45%) felt they would be able to do this.
• This figure reduces further amongst women where just 30% felt they could check underneath their car for damage.
• 65% of people say a clean car makes them feel proud and empowered.
• Men are significantly more likely than women to enjoy cleaning the car (27% vs. 15%).
• A third (31%) of car owners has felt embarrassed by how dirty their car is – this is higher amongst women (37%).
• Overall car owners felt more able to change a battery and a headlight bulb than they did checking the underneath of their car.
• Almost 20% of people admit to using their car as ‘wardrobe on wheels’ or for general storage space.

Phil Springall, Kärcher Home and Garden Marketing Manager, comments: "The fact that that 40% of people don’t see regularly cleaning and maintaining their car throughout the winter as an essential part of its up keep, shows that even the most routine vehicle checks aren't being completed, potentially contributing to the increase in car breakdowns but perhaps more concerning, the increased loss of value. As we know corrosion is at its worst on the underside of your vehicle, Kärcher has developed a remarkably simple innovation – the Chassis Cleaner (http://roadmagazine.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-product-karcher-chassis-cleaner.html)."