# Hot or cold water in wash buckets?



## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

OK, so a bit of a weird question, sure, but I've always used warm/hot water for washing my car, figuring it would help shift the dirt better, but now I'm not so sure that it makes any difference, other than keeping your hands warm in winter.

So, what does everyone else do? Cold water or warm?


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Usually warm for wash, cold for rinse, most so I don't get mixed up


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

MBRuss said:


> OK, so a bit of a weird question, sure, but I've always used warm/hot water for washing my car, figuring it would help shift the dirt better, but now I'm not so sure that it makes any difference, other than keeping your hands warm in winter.
> 
> So, what does everyone else do? Cold water or warm?


Been asked loads before.

Question for you - do you wash your dishes in cold water? No, because the detergents work better when hot. Same for car shampoos.

Next question - what is the best wax for a silver MB :lol:


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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

Does it? That's what I initially thought, which is why I always did it, but then I read something recently that suggested otherwise and that the warmth is only for the comfort of your hands.


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## TonyHill (Jul 28, 2015)

I've used both and can honestly see no difference :thumb:


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## JayMac (Sep 4, 2016)

Personally I prefer using warm water, if it aids how the detergents work then that's a bonus!


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## Maxtor (Feb 23, 2007)

MBRuss said:


> Does it? That's what I initially thought, which is why I always did it, but then* I read something recently that suggested otherwise *and that the warmth is only for the comfort of your hands.


Any links to this? :thumb:


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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

No, it was a while back. I forget where I even read it. It was talking about washing dishes though, not cars.


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Hot water melts grease (particularly the animal fats you might end up with on a plate). This is one of the main reasons that it helps with washing dishes. But all physical and chemical processes happen more quickly at higher temperatures, so in theory washing your car in warm water is more effective. (I say "in theory" because I'm not sure how much warmer a panel really is after you've moved your warm water mitt over it!)


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Anyone who has used a hot pressure washer/steam cleaner will attest to how much more effective hot water is at removing just about anything you point it at.

Try hard enough and it will take off paint.


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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

Well thanks for the input guys. Now I just need to get myself a hot tap in the garage! Getting fed up of carrying heavy buckets of water from the kitchen sink!


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## BadgerJCW (Dec 20, 2013)

Mainly cold so it doesn't dry as quick.


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## ah234 (Nov 10, 2015)

Warm water when it's cold, but if its hot/direct sun I use cold to try and cool the paint down


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## GP Punto (May 29, 2007)

Always cold, even in the middle of a fffffff winter. Father always told me that the hot water had an effect on the wax on the car so I just got used to cold water.

In those days it was either a liquid Turtle Wax or a Simoniz product, a hard hard wax, that was a swine to remove.


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

GP Punto said:


> Always cold, even in the middle of a fffffff winter. Father always told me that the hot water had an effect on the wax on the car so I just got used to cold water.
> 
> In those days it was either a liquid Turtle Wax or a Simoniz product, a hard hard wax, that was a swine to remove.


Father told old wives tales. Compare the temp of hot water to how hot a panel (especially on dark cars) gets in full sun.

We dont park our cars in the shade to avoid damaging the wax do we?


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## Mikesphotaes (Jul 24, 2016)

Wash is hot and rinse is warm.


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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

BadgerJCW said:


> Mainly cold so it doesn't dry as quick.


Is that right though? I know the reverse isn't necessary true - I.E. cold water re-freezes more slowly than hot water when poured on a car windscreen to melt ice.

Google the Mpemba effect. :thumb:


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

I always use hot/warm water to wash. It's one of the few things I remember (I think lol) from GCSE physics; the kinetic energy of the hot water will release the dirt particles more quickly. Se principle applies to washing dishes. 

Cooks 

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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Always warm, never too hot, for washing the car. 

Btw, there is an old factoid, which i heard when working in the local pub as a kid, that if you rinse glassware in icy cold water after washing, then it sparkles more!




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## TripleD (Jan 24, 2012)

I use hot/warm water so it's nice on my hands :wave:


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## hunky dunky (Feb 26, 2016)

if it's warm weather I use cold, stop it drying before I want it to.

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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

GleemSpray said:


> Always warm, never too hot, for washing the car.
> 
> Btw, there is an old factoid, which i heard when working in the local pub as a kid, that if you rinse glassware in icy cold water after washing, then it sparkles more!


So I need another bucket of freezing cold water just for the windows?! :lol:


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## Smanderson117 (Jan 19, 2015)

GleemSpray said:


> Always warm, never too hot, for washing the car.
> 
> Btw, there is an old factoid, which i heard when working in the local pub as a kid, that if you rinse glassware in icy cold water after washing, then it sparkles more!
> 
> Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk


Mainly because it gets rid of any soap residue! I do this with our nice glasses at home haha


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## Clarkey-88 (Apr 29, 2014)

I use really hot water when it's cold out (that's what probably took the colour out of my Dooka pad ) warm water when it cool outside and cold water when it's hot outside. I've not noticed a difference in the way it cleans tbh


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## suds (Apr 27, 2012)

AG instructions actually say mix shampoo in warm water:thumb:


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## shelton (Jul 24, 2017)

warm water for washing because it lifts the dirt better and creates more lather with the shampoo.

cool water for rinse because it kills the lather so youre not making more and more lather while trying to rinse it off.

BTW when they're too hard, we soak the clay bars in warm water while we're washing to soften them up. Not in the washing bucket though haha


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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

Yeah, I always use really hot water in a jug to soften my clay bar and dunk it in every time I fold it.


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## TonyHill (Jul 28, 2015)

I think it's just psychological, it's really just to keep your hands warm lol. The difference between using warm and cold water is so marginal, its probably hardly worth mentioning. Yes, some say mix with warm water, but I bet you'd be hard pushed to tell any significant difference if you simply used cold :thumb:


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## LewisChadwick7 (Aug 22, 2014)

hot in the wash bucket cold in the rinse for me, several reasons:

why waste hot water in the rinse bucket? (i'm a tight yorkshireman i know)

having one hot & one cold you know if you dip your mitt in the wrong one :lol:

and finally i feel that warm water activates the shampoo better foaming it up a bit more and also cleans better!


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## Autoglanz.UK (Sep 16, 2017)

Always cold water as hot water is usually harder so more susceptible to water spotting or making the shampoo work harder. Also dries too quick.

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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

Is hot water harder though? It's the same water from the same mains, just warmed up a bit...

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## Mugwump (Feb 17, 2008)

jambobradley said:


> Always cold water as hot water is usually harder so more susceptible to water spotting or making the shampoo work harder.


Water hardness is determined by the level of dissolved mineral content in it (principally compounds of calcium or magnesium). The temperature doesn't make one iota of difference to that.

Detergents will generally work more efficiently in warm water - however, if the water is too hot (above the 'cloud point' - the temperature above which the mixture becomes cloudy), it can cause the detergent to separate out, which inhibits its ability to foam and lock on to dirt particles.

I haven't used a wide variety of car shampoo products, but the instructions for most of the ones that I have used do suggest using them in warm water.


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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

Thanks, I suspected as much. Didn't make any sense to me that warm water would be harder.

Interesting about the temperature though. I wonder how hot is too hot? Probably hotter than my hands can stand, I suspect.

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## Pittsy (Jun 14, 2014)

Don't know if it makes any difference or not but warm for wash and cold for rinse


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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

Warm for me, it washes better as my hands are not freezing cold


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

Warm water and seal skin gloves,I'm no hero,old age and ill health has caught up.


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## lee63 (Apr 11, 2014)

Warm water for me 

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## NatB79 (Mar 4, 2016)

Warm/hot water for me. More for my hands than any other reason 
With cold stiff hands your more likely to drop things etc


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## pxr5 (Feb 13, 2012)

Cold water for me. In fact if it's not cold enough I pour in buckets of ice cubes until it becomes unbearable and painful to dunk my hand in for more a a second. You have to be tough oop North. Of course shorts and t-shirt too - (I take off my shirt in the winter though - nails)


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