How to Wash a Vehicle Undercarriage at Home

It's important to wash the undercarriage of your car on a regular basis, particularly after driving on snowy or icy roads. When streets are salted to melt the wintry accumulation, that salt gets kicked up and stuck to your car's undercarriage, where it contributes to rust and corrosion. You can wash this off by taking your car to a car wash that features undercarriage cleaning, but it's just as easy to do it at home with your garden hose and sprinkler. Follow these steps to keep the underside of your car or truck salt and rust free.

Things You'll Need

• Car Garden hose Sprinkler

Instructions

1. Attach the sprinkler to the end of the garden hose.

2. Stand at the front of your car with the sprinkler in hand. Set the sprinkler down and push it underneath the car. Feed in the hose to push the sprinkler all the way to the back.

3. Turn on the water.

4. Pull the sprinkler closer to the front of the car by about one foot after about five minutes of spraying.

5. Continue advancing the sprinkler towards the front of the car at a rate of about one foot every five minutes. Keep this up until the entire car undercarriage has been sprayed thoroughly.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have a sprinkler, you can also use a capped garden hose that has been punched with numerous pinholes. If you don't have a garden hose or exterior spigot, search around for a car wash that offers undercarriage cleaning. It's a great idea to do this as soon as daytime temperatures rise above freezing.

• The greatest need for undercarriage washing is during the winter, but you should avoid using this method in below-freezing temperatures. It's not good for the hose, the sprinkler or your car to do so, and you might even freeze your car doors shut or turn your driveway into an ice skating rink.