Washing the car too much?

[SparrowHawk60]

Washing the Car, to much?

Well, like most guys I like a clean car, inside and out! I don't think there's anything wrong with that, right? It's been raining in our part of the world for what seems like Noah's 40 days. This of course has made a mess out of New Prius.
The primary driver of the car, my wife, is not careful about driving around things like freshly painted lines, new tar, pot holes, you get the idea. Also the bugs this year seem particularly bad, as evidenced by their pulverized remains left on the Pruis paint job.
So with all that in mind, I find myself washing our Prius at least once a week sometimes twice. My wife thinks I'm doing nothing but wasting water, "It will only get dirty again!" is her new battle cry. I've tried to explain that you wash clothing, your just going to wear it again and get it dirty so why bother. That doesn't fly with her.
I'm sure deep down she likes driving a clean car. But am I be to anal in trying my best to keep our new car (a substantial investment) clean?
What do you think, cut down on the washing??

[Brodie]

If there are water problems in your area, then I wouldn't wash the car so much. This time of the year probably isn't horrible, but in the late summer we usually have water bans, so no car washing allowed.

[mhawkin1]

I am the primary driver of my car... and I wash it at least once a week also. I don't think you can wash a car too much... as long as you use the correct soap and wax it every now and again. It just feels better to drive a clean car!

[Doc Willie]

Sharing the same weather as you, I know what you are talking about. Last week I resorted to buying a car cover because I couldn't keep it clean between the time I had available to wash it, and driving it to a car show (Bloomington, near Kingston this Sunday if you want to come up).

Washing is definitely better than leaving nasty stuff like bird droppings a smooshed insects on the paint, which will eat right through it. If you are concerned about the paint, use a good paint protectant or wax, and you will never have to worry about damaging your paint, since you will never be touching it.

I am assuming you know what you are doing, using proper car soap, not dishwasher detergent), absolutely clean towels (microfiber preferred), etc.

[sdtundra]

I usually wash mine on Friday's to get it ready for the weekend, where its usually sitting in the parking lot at work but anywho. Its been crappy weather here and today is especially bad, my white Prius looks like a dalmation with all the black spots of dirt/rain mixed

[F8L]

Washing it too much? It depends on what kind of contaminates are found in the air and water in your area. If everything is relatively "clean" of pollution that could harm your paint then the main issue is one of adding find scratches to the paint from your wash mitt, cloth, or sponge. This usually leads to "spider webs" in the paint.

If you live in a highly polluted area like the south or the north east (high levels of sulfur, nitrogen and carbon dioxide which all form acids) then the air and water could be harming your paint so no matter what you do you're screwed. lol

[McDonald]

I wash my car every two weeks at least, usually once a week. It doesn't matter, it is dirty the next day because of driving or because of all the pollen and leaves whooshing around right now. But definitely remember to wax every so often. Hand-washing will probably save water (rather than going to a car wash), but here in Boston that's not an option for me. Have to go to a car wash.

[subarutoo]

My car usually goes a couple of thousand miles or more between baths. We got a good rain yesterday, and that should be good for a couple of more weeks. At 450 miles a week, the miles roll up faster than I care to wash it. Still looks pretty good though.

[richard schumacher]

[lame remark deleted]

[OrlandoGuy]

Washing events rise and fall depending on the season.

Right now it is love bug season - so it gets washed daily to get the bugs off.

Come December, it might get washed once in the month - just depends on the amount of dirt it accumulates.