Cheap car shampoo for Karcher?

patchyX2

I bought a Karcher pressure washer the other day and thought the shampoo that came with it worked quite well. It's very pricey though so was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for cheaper alternatives that will work with the foamer accessory?

Happy to spend more money on big tub, as long as it lasts longer and works out better value on a per wash basis. 

KimJongUn88

You need to be looking for snow foam. It will probably be cheaper in 5 litre bottles. Get on some detailing forums and there will be lots of recommendations.

angrycrow

I don't think it's actually snow foam the open is referring to. The shampoo foams when using the foam lance. Homebase do a 5 litre yellow soap that works just as well. The line does not seal into the lid like on the kartcher soap you just drop the line into the open bottle.

I would not use a pressure washer on a soft top as it can damage the rear screen bonding. 

Grumpy_chap

Any car shampoo will do the job.  Certainly not worth paying the premium for the Karcher shampoo.
Don't worry about the claims anything other than Karcher shampoo will be bad for the pressure washer.  Firstly, that is complete nonsense.  Secondly, the life-span of domestic pressure washers is short in any case.

neilmcl

Yes, get some snow foam and ditch the foaming gun you got with the Karcher for proper snow foam lance. Also, snow foam isn't a replacement for proper car shampoo, which is best applied using bucket and mitt.

I can recommend the following products:
https://www.in2detailing.co.uk/products/in2detailing-hornet-foam-lance
https://www.in2detailing.co.uk/products/waxplanet-eight-below-snow-foam-concentrate
https://www.car-chem.com/shop/super-suds-shampoo
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adams-Polishes-Car-Shampoo-Gallon/dp/B0058JJS0Q?th=1

Belenus

I use a pressure washer, a basic Bosch model, without any soap or shampoo. That gets all the loose dirt and salt etc off.

I then use an inexpensive car shampoo with a soft brush.

Finally the pressure washer again to clean the soap off.

Sometimes I miss out the soap altogether and just use the pressure washer.

Sometimes I am lazy and use the local £6 hand wash site. They do a very good job.

My car is 6 years old and the paintwork still looks good.

I don't use supermarket sites as they usually don't have access to mains water and, from what I have seen, they use dirty water and dirty rags.

DanM92

As mentioned above, the detergent that you can use for the Karcher isn't great. Therefore, investing into a snow foam lance would be the better option. If you haven't already got one, make sure you buy one that's suitable for the Karcher machine because they do differ between the different machines!

Once you have got the lance, you will need to get suitable snow foam shampoo -> https://yourcar.co.uk/best-snow-foam/. There is a huge range available so its a matter of personal preference! In terms of the foam itself, you can adjust the thickness and spray patterns using the adjustments upon the lance.

Ian1961

Snow foam can be good, but not always gets all the dirt off and therefore you still need to wash the muck off. Invest in a couple of buckets (2 bucket wash) grit guards and a good wash mitt. This really only applies if you're interested in keeping on top of your cars condition.

Stubod

..I would never use a pressure washer directly onto a cars paintwork, the last time I did it took the paint off!....I now only use it on wheels and underneath the wheel arches. If I do use it on the paintwork I do so using a low pressure rotary brush...

neilmcl

Stubod said:

..I would never use a pressure washer directly onto a cars paintwork, the last time I did it took the paint off!....I now only use it on wheels and underneath the wheel arches. If I do use it on the paintwork I do so using a low pressure rotary brush...

The paint must've been damaged in the first place, and I'd definitely wouldn't go anywhere near a car's paintwork with a brush of any sort, let alone one of those rotary ones.

Belenus

Stubod said:

..I would never use a pressure washer directly onto a cars paintwork, the last time I did it took the paint off!....I now only use it on wheels and underneath the wheel arches. If I do use it on the paintwork I do so using a low pressure rotary brush...

You must either have had a very powerful pressure washer and held the lance tip far too close or the paint was dodgy.

I've used pressure washers for decades to clean cars and never had a problem like that.