Dawn, Simple Green, or ? in pressure washer...

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davidaugust111

New member
Because I got one of the new GM SUV's, I now have furry wheel wells that won't clean with a garden hose. So I bought a SunJoe SPX3000 pressure washer that includes a couple of tanks for detergents. I was planning to use Simple Green, which I would use on the wheel wells, wheels, and tires, but read that SG was acidic and might damage the pump. Is anybody familiar with that issue? I could use Dawn instead, but I don't think it's as good on grease.

Can't wait to try this out as soon as the snow clears; also got a foam cannon for the rest of the vehicle which should save a lot of time as well as being more fun!

Thanks for any pointers.
 
Dave, first off, welcome aboard!

Personally, Simple Green is never used on any vehicle I care for. Too many issues with aluminum and the damage it can do. That one is a big no-no in my book given the damage I've witnessed.

Dawn? Procter & Gamble will tell you (on their website) that it's not intended for use on cars.

I would try two alternates: an all purpose cleaner or a stronger solution of your car wash soap.
 
davidaugust111- Welcome to Autopia!

Congrats on both the GM and the pressure washer, the two go well together (fellow GM SUV and pressure washer owner here).

I would not use Simple Green nor Dawn for this. Simple Green (regular formula, they make several variations these days) is not something I'd spray on my vehicles (it can be especially nasty on bare aluminum and a member here had it mess up the finish on his VW's wheels) and Dawn isn't something I'd use on a vehicle period (lots of sudsing to rinse away, residue on the paint/trim, the way said residue messes with wax making people think it's stripped the wax, and on and on).

Nah, I'm not one of those guys who thinks that Dawn is the Devil, use to use it for the first-step wash on really trashed vehicles before I wised up. I just really don't think there's any reason to use it on a vehicle; there are better alternatives that don't cost any more.

And then there are your reasonable concerns about the pressure washer's pump!

I myself don't use the pressure washer's chemical injection for this sort of work, but rather spray the product with a regular spray bottle which gives me greater control.

But then I'd think twice about using the pressure washer on a "fuzzy"-lined wheelwell anyhow- be careful that you don't get too aggressive (yeah, do it..but I'd think about it and I'd dial the power way back). You'll still have to get in there with gentle (e.g., boar's hair) brushes now and then to really do a thorough job anyhow. Eh, I use my pressure washer in the wells between (regular) washes or as the first step of the initial rinse, to get the majority of the winter [stuff] out, but I use it a lot more for the body of the vehicle as I find it's just not that easy to manipulate the wand inside the wells. Eh, that's just me...experimentation will show what's right for *you*.

As for the solution for the wells, I've never had a huge problem with grease per se, so potent degreasing power isn't a priority IMO and I sure wouldn't expect it to be on a newer vehicle like yours (my Tahoe is old with a lot of miles and I don't need anything aggressive). I clean my wheelwells with a somewhat potent carwash mix (about 6.5 oz. shampoo + about 122 oz. water to make about a gallon). I used to use All-Purpose-Cleaners (APC) but I've found that for a reasonably well maintained vehicle (or even one that's used really hard with caked stuff in the wells) it's just not necessary. You can buy cheapie shampoo for this as the usually important stuff like lubricity and encapsulation aren't all that important for such an application (and it'll still be better in those regards than Dawn or Simple Green).

Rinse the wells out with plain water, spray the shampoo mix in there and let it dwell for a while. Spray off, inspect, redo/not, get more involved with brushes/not, as needed.

While you're at it, remember to keep the undercarriage nice and clean...only takes a little more time/effort.
 
David; I agree with the other responses about staying away from the Simple Green and the Dawn. I use a very effective but inexpensive product called Zep Citrus. You can buy it at Home Depot or Lowes for about $12 a gallon. I dilute it 4:1 so the cost structure actually comes out to about $3 a gallon. I wouldn't dispense it with the pressure washer. Just buy you a cheap 1 qt. spray bottle to apply it with. If you want some foaming action, just buy one of the foaming spray heads to go on the bottle and it will produce some nice clinging suds. This product works great for wheel wells.
 
Gee, our vehicles get *awfully* filthy this time of year...dirt and salt and sand and gravel just *caked* in the wheelwells and on the undercarriage, but I simply *NEVER* need to use anything potent for this. Sure got me scratching my head, but...OK...do what you gotta do.

Meticulous- I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem like a rinseless wash application to me. IMO the big feature of the rinselessis how it encapsulates the dirt and helps it transfer to the wash medium...and in this case you're more like...uhm, just flushing it away. I don't doubt that the encapsulation and water-softening features would still bring something to the table, but it seems like a waste of rinseless wash. Heh heh, now let's see somebody prove me completely wrong!
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate all the responses! Since posting this I also heard back from the manufacturer of the pressure washer who said that no product goes through the pump, only the water, so it wouldn't matter what products were used.

I've actually been on this or the previous forum for awhile, but have had password issues that keep me from using it very much out of frustration; even to answer my own post I've had to reset it again. Anyway, I do think the smarter answer would be as suggested to keep the APC in a separate bottle for control to keep it away from the paint. But I have used SG for the past 10 years on my previous truck on the wheels (clear-coated aluminum), tires, and wheel wells without any apparent issues. It kept things looking as new throughout after then being misted with 303. I've always figured it was similar to any of the other citrus based cleaners, but maybe not. My wheels this time around are chrome, but are already pitted from magnesium chloride as is the front-end trim. Good thing I just leased this one for 3 years, I guess...
 
davidaugust111- That's [crappy], the pw issues you're having...and yikes, to have that sort of pitting on something so new is really something!
 
I'm cruious - what would be the difference between SG and Zep Citrus? if they're both labeled as degreasers?
 
davidaugust111 said:
Thanks guys, I appreciate all the responses! Since posting this I also heard back from the manufacturer of the pressure washer who said that no product goes through the pump, only the water, so it wouldn't matter what products were used.

I've actually been on this or the previous forum for awhile, but have had password issues that keep me from using it very much out of frustration; even to answer my own post I've had to reset it again. Anyway, I do think the smarter answer would be as suggested to keep the APC in a separate bottle for control to keep it away from the paint. But I have used SG for the past 10 years on my previous truck on the wheels (clear-coated aluminum), tires, and wheel wells without any apparent issues. It kept things looking as new throughout after then being misted with 303. I've always figured it was similar to any of the other citrus based cleaners, but maybe not. My wheels this time around are chrome, but are already pitted from magnesium chloride as is the front-end trim. Good thing I just leased this one for 3 years, I guess...
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Migue said:
I'm cruious - what would be the difference between SG and Zep Citrus? if they're both labeled as degreasers?
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parttimer said:
Simple green is very caustic and trashes some aluminium parts.
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The post above stated "clear-coated" which is why they didn't get harmed
 
Ronkh said:
The post above stated "clear-coated" which is why they didn't get harmed
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But then clearcoat can often be compromised (to understate it a bit ;) ) and allow something caustic to do "gee, who woulda thunk it?!?"-type damage. And the opinion that it "shouldn't have happened" would be of little consolation at that point.

As to the diffs between Simple Green and the Zep Citrus...to me it's a moot point; I wouldn't use either on any of my vehicles (and I'm sure no Zep-hater, love their Zep 409 Glass Cleaner but keep it off tint films).

EDIT: Eh, I probably sound like some kind of [jerk] but man-oh-man would I hate for somebody to do damage just because they used the wrong product when there are so many known-safe options.
 
Accumulator said:
But then clearcoat can often be compromised (to understate it a bit ;) ) and allow something caustic to do "gee, who woulda thunk it?!?"-type damage. And the opinion that it "shouldn't have happened" would be of little consolation at that point.

As to the diffs between Simple Green and the Zep Citrus...to me it's a moot point; I wouldn't use either on any of my vehicles (and I'm sure no Zep-hater, love their Zep 409 Glass Cleaner but keep it off tint films).

EDIT: Eh, I probably sound like some kind of [jerk] but man-oh-man would I hate for somebody to do damage just because they used the wrong product when there are so many known-safe options.
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You don't, it's true, I have kept a bottle of SG in handy and use it for wheel houses and tires only, but i hate the thought of any dripping on the wheels...so i'm looking for a safer cleaner for tires/Wheel Houses. I have seen what a caustic product can do to clear coated Aluminum wheels (Mercedes E Class Wheels from previous models) and MAN it is painful to watch. Won't be using SG anymore, i am loving my Sonax, tried it for the first time the other day and pretty much fell in love with it BUT i'd hate to "waste" it on cleaning tires when a cheaper option is out there somewhere.
 
Migue- Yeah, finding a safe, effective, and inexpensive product for the tires might be a challenge. Once you get past the "well, cheaper than buying new ones" (either wheels or tires) it still needs to be something you can actually afford.
 
Accumulator said:
Migue- Yeah, finding a safe, effective, and inexpensive product for the tires might be a challenge. Once you get past the "well, cheaper than buying new ones" (either wheels or tires) it still needs to be something you can actually afford.
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So, in your experience, what do you recommend/use?
 
Migue said:
So, in your experience, what do you recommend/use?
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I spend (much) too much and use Griot's Rubber Cleaner most of the time. On vehicles I use (Griot's) Wheel Cleaner on I often just use that on the tires too. I've used various APCs but 1) don't want to waste my good ones on the tires and/or 2) don't trust my cheap ones to be perfectly safe.

That pricey Griot's Rubber Cleaner is awfully gentle....as in "won't even hurt the dirt" unless you let it dwell and scrub it a bit and sometimes even reapply a few times. So it's far from perfect.
 
Accumulator said:
I spend (much) too much and use Griot's Rubber Cleaner most of the time. On vehicles I use (Griot's) Wheel Cleaner on I often just use that on the tires too. I've used various APCs but 1) don't want to waste my good ones on the tires and/or 2) don't trust my cheap ones to be perfectly safe.

That pricey Griot's Rubber Cleaner is awfully gentle....as in "won't even hurt the dirt" unless you let it dwell and scrub it a bit and sometimes even reapply a few times. So it's far from perfect.
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Hm I see, I will look into that(seen the product,just never bothered checking it out) and see if that approach works for me,I'd rather be safe than sorry especially on a customer's vehicle. Thanks for the info.
 
migue- I'll repeat myself just to add some emphasis...the Griot's Rubber Cleaner is soooo gentle you mind think it's just not potent enough, especially for neglected customer tires.

Dr. G. from Optimum has posted some interesting stuff about how you need to be a little careful about what you use on tires...IIRC it was in response to a Q/Post here by Setec Astronomy. Maybe you oughta look that up and see if something from Optimum (Power Clean?) might be a better choice for your situation than the Griot's. I *do* really like Power Clean BTW.
 
Accumulator said:
migue- I'll repeat myself just to add some emphasis...the Griot's Rubber Cleaner is soooo gentle you mind think it's just not potent enough, especially for neglected customer tires.

Dr. G. from Optimum has posted some interesting stuff about how you need to be a little careful about what you use on tires...IIRC it was in response to a Q/Post here by Setec Astronomy. Maybe you oughta look that up and see if something from Optimum (Power Clean?) might be a better choice for your situation than the Griot's. I *do* really like Power Clean BTW.
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Noted, i understand that it might be "too gentle" , I'll keep digging around and making a list of things to try out on this.
 
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