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Best Hose Attachment For Washing Cars

Image Credit: Envato Elements

Image Credit: Envato Elements

Best Hose Attachment For Washing Cars

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In an ideal situation you’d be using an electric pressure washer for washing your car or truck but that’s not always in everyone’s budget. It’s not absolutely necessary either of course. A good foam gun is the best hose attachment for washing your car or truck at home. It will serve as the foam cannon on a pressure washer and allow you to easily soap down your vehicle and allow the soap to begin breaking down the bond it has with the clear coat of your finish.

Before you soap it down though, you need to rinse your car off thoroughly. Ideally you’d have a significant amount of pressure when doing so. This way you can power off as much of the road grime as possible before soaping it down. A good spray wand with a tip that can focus the force you have coming from your garden hose is perfect for the initial rinse. It also can adjust wide to make the final rinse easy as well.

Continue reading to learn more about the details of each of our best rated hose attachments.

Foam Gun

Adam's Premium

Foam Gun

Ideally you’d have a good electric power washer with a foam cannon for cleaning your car but having a foam gun is the second best option.

A good foam gun will allow you to easily coat your car or truck in thick suds. The purpose of this is so that the soap can sit on the surface of your paint and begin to break down the adhesion that dirt and road grime have with your clear coat.

We performed a foam gun shootout and Adam’s Premium

Foam Gun

was the best of the bunch.

It’s better to allow soap alone to do as much of the work as possible to limit the possibility of swirls and scratches in your paint from wiping with your cleaning tool of choice. As for your cleaning tool of choice, we highly recommend a microfiber wash mitt.

Microfiber is the absolute best choice because it will pick up dirt particles and trap them within the nap of the mitt where they won’t get pushed around and scratch your clear coat.

Combine a good wash mitt with soaping up your car with a good foam gun and you have a dynamic duo designed to reduce the opportunity for scratching your clear coat to a minimum.

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Wash Wand

Gilmour Pro Power Jet Wand

One of the reasons an electric power washer is ideal for car washing is that it has a great deal of force that allows it to power off grit and dirt without having to touch the car and potentially cause scratches. While you will never get the same kind of power from a simple garden hose, this spray wand from Gilmour is more appropriate for car and truck washing than a simple adjustable pattern sprayer.

It has an adjustable tip and ideal configuration for powering off dirt and road grime. The trigger is lockable to eliminate the need to hold down the trigger while you work. It allows you to focus the water to as powerful of a jet as possible to remove as much of the dirt as you can before physically having to touch the surface of your paint.

This wand would be excellent to use prior to using the foam gun previously mentioned. Once your car has been cleaned as much as possible with the jet from this wand you can then soap it down with the foam gun.

This wand is from the Gilmour Pro Line. That means it is built to a higher standard so it can withstand more abuse. It is designed to be used on job sites for cleaning equipment daily so you can expect a lifetime of use out of it for home use due to it’s thick metal construction.

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Wash Nozzle

Gilmour Heavy Duty Swivel Nozzle

Gilmour is one of the better quality garden hose attachment producers in the business. The 

Gilmour Heavy Duty Swivel Nozzle

with Front Trigger is higher quality than the majority of similar adjustable pattern spray nozzles on the market.

The front trigger design is more comfortable and the swivel makes maneuvering around easier. The heavy duty design will be able to put up with a lot more abuse and will last. Not to mention, if you ever do have a problem, there is a lifetime warranty.

If you’re just looking for a simple sprayer but want one that is well designed and rugged, this is your pick. It isn’t terribly expensive and is definitely a great nozzle to have whether it’s for washing the car or for simple gardening.

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Quick Disconnect

Gilmour Brass Hose Quick Connector Set

Quick disconnects are a very handy addition for swapping garden hose attachments quickly and easily.

There are plenty of garden hose quick disconnects available but the majority of them are made of plastic and not the most reliable option to go with. You want something dependable and durable.

Gilmour makes excellent attachments and their quick disconnects are no exception. These brass disconnects are extremely tough and will likely last longer than you will need them.

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Additional Information

What kind of soap do you use to wash a car?

You shouldn’t use dish soap from your kitchen to wash your car. That soap will strip off any wax that you may have applied to the surface of your paint. Using a soap that is more mild and specifically designed for washing cars is the way to go.

Is it bad to wash your car everyday?

No. You may need to see someone to diagnose you with a psychological disorder but it won’t harm your car. It will actually help. Daily damaging road grime and other particulates build up on the surface of your car. Many of these will break down the clear coat, paint, rubber seals, etc. if left on your car. Washing daily would remove these before they have an opportunity to build up.

What’s the best car wash soap?

There are lots of truly great car wash soaps available on the market. While it can be fair to say that most car wash soaps will work just fine, if you’re interested in using the best, most people consider the Chemical Guys Honeydew Snow Foam Auto Wash to be the best choice currently on the market. Here are a few reasons you should consider it:

  • It is a good value.
  • It has an excellent ph level for cleaning without damaging wax.
  • It is very resistant to leaving behind water spots or streaks.
  • Plus it smells great.

Conclusion

While we still recommend picking up a quality yet inexpensive electric power washer  these garden hose attachments will do a good job. A pressure washer isn’t required to wash your vehicle well. It does make the job easier and helps improve the chances of avoiding causing swirls and scratches in your clear coat.

That said, a good foam gun and spray wand are a great duo. The wand can help power off dirt and road grime while the foam gun will allow you to coat your car with suds that can begin working on breaking down the road grime adhered to your finish. These steps help remove dirt before you even physically touch the paintwork, limiting chances of scratching the clear coat.

A good adjustable pattern spray nozzle is a reasonable option to the spray wand. It can be adjusted to spray a jet and can of course be adjusted to several other patterns that you may find helpful when washing your car or truck.

In the end, an electric pressure washer isn’t a necessity and these garden hose attachments will go a long way to getting you toward the results you can get with a good pressure washer.

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