From not turning in your side mirrors to scrubbing your car with the brush before you've rinsed it, there are plenty of mistakes you might be making at the car wash.

Graves went on to show what the car wash equipment looks like on a -12 degrees day in Chicago. The tracks that your car is ...

Don’t forget to keep a supply of microfiber cloth on hand as well, because anything rougher than that can ruin the look of your car. Wash, rinse, lovingly caress, repeat. If you happen to get ...

Do work the car-wash solution into a lather with plenty of suds that provide lots of lubrication on the paint surface. And rinse the sponge often. Using a separate bucket to rinse the sponge keeps ...

Most self-service car washes are coin-operated brush-and-hose combinations that the driver uses to dispense soap, wash the card and rinse it off. The self-service car wash patron is typically a ...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Hannah Ingram, a 23-year-old car wash owner based in Tennessee. It has been edited for length and clarity. In high school, I read a book by ...