When you drive past any automatic or drive thru car wash, you'll always see a couple people standing outside drying their car off after a wash. Have you ever wondered if this was a waste of time? Drying your car after washing it might seem like a waste of time, but it is one of the most important parts of the car washing process.
First, let's start with why you shouldn't let your car air dry. Water used for car washes, contain natural minerals which don't evaporate when you let your car air dry. The liquid itself will disappear, but leave spots and streaks on your cars surface. Who wants that?
Now that you know how important it is, how can you properly dry your car off?
As soon as your done washing your car, pull off to the side and find a place you can park for about 5 minutes. We recommend using a clean microfiber towel or chamois. It's never a bad idea to have a couple of these in your car at all times. Using items such as old t-shirts and towels cause more damage to the paint than the benefit of actually drying your car. You can purchase your own microfiber towels here.
When you manually dry your car off, always start from the top and work your way down. Never start from the bottom up, as water will drip on the spots you already dried. You'll want to use blotting techniques instead of a typical wiping motion. There might be small remnants of dirt remaining and you don't want to wipe that across the exterior of the car. Don't forget to open your car doors and lift your windshield wipers to make sure you get in all of the nooks and crannies.
Once you're done, you can be confident you're driving home in a clean car.