Great question! This is something that before starting to become a busy adult, struck me as a crazy idea. Why not just detail your car or wash your car your self? It seems like a logical and rational thing compared to spending 3 to 6 hundred dollars to get your car detailed. However, this is not the case for many Americans who are way too busy to even think about detailing their car themselves.

I have no time to clean the car!

Today’s world is busier than ever. Productivity is higher than ever. People live busy lives, whether it be in tech, bio-tech, law, real estate, running a medical practice, or sometimes even more time consuming, managing a whole family of kids, dogs, and maybe some equestrian beasts. This is where people start looking for ways to keep their vehicle clean. When they don’t have the time!

How long it takes…

Depends! How clean and how good do you want it to be? Are you a perfectionist? Do you want it at least clean enough to sit in without feeling grossed out? Do you need it restored? These are some of the cut and dry questions to ask yourself to determine how long it takes, but even at the lowest level of just a basic detail, this will take you about 2 hours without proper equipment to clean your vehicle. 2-3 hours can not only mean hours you’re not making money (so now you’re spending money and not making money) or you have way too many errands to run. A full detail to get it looking brand new again will take 3-6 hours depending on size and condition…if you have the right tools. If you want to restore it yourself? It’ll take you a few days It’s basically at least a whole morning, day, or weekend of work for you to detail or restore your car to the level a professional service like we provide here at Clarity Car Washing.

The price of proper tools

Price for an exterior is actually the least expensive service to do yourself, however the price of a good polisher alone will still cost more than the average detail. You’re looking at one to five hundred dollars.

Price for the interior in tools can reach 1-2 thousand dollars for proper tools. Tools include a vacuum, extractor, drill and drill brush attachment, air compressor and accessories, and many other little tools like pet brushes, and boar’s hair brushes.

How Do I Clean My Car Like A Pro?

Short answer is anyone can detail just like anyone can cook. However, not everyone wants to cook or knows how to cook to the level of a 5-star restaurant. Here at Clarity Car Washing, we’re a 5-star mobile car detailing service. We have tackled thousands of jobs and I can tell you that from personally detailing for many years, that it is not easy to detail like a pro. You can do it once, twice, or three times perfectly. But to clean your car like a pro every time means to do it right every single time. So how do you do it? You need the right eye for detailing, the right tools, chemicals, and patience. This is where pro’s come in that often we have 2 detail technicians on site for an appointment, meaning that 2 people that can look over each other’s work, that are trained and have the right tools, is how you detail like a pro. Having help is the best way for a beginner to detail like a pro.

Planning to clean your car?

Scheduling is important! How do you clean your car when there’s no set time to do it. Often times we can get distracted with our busy lives and forget to clean our cars. This is super common, and happens all the time. This is where scheduling a service appointment is super helpful in structuring your car care, before your car looks messy again.

I’ve seen that most people who detail their own car meet one of these points:

1. you have the time (1 hour to a weekend)

2. you have the money to spare to buy the right tools ($100-$3,000)

3. you have a passion for it

4. you can set aside time each week or month to do it yourself

Overall, these are the main reasons we’ve been in business for 5 years now. People who purchase detailing services don’t have the time and/or motivation to clean their car themselves, but they want to get it clean and have it done the right way.