Post-winter wash reset: what’s your first move?

Winter’s been rough across the Midwest and Eastern U.S., so I’m curious what everyone’s first post-winter wash step is once temps stabilize.

- Undercarriage rinse first?
- Wheel/barrel deep clean?
- Door jamb + rubber seal cleanup?
- Full decon or just maintenance wash?

Would love a realistic spring reset checklist for BMW daily drivers in different climates.

Hot take: undercarriage rinse matters more than wax after winter — agree or disagree?

In those areas I'd say that the undercarriage rinse would be my first priority given all of the salt on the roads. If I were convinced that the Winter weather was over, which is certainly not a given in March, I'd go full-tilt on a complete cleaning to make sure I had all of that crud cleaned off of everything. I used to live in CT, so I feel your pain, lol.

I'm in SC so my routine really only changes for about two months, and even then I can often sneak in washes when we have warmer weather. Unfortunately this Winter was pretty rough by our admittedly wimpy standards so I didn't get as many in. Last weekend was beautiful so two out of three cars got the whole nine yards, and I'm hoping to do the third on Sunday if the weather holds out.

In about a month pollen season will begin here and everything will be perpetually dirty yellow for 4-6 weeks. I largely give up during that time since the car will literally be covered again in 20 minutes.

Good input so far 👌

For people in salt-heavy states, what order has worked best for you in one session?
1) Undercarriage rinse
2) Wheels/barrels
3) Body wash
4) Door jambs/seals

Anything you’d change in that order?

How do you guys perform an undercarriage rinse? Do you just use at regular hose at your driveway? Or do you go to one of those self-car-washes and stick the power-gun underneath the vehicle? Or some other way?

JoeyO wrote

How do you guys perform an undercarriage rinse? Do you just use at regular hose at your driveway? Or do you go to one of those self-car-washes and stick the power-gun underneath the vehicle? Or some other way?

I go to one of the DIY car washes. I look like kind of a moron spraying a couple bucks worth of water under the car and in the wheel wells but not touching any of the rest of the car, but so be it. I drive home then do all the stuff I can easily reach (all the paint, basically). I swap wheels every 6 months from snow or all-season to summer tires so that's when I get in the wheel barrels and such.

I normally just do a good maintenance wash of the exterior but this year I'm armed with high and low pH soaps for "prewash" duty so I'll have to decide which to use or what order if I do both. Certainly the one time I used the high pH soap as a prewash I'm certain it did come cleaner before I got out the bucket.

I did the thing where you get an HK sprayer, drill a hole and put a valve in it, then connect it to a cheap tire inflator. It really does spray pretty awesomely with no manual pumping needed. It's not as good as a real pressure washer setup but for me it's a good substitute.

With how bad the winter has been in the Chicagoland this year, I decided to keep the M3 at bay.

That being said...can't wait for the first wash of the year. Got some new goodies over the winter that I'm looking forward to using, specifically some Bilt Hamber products.

My process will be pretty simple since it didn't see snow:
1. Bilt Hamber foaming pre-wash.
2. CarPro Descale foam + hand wash

I just got the de-salt solution I ordered and plan to soak the bejesus out of the undercarriage and body first. Then a soap, rise, soap, and sponge two bucket affair. I have a few minor scratches from the snow and ice buildup that I need to buff out and that's on the menu as well but prob not until it gets a little warmer

Car washes use recycled water, so I'm skeptical about using them at the end of salt on the street season.

JerseyM3 wrote

I just got the de-salt solution I ordered and plan to soak the bejesus out of the undercarriage and body first. Then a soap, rise, soap, and sponge two bucket affair. I have a few minor scratches from the snow and ice buildup that I need to buff out and that's on the menu as well but prob not until it gets a little warmer

it's all good, just rinse the undercarriage well. Also a must to use a PH neutral soap like Carapro Reset. Prefoam, let sit, rinse. Then a good ol' 2 bucket wash will get it done.

Emily172013 wrote

Car washes use recycled water, so I'm skeptical about using them at the end of salt on the street season.

edit. Just realized you didn't mean the automatic type. My bad.

My car didn't see snow or salt, but it does need a reset wash since there just wasn't an opportunity to clean it this winter with the extreme cold.

It's two parts:
--Wheels + interior. The nightmare design on my wheels takes 45 minutes for a good cleaning. Tire cleaner, wheel cleaner, rinse, then wash mitt and barrel brush.
The interior needs a quick vaccum and wipe down and the floor mats need a wash.

--Exterior - the standard two-bucket wash, blow-dry, then matte detailer on the paint and wax on the glossy parts.
Real reset washes require putting the wipers up and removing the license plate!

Charles

For your wheel wells and undercarriage, use something like Salty Captain Chassis Flush. This stuff is excellent at neutralizing road salts and leaves behind a light protective barrier to help slow down corrosion. I pair it with the Tool Daily Undercarriage Pressure Washer from Amazon, it’s great because it includes a foam cannon attachment that works perfectly with the Salty Captain solution.

I usually pull all four wheels off and coat the wheel wells and undercarriage thoroughly. While the undercarriage soaks, I brush out the wheel wells, then use the wand again to rinse everything clean.

With the wheels off, I spray them down with a strong all‑purpose cleaner, scrub them, rinse, wipe them clean, then give them a good polish and a layer of ceramic coating.

For the paint, the process depends on condition, but for the best results I start with a proper hand wash, then use Griot’s Garage Iron & Fallout Remover. If the paint still feels rough afterward, I go over the car with a clay bar. Once the surface is clean and smooth, I do a light polish to clean up any swirls or winter‑induced scratches, then finish with a layer of ceramic coating.

I also give the door seals some TLC with SONAX Rubber Protectant (GummiPfleger). This stuff is insane; I tried it a couple years ago and the weather stripping on my M340i loved it. It plumps the rubber back up like it’s getting lip filler… LOL. But seriously, it keeps the seals soft, prevents freezing, and stops them from drying out.

This is essentially my yearly post‑winter reset.