Vehicle Covers or Tarps

[89 MAUI]

I have had my '89 parked in the garage since November and I am finally going to stretch her legs.  I have had a car cover over my '89 while sitting in my 2 car garage.  My wife parks in the other space and she may come & go 2 or more times a day which means the garage door is opened every time she comes or goes.  When I do a quick shake to the car cover I can see dust rise.  

 

I have used this car cover for 4 years and I am curios as to what method others do for cleaning the car cover and frequency of cleaning.

 

Thanx

[AZ Ron]

Throw it in the washer and then the dryer. Read the instruction tag first to make sure that is ok. I always wash the bag too. When I lived in Michigan I used to do this in the spring before taking the Corvette out for its first run.

[Frogware]

Woody,

 

I was wondering the same thing ??? every once and a while I get a few bird dropping's on the cover when I park mine outside during the nice weather and that really frustrates me, because the only way I can wash mine is with it on the car. My covers are huge and bulky, plus they are rain resistant and have a special coating on them so I can't throw them in the washing machine even if they would fit.

 

They way I have been doing it is like an hour or two before I plan on washing the car I would have the cover on the car and I would spray it down with the hose and scrub with a soft brush in the poop stained areas. That way it rinses off the dust and dirt. Then while it sits in the sun it can dry and it will be ready to fold up and I can wash the car.

 

The only concern I have though is the underside where it rubs against the tires and muffler areas, they are starting to get a little dingy.

[DAVES89]

I actually have three covers. One came with the Red and is getting pretty old. It has an inner liner and I use it for the car that is stored at the "Widow Schneiders" I have never washed it and it is used as a cover to "protect" the car while in her garage. I also have a very light "dust cover one that I put on the 'vert [which is Black] to keep it looking clean. I then just bought another "semi fitted" lined four seasons cover for the Red in the summer months. Because I am so short of inside parking I bought it to help protect the paint and lenses on the car.

The directions on this latest one said to machine wash [i will have to use a commercial washing machine] and then air dry. I like your idea of washing it one the car though, that is a great idea. And then machine wash it every 2nd/3rd year to clean the underside.

[DAVES89]

The Red sits out so every night I put the cover on it. Not so much for theft but for bird droppings and surprise hail storms. During the day when my wife is gone I run it in the garage. In the photos below you can see the type of cover I use.

[Ronnie]

Dave, That looks like a heavy cover that should provide good protection outside. My cover is much lighter weight that wouldn't be much good outside. When mine is on the car I can see the hood emblem really well through it. It's just a cheap dust cover but that is what I wanted when I bought it. I throw it in the washer and dryer about twice a year to clean it.

[DAVES89]

It is supposed to be a four season cover however I won't be using it in the winter. Just during the period of time that the Red is out of storage and driven.

[89 MAUI]

I removed the car cover yesterday and took it to the local Laundromat.  The cover is a lightweight canvas with elastic for the front and rear fitting.  I easily put the cover into a large washer, inserted $4 of quarters, emptied 2 boxes of detergent and selected warm.  I did notice that the soap suds was slightly dirty so it was worth washing the cover.  It washed for 30 minutes,  then removed the cover and put it into a dryer.  I had inserted 2 quarters for 10 minutes of drying time.  I didn't want to overheat the material.  I opened the door and felt the cover, it essentially was dry enough put it into the backseat of my car.  I drove home and spread it on my front lawn and let the sun do the final drying.  I folded the cover and into storage it goes until November.  To me it was worth washing the cover in a washing machine.

 

Woody

89 MAUI